How to Play Shot Roulette

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: October 29, 2022

Want to play a fun new party game? Learn to play shot roulette by using both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks—you never know which one you’ll get! This game needs at least two people and can be played with larger groups for parties with friends, bachelor and bachelorette parties, birthday celebrations, and more! Try a method that uses an empty bottle or a deck of cards and two dice.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Preparing the Shots

1
Choose your alcoholic drinks. Get any type of alcoholic drink you like. Stick with just one type of liquor for traditional shots, or mix it up with all different kinds of alcohol, including:
- Red or white wine
- Beer
- Hard cider
- Vodka, rum, whiskey, gin, or tequila
2
Choose your non-alcoholic drinks. Pick out any non-alcoholic beverages you like. You may want to choose liquids of the same color as your alcohol to make it more confusing which is which. Try:
- Water or clear soda to look like vodka, gin, rum, or tequila
- Grape juice to look like wine or brandy
- Cola or root beer to look like whiskey or dark rum
- Ginger ale or cream soda to look like beer
- Juice or sports drinks to look like colored liquor
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3
Pour the drinks into shot glasses. Get enough glass or disposable plastic shot glasses to complete a big circle or several rows. Pour your alcoholic drink or drinks into half the number of your shot glasses and your non-alcoholic drinks into the other half.
- You don’t need a specific number, but two shot glasses per player is recommended.^{[1]
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- Use different colored and opaque shot glasses to partially disguise the color or type of liquid inside.
4
Place the shot glasses in a circle or rows. Set your filled shot glasses on an even surface like a large table or hard floor. Pick a surface that you can easily clean, as shots may get knocked and spilled.
- If you’re playing the version using a bottle to spin, place the shot glasses in a large circle and put an empty wine, liquor, or beer bottle in the center of the circle. Make sure the bottle is completely empty for the best spin.
- If you’re playing the version using cards and dice, place the shot glasses in rows.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Playing the Game with a Spinning Bottle

1
Pick a player to spin first. Choose the first player and have them spin the bottle in the middle of the circle of shots. All players can sit or stand in a circle around the shots to watch the bottle spin.
- The first player can volunteer, or you can choose a fun way to pick who has the first turn, like the youngest person in the group, the winner of a rock-paper-scissors battle, or whoever got out of bed earliest that morning.^{[2]
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2
Drink what the bottle lands on. Wait for the bottle to come to a stop after spinning. The player who spun must drink the shot that the mouth of the bottle is pointing toward.
- Don’t let the player smell or examine the shot too closely before drinking it—they must drink it right away!
- If the bottle isn’t pointing directly at one shot glass, decide on which it is closest to, or default to the shot to its right. If you continue to have this problem, try adding more shot glasses to make a fuller circle.
3
Replace the shot. Have the player who spun and drank refill the shot they took. They should refill their shot glass with whatever type of shot (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) they just took.
- Players can bluff and keep the type of drink they got or refill with a secret. Agree on this before the game begins.
4
Continue playing counter-clockwise. Have the person to the left of the first player go next. Repeat the process of spinning, drinking, and refilling for each player.
- You can play as many times around the circle of players as you like. Players can opt out any time, or you can make rules that a player is “out” if they spill a drink or get three alcoholic shots in a row, for example.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Playing the Game with Cards and Dice

1
Deal the cards. Remove Joker cards, shuffle the deck, and deal out the same number of cards as you have shot glasses. Place the cards in even rows, slipping one under each of your full shot glasses.
- A shot will get taken if the number of the card underneath matches the number rolled on the dice.
- Players can sit or stand in a circle around the playing surface.
2
Pick a player to roll first. The first player rolls the two dice on the table or flat surface.
- The first player can volunteer, or you can choose a fun way to pick who has the first turn, like the youngest person in the group, the winner of a rock-paper-scissors battle, or whoever got out of bed earliest that morning.^{[3]
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3
Find a card that matches the number rolled. The player drinks the shot on top of the card with the same number as they rolled. If there is more than one card with the number you rolled, just take one of the shots and leave the rest for other players who might roll that number on their turn. ^{[4]
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- Count aces as low (value of 1) and face cards as follows: Jack=11, Queen=12, King=13. Because you can’t roll a 1 or a 13 with two dice, you can make up a rule for who has to take a shot that’s on an Ace or King card, like any player who spills a drink or some other “party foul.”
- If there is no card out that corresponds to the number you rolled, roll again until you get an available number, or take a shot that’s on an Ace or King card if there is one out.
4
Drink the shot. Once a player rolls, don’t let him or her smell or examine their shot too closely before they take it; they must drink it right away.
- Players can bluff about what type of drink they got if they want to throw other players off as to how many alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are left in the game. For example, if someone takes an alcoholic shot and makes that known with a face or an exclamation about it, everyone will know that there is one less alcoholic drink on the table for future turns.
5
Continue playing counter-clockwise. The person to the left of the first player goes next. Repeat the process of rolling the dice and drinking the shot on a corresponding number card.
- As the number of shots left gets smaller and smaller, players roll on their turn until they get the number that corresponds to a card that still has a shot. The round ends when all of the shots are gone.
6
Refill the shots for another round. The last player to take an alcoholic shot in the round refills all of the shot glasses for the next round. They can be responsible for deciding what alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks go into the shots for the round.^{[5]
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Things You’ll Need

Glass or plastic shot glasses
Non-alcoholic drinks (water, soda, juice, sports drinks, etc.)
Alcoholic drinks (liquor, wine, beer, etc.)
Flat surface or large table
Empty bottle (for spinning bottle method)
Standard deck of cards and 2 dice (for cards and dice method)

Warnings

Never drive a vehicle after consuming alcohol. Call a cab, Uber, or Lyft, or get a ride from a completely sober friend who can drive.

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Please drink responsibly and in moderation. Heavy alcohol consumption can lead to alcohol poisoning, liver damage, alcoholism, and a number of other short- and long-term effects.^{[6]
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Main public health institute for the US, run by the Dept. of Health and Human Services
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