Drink While You Think

Sit in a circle, everyone with a beer, shandy or soft drink. One player names a well-known person – real or fictional, as long as most of the group knows them. The next player has to name someone whose first name starts with the first letter of the previous surname: Heidi Klum could be followed by Karl Lagerfeld, then Lionel Messi. If it’s your turn and you don’t have a name ready, you raise your glass and keep sipping until someone comes to mind.

The game comes from American colleges, where it often just goes by the Name Game. At the start the names come thick and fast, but the longer you play, the more celebrities get used up – and the longer people have to think.

• Letter chain: The first letter of the surname sets the first letter of the next first name.
• No repeats: Once someone has been named, they’re off-limits for the rest of the game.
• Matching initials: If the first name and surname start with the same letter, like Marilyn Monroe, play reverses. The person who went before has to come up with a name starting with that letter straight away.
• Single names: Stars who go by one name, like Rihanna or Shakira, count as matching initials: play reverses, and their first letter applies.
• Valid or not: A name counts if most of the group knows who it is. If the group rejects it, the same player tries again.
• Time limit: If you haven’t found anyone after ten seconds, put your glass down and the next player carries on with the same letter.

Variations

• Chant: As soon as someone hesitates for a second or two, everyone else chants “Drink while you think!”.
• Three names: Some groups also reverse play for people with three names, like Sarah Jessica Parker.
• Other categories: Swap celebrities for film titles, bands or footballers – the letter rule stays the same.
• Alcohol-free: Whoever’s thinking has to hum until a name comes to them. Miss the time limit and you get a penalty point.

Tips

People only your group knows are fine too, as long as everyone’s in on it – that makes every round different. With awkward letters like Q, X or Y, it helps to agree beforehand whether nicknames or stage names count. If you’re the one holding up the chain, don’t stress: the glass comes down after ten seconds anyway.