True American Rules

In Summary

Players take turns trying to win moves in order to navigate the tables, chairs, and cushions which are your only escape from the molten lava floor. At the center of the game is a castle made of a bottle of alcohol and many beers. As players traverse the game area, they remove beers and drink them. Once all of the beers have been removed, the first player to reach the bottle of alcohol, finish their beer, and take a swig from bottle, wins the game.

The Castle

The Castle is made up of one bottle of liquor and many cans of beer (you decide how many based on the number of players). The liquor is the King and sits in the middle of the Castle. The cans of beer are the Pawns and the Soldiers of the Secret Order. The Pawns are lined up in four lines radiating outward from the King. These lines of Pawns also signify the barriers between each zone. The game ends when all of the Pawns have been removed and a player drinks from the King.

The Zones

There are four zones, each with five spaces where a player can stand. The center space in each zone is the only space where the Pawns can be taken and thus it is the closest space to the Castle. There are a total of four of these spaces. The spaces at the beginning and end of the zones are the farthest away from the Castle.

Setup

Before the game starts, determine how many beers total should be consumed and setup the Castle with those beers as the Pawns. Using the lines of Pawns as barriers between the zones; designate each zone, making sure to have 5 spaces in each zone as described above. Teams are optional.

Starting the Game

After setup is complete, players may have a shotgun contest to determine who has the first turn. If no player wisher to shotgun a beer, play rock-paper-scissors instead. To start the game, the winner of this contest yells “One, two three, JFK” at which point all other players yell “FDR”, grab a Pawn from the Castle, and retreat to any space.

Gameplay

Players move around the game area in a clockwise direction. The player whose turn it is always moves one space; however, the other players must “win” their moves. This player has three ways to provide the other players with a way to win their move.

• The Count: All players yell “One, two, three” and then hold a number of fingers, between one and five, against their foreheads. Anyone holding a number that no one else has chosen wins. Winners may move one spot.
• Complete a Quote: The player may slowly speak a quote from history or pop culture. Any other player that is able to jump in and complete the quote in tandem wins. Winners may move two spots.
• Something in Common: The player may yell out two people, places, or things. Any other player that can reply with what these two things have in common wins. Winners may move three spots.

Players must always have a beer in their hand and may not have more than three at any one time. Players may only take a Pawn from the Castle when they are in one of the four center spaces.

Winning

After all Pawns have been removed, the King is vulnerable. The first player to land on one of the center spaces, finish their beer and take a swig from the King, wins the game!

Losing

If you are caught without a beer or with only an empty beer, you lose. If you step in molten lava, you lose. To enter back into the game, drink one full beer and start on a space that the other players decide.

Gallery

Check out our gallery of True American fan-submitted pictures.

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Picking Teams

Teams are optional. To pick teams, everyone holds up a random number of fingers against their foreheads. You are teamed up with anyone else that is holding up the same number of fingers as you. Unmatched players can team up as needed.

The Castle

The castle is made up of cans of beer and a bottle of liquor. The bottle of liquor is the king of the castle. The beers are Pawns which are the Soldiers of the Secret Order. The Pawns are lined up in four lines radiating outward from the King.

The Layout

There are four zones and an alternate zone is a “crazy” zone. There is a trail of chairs, cushions, tables, etc through the zones. The floor is molten lava. You must use these objects to traverse the zones without stepping in the lava. The Castle is in the middle of the zones.

Starting the Game

The game starts with a shotgun tipoff. Then, someone chants “One, two, three, four, JFK!” and all other players yell “FDR!” at which point everyone runs to the center table, grabs a beer and picks the nearest object to stand on.

Starting the Game

The game starts with a shotgun tipoff. Then, someone chants “One, two, three, four, JFK!” and all other players yell “FDR!” at which point everyone runs to the center table, grabs a beer and picks the nearest object to stand on.

Game Play

Players take turns attempting to earn moves. There are three actions that can be taken on a turn.

• Guessing a common trait: The player names to people or objects that have something in common. The other players then yell out what is in common. For instance, “Abe Lincoln, George Washington” and “Cherry Tree”. Players who guess correctly drink and move.
• Doing the count: The player counts “one, two, three” and on four, all players put a number on their head similar to how teams are picked. Somehow this leads so someone drinking and moving.
• Completing a quote: The player begins a quote and all other players attmpt to finish the quote. For instance, “The only thing we have to fear is…“ and “fear itself!”. Players who complete the quote correctly drink and move.

Other Rules

Here are some other random rules.

• Everything that you hear in True American is a lie.
• When a player finishes their beer, they yell “All trash belongs…” and all other players yell “in the junk yard!” at which point empty cans are thrown into a designated receptacle.
• A player may yell “JFK” at any time at which point everyone must yell “FDR” and finish their beer.

Other Great Sources

Some credit is due to the following sources.

• Rules to New Girl’s True American (epidilius.tumblr.com)
• 50% drinking game, 50% Candy Land (barefootfoodie.com)
• “True American” Is The Next Big Drinking Game (buzzfeed.com)