Ride the bus is a drinking game

Drinking game

Drinking games are games which involve the consumption of alcoholic beverages. These games vary widely in scope and complexity, although the purpose of most is to become intoxicated as quickly as possible...

 played through using a standard pack of cards and enough alcoholic drink.
The recommended number of players is between three and seven.
If eight play, one acts as dealer and receives no hand; the dealership rotates each round.

The object of the game is to have the fewest cards at the end of the round.

Setting up

The first part of the game is for the dealer to set up the table of cards, called The Bus

Bus

A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

. This can be done in two ways;

Diamond (9 Cards)

This method requires 9 cards, placed in a diamond pattern of 1,2,3,2,1 cards, so that the start and end of the Bus are shorter than the center. If there are eight people, you must arrange an extra row. The extra row is for James Nielson the Third, because he must ride the short bus. His impotence causes the shortest player to have to take an extra drink.

Triangle (10 cards)

This requires placing 10 cards face down on the table in a non-overlapping triangle. The triangle consists of 4, 3, 2, and 1 card per layer, with the apex facing the dealer.

Dealing

The dealer deals five cards to each player, beginning on their left. Remaining cards are left aside in the pile. The pile is left aside as it will be used at the end of the round.

The dealer then turns a card in the furthest row of the Bus. All players with a card with the same face value

Face value

The Face value is the value of a coin, stamp or paper money, as printed on the coin, stamp or bill itself by the minting authority. While the face value usually refers to the true value of the coin, stamp or bill in question it can sometimes be largely symbolic, as is often the case with bullion...

 may choose to play as many as they have. If a player has a playable card, they nominate any other player to take a drink of the victim's choice.

Play continues with the Dealer gradually showing every card in the Bus, being sure to empty each row before uncovering the next.

The round ends once the card in the bottom row of the Bus has been acquired.

End of Round

Once play has finished, all players count up their cards. If no player has four or more cards, the round is over and a new round is begun as in Setting Up. However, if any players have four or more cards, someone must Ride the Bus. This person is chosen as the player with the most cards. However, if more than one player has the same number of cards, players each take the topmost card from the pile, continuing until one player has a card with a face value greater than the others. Another alternative is if someone saves a card for a higher tier, that card is then worth double the points.

Riding the Bus

All cards are collected and shuffled, leaving the pile separate. The pile is then used to deal out another bus until it is exhausted, the shuffled cards are then used to complete the bus.

Ranking Bus

Whilst riding the bus, the following cards are designated the following ranks:
Jack: 1 drink.
Queen: 2 drinks.
King: 3 drink.
Ace: 4 drinks.

The chosen player must then pick one card from the starting row, picking one card from each row in order until they reach the end row. If the player selects one of the listed cards above they must take the required number of drinks, remove all upturned cards, replace them with cards from the shuffled deck, and begin from the top row again. They have successfully ridden the bus when the overturn the last card (the card at the opposite end of the bus) without overturning one of the cards listed above.

Play then continues as in Setting Up.

Row

An alternative method of Ride involves the Rider being dealt a row with a predetermined number of cards. Drinks are only taken with face cards, as above; however, additional cards are simultaneously added to the row, using the same formula: 1 card for a Jack, 4 for an Ace, etc. For example, if a King is drawn, the Rider takes 3 drinks, and 3 additional (unseen) cards are added to the end of his row. This method is a simplified version of the previous, while maintaining the principles and integrity of the game.

In playing this method, the number of cards in the initial row is generally about ten. Any number of cards up to twelve ensures that the deck of cards will not run out before the bus is finished; playing with more cards introduces the possibility of the deck expiring and requiring reshuffling, leading to many more drinks, and the slim possibility of a never-ending game.

Higher/Lower

Another method is to place the same number of cards the rider received in the first part of the game in two rows (shape of a bus), the dealer flips over the first card in one row and the rider guesses if the next one will be higher or lower. If the rider is correct, play continues to the next card, however if the rider guesses wrong, he/she must take a drink for each card they guessed correctly and the one they screwed up, then new cards from the deck are dealt out and they try again.

Drunk Driver

This is a two person game, one dealer and one "driver". The dealer lays out four to eight cards face down, depending on the "drive" the "driver" wants. For every face card that the driver turns over, they have to take a shot of corresponding value in addition to having the same number of cards put down (Jacks: +1, Queens: +2, Kings: +3, Aces: +4). If doubles are ever revealed two shots are taken. This game is typically done with beer as to extend the drive. The point of the game is to get to a point where no face cards are revealed. If the dealer goes through the entire deck, the drive simply starts over again once the deck has been shuffled. In the interest of parity, DD's can also play "Designated Driver" in which another beverage is substituted for alcohol, but that beverage also needs to be esoteric, such as soy milk

Soy milk

Soy milk and sometimes referred to as soy drink/beverage is a beverage made from soybeans. A stable emulsion of oil, water, and protein, it is produced by soaking dry soybeans and grinding them with water...

.

Pass The Keys Rule

Jokers can be included in the deck. When a joker is flipped, the player may now designate another player to complete the round for him/her (pass the keys).

External links

• "Game Plan: Ride the Bus", 9/30/05, The Daily Orange
  The Daily Orange
  The Daily Orange is an independent student newspaper published in Syracuse, New York. It is free, and published daily during the Syracuse University academic year.It was one of the first college papers to become fully independent from its parent college...
  
  
• "Drinking Games Rules: Ride The Bus"

• "Ride the Bus to Hell"