Can you play ride the bus with two people?

Ride the bus is a fun card drinking game that can be played by a large group of people. Ride the bus is an amazing game of luck and logic, as participants try their best not to get wasted by not becoming the player who “rides the bus” at the end of the game. Learn how to play ride the bus here.

Reading the paper’s rules might sound quite complicated, but it is easy to play, and people will find it easy to understand even when it is their first time. If card games aren’t your style of drinking game try out Dodge Beer.

Player Range

The ride the bus game needs a minimum of 2 players, but the more players, the better.

Gear

• Alchohol
• Deck of cards

Ride the Bus Drinking Game Setup

1.       One player is assigned with the position “the dealer.” His job is to help shuffle the deck of cards and to make sure everyone follows the ride the bus rules.

2.       Everyone that plays the game should sit around the table. Each player should have his alcoholic drink ready.

How to play ride the bus game

Ride the bus game comprises four rounds. During these four rounds, the participant’s performance will determine who will ride the bus at the end. Most times, the game ends with the “ride the bus” rider getting completely drunk.

Round 1:

The dealer starts by shuffling the card then asking everyone their first question one by one. He would ask them, “red or black?”. If the player gets the topmost card’s color on his turn, he can distribute a drink, but if he fails to get it, he must take a drink.

Round 2:

The second round follows the same process; the dealer asks the participants a new question “higher or lower?”. The player must guess if their next card will be higher or lower in value than their first card. If you guess right, you distribute a drink. If you guess wrong, you take a drink. But if you get the same card, then that’s an automatic penalty, and you must drink.

Round 3:

The third round follows the same process. The dealer asks the participant a new question “In between or outside?” you have to guess if your next card value will fall in between your first and second card values or will fall outside the value. If you get this correctly, you distribute a drink, and if you guess wrong, you must drink.

Like in the last round, if you get two identical cards, you would probably pick outside and be correct, except you get a third identical card, then you will have to drink.

Round 4:

Round four also follows the same process. The dealer asks the players to guess the suit (heart, spade, club, diamond) of the card with him. If you guess correctly, you distribute five drinks, and if you guess wrong, you drink.

The pyramid round:

With four cards on every player’s hand, the dealer will build a face down pyramid with a base of 5 cards up to the one card at the top.  With each row designated value of drinks, row 1-one drink, row 2 – 2 drinks till the fifth row. Starting from the base, one card is revealed. If any player has that card, he will discard it and distribute drinks. Depending on the row, he could distribute up to 5 drinks at a time.

Ride the bus:

Once the last car of the pyramid has been shown to the participant, and all possible cards are discarded. Any player with remaining cards is counted, and anyone with the highest value of card ends up riding the bus. Which means he would have to start the game all over again, only him and the dealer this time. Anytime he guesses wrong, he starts again. The game ends when the player has successfully answered all four questions in succession or until the entire deck of card is finished or the person is completely drunk.

Whether you’re breaking the ice with new housemates, or just want to spice up a night out with your friends, drinking games are a rite of passage within university. Ride The Bus is a classic university drinking game to guarantee you a good night. If you are wondering how to play Ride The Bus, we’ve got you covered.

The rules can seem long and complicated, so we’ve whittled it down to the basics and explained the rules in an easy-to-understand guide.

All you will need to play is a pack of cards, some drinks and a willing group of people.

Round One

For the game there is a dealer, who shuffles the deck and asks the players to guess the colour of the card they will be dealt: ‘red or black?’ If they’re right, they nominate someone to drink and, if they’re wrong, they drink themselves. This gets anyone their first card.

Round Two

In round two, the players will be asked to guess if the next card they’re dealt will be higher or lower than the previous. The same drinking rules apply if they get it wrong or right.

Round Three

Round three has the same format as the last two rounds except the players are asked if the next card’s number will be in between the ones they already have or outside.

Round Four

For the final dealing round, the dealer asks each player to pick a suit, giving them a one in four chance of avoiding a drink. If the player guesses wrong, as they likely will, they drink. If not, they can nominate five people to drink.

Round Five – The Pyramid

After this, players should have four cards each that are private and no one else can see. The dealer will then create a pyramid of cards on the table, with 6 at the bottom and 1 right at the top. Starting at the bottom row, one card will be flipped at a time by the dealer. Anyone who has a matching card in their hand can lay it down and nominate people to drink the quantity of sips associated with that row.

For example, if your card is on the bottom row you only drink once. The higher the card is in the pyramid, the more sips of your drink or drinks to nominate. You can even make the top card a shot if you really want to. When all the cards have been flipped, whoever has the most in their hands has to ride the bus.

Round Six – Riding the Bus

The unlucky player with the most cards has to ride the bus in the grand finale of this game. It’s fun as everyone else can watch. 

The dealer will lay ten cards face down and flip them over one by one. The person riding the bus has to guess if the card will be higher or lower than the previous one and, if you get one wrong, you go back to the start and pay a hefty drinking price. One sip (or shot, depending how brutal you are) for every card you got right. This can take a while until the player guesses correctly for all ten cards, and they will probably be quite drunk by the end of it.

Enjoy riding the bus!

Have something to tell us about this article?

Let us know

Maddy Burgess

Hi, my name is Maddy and I'm a journalism student at the University of Sheffield. My main interests are lifestyle, fashion, arts, culture and entertainment. I'm also the former fashion editor and current editor in chief of Liberty Belle Magazine. I'm a wannabe Carrie Bradshaw and you'll most likely find me either reading, shopping, watching films or at a cocktail bar.

How do you play ride the bus drinking 2 player?

Can you play stop the bus with two people?

How many people can play ride the bus?

How many decks do you need for ride the bus?