Game Drink?

Weekend followed two different groups of students to find out what drinking games make up a typical party at IU and what emotions each game brings out in all of the people involved. Past the clouds of smoke on the patio and inside an apartment on the east side of town, students work to regain their title of number one party school . SATURDAY
10:37 p.m. -- "To the sixty cans of beer in the fridge" With snippets of chart-toppers booming in the background a long night of drinking begins. The power hour soundtrack plays like a life track to several IU students who immediately start cracking open cans of beer to fill up their shot glasses. Each track, cut to one-minute lengths, signals the starting point for each shot. Elaborating on the popular drinking game where students take a shot of beer each minute, this group adds their own twist -- you must say a toast before each shot. "To the sixty cans of beer in the fridge," Indiana State University student Matt Steele said. And with that, the hour begins. One shot after another the minutes seem to pass by quicker. A digital clock sits perched on top of a table, with eyes glaring as each second counts down. "Shit, it's my turn already," said sophomore Leslie Compton. "I can't think this fast, someone give me a toast." The room soon erupts into a one-minute chorus of "Jack and Diane." Minute by minute beer cans begin to pile up and each minute gets gobbled up even faster. As time goes on, the game begins to disband with laughter becoming a distraction to the game. "We have so many inside jokes from tonight its ridiculous," Compton says. 11:43 p.m. -- "Nine, nine bust a rhyme" With a dismantled game of power hour behind them, momentum to play Kings begins to build. Armed with a full deck of cards and cold Keystone Lights in the fridge, the group readies for the next game of the night. Out comes a rule sheet laminated to protect the beer spills that are yet to come. Just in case any argument would ensue, the rules would be present - front and center. After a few bathroom breaks and card shuffles, the customary circle of cards is placed down and the game begins. "Nine, nine bust a rhyme," the group chants after drawing a nine. "Matt, hat, sat, fat, rat, sat, lat ..." "Lat's not a word," Compton said. "Drink!" 21-year-old Justin Wade cannot stop laughing in the corner. "I said 'sat' twice and nobody noticed," he said. "I do that all the time and nobody ever notices." With the draw of an ace, the group's heads drop -- "time for waterfall." After deciding which direction to go around the circle, with their cups raised, the group toasts and lifts them to begin drinking. While they start at the same time, each person continues drinking until the person before them stops. Each player wipes his face as beer drips down his chin in a struggle to outlast each other. Each one begins slamming down their cans when emptied or too full to continue. 1:14 a.m. -- "I ain't got nothin' but this roll of the dice" Forget the shots and the cards -- its time to break out the dice. It's all about luck. Rolling doubles can either make you "three man" or square off in a battle. When Steele rolls a pair of three's, he becomes the anchor position for knocking back beers the quickest. Everytime someone else rolls a three it's bottoms up -- Steele drinks one for being "three man." When Compton rolls a pair of fours its time to go to battle. She passes out the dice to two people and they roll -- one a six, the other a two. Steele and Wade each drink for what number the other rolled. But after a while, this game, too, begins to disperse. "It's times like this that make me happy there were sixty cans of beer in the fridge," Steele said. SUNDAY
9:38 p.m. -- Playing the Game The night begins with a round of "shot checkers." This isn't an ordinary checker board. These have shot glasses that take the place of the checker chips. The game follows the traditional rules of checkers with a slight twist -- if you get jumped, you have to take a shot of beer. If the person wants to be "kinged," the opposing player has to take their shot and turn the glass upside down. 10:17 p.m. -- Takin' care of Biz-ness A metal bucket, a glass and pitchers of beer provide the entertainment inside Nick's, setting the stage for the popular drinking game known as "Sink the Biz." A group gathers around a table and fills up the bucket. The glass is placed inside the full bucket and stays bouyant, floating on top. Each person goes around and pours some of their beer into the glass. When the glass capsizes and sinks, the person who did it, drinks it. "I'm a master at it. I've already graduated but I come back (to play it)," said graduate Travis Jenning. Their group included a first-timer to the game, Purdue student Adrienne Mayhew. Doug Laux, a participant in the game, claimed "Sink the Biz" to be his favorite drinking game. 10:42 p.m. -- Tournament of Champions "Don't like the house rules ... don't care." A sign posted on the door lets a herd of possible beer pong winners know this house is serious about their tournament. The owners have three tables set up, trimmed with cream and crimson IU symbols and basketball posters hanging on the walls. Team-by-team, pairs step up to knock-off their opposition in a quest for the ultimate goal -- the right to call themselves beer pong tournament champions. Senior Sara Martin Del Campo was one of the students organizing the event. Handing out cups behind the bar and collecting entrance fees, she said they had wanted to have a big tournament for a long time. "We're big fans of beer pong," Martin Del Campo said. "We decided a couple of days ago we wanted to do it. So we borrowed two tables from friends and there ya go. It started out just as a beer pong event, but sort of just turned into a party." But this is no ordinary tournament. Teams pay five bucks to enter and take their chances at one of the three tables with the chance to win prizes. Differing rules for each round come into effect and with each game the intensity continues to soar. Freshmen Courtney Jordan and Stephanie Cotter take their place in front of table #3. Pitchers full of beer fill the yellow cups arranged in six-cup triangles at each end of the tables. After a few missed shots the girls begin to pick up momentum. As the crowd begins to sing to "Living on a Prayer," the girls sink three cups in a row. Admist the high-fives and hugs, the girls brace for the biggest shot of the night -- the last cup. Friends heckle the players from the sidelines hoping to capitalize on the team's loss. "I can't wait to beat you guys," one of the guys yells from the sidelines. "It's on." The next shot bounces in and out, but in time the girls land the final cup giving them a win and a spot in the next round of the tournament. Freshman Tanner Johnson said while he likes to play card games like "Asshole," beer pong is definitely his game of choice. "Everyone always likes to say they're the ones who have never been beat," he said. "I always challenge people. There was one time this guy kept talking about how great he was and he wouldn't step up to play me." Johnson takes the game to another level, even keeping track of his record. "47-11, thats my record," he said. "That's pretty solid." Throughout the night, crowds grow around the tables, emotions get even more out of control and even more students flood into the house all with one thing on their mind -- playing beer pong. Senior Vicki Hunziker said there's a simple reason for the beer pong craze. "It brings together the two best things, comeptition and alcohol."