Buffalo Drinking Game

Wrong hand on your drink? BUFFALO. Finish it.

Also known as: Buffalo Club

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Players 2-999

You needNothing but drinks

DrinkAnything

Intensity

TimeForever (lifetime rule)

Buffalo is less a game than a lifelong contract. The rule is one sentence: you must always drink with your non-dominant hand. Get caught holding your drink in your dominant hand and any fellow player can point and yell "BUFFALO!" - at which point tradition demands you finish what's in your cup. There's no board, no turns, no session; once you're in, you're in at every party, wedding, and Tuesday for the rest of your life.

That permanence is the entire joke. Buffalo lies dormant for months, then detonates at a barbecue when someone absent-mindedly picks up a beer right-handed in front of the one friend who remembers. The game rewards vigilance and punishes autopilot - and since most people are right-handed, most of the world is perpetually one lazy sip from getting called. Sensible modern groups soften the classic finish-your-drink penalty to a hearty few gulps; the humiliation, not the volume, is the point.

What you need & setup

Recruit players: explain the rule, the penalty, and - crucially - that membership is permanent before anyone agrees.
Each new member confirms their dominant hand in front of witnesses (self-declared ambidextrous players get assigned one).
Agree on your club's penalty: the traditional drain-your-drink, or a saner modern forfeit like three big sips.
Seal the initiation with a first correct non-dominant-hand toast. You are now, and forever, playing Buffalo.

How to play Buffalo

Understand the one rule

From initiation onward, any alcoholic drink you hold must be held in your non-dominant hand. Right-handed players drink left-handed forever; lefties drink right-handed. The rule applies at every social occasion where another Buffalo member is present - there are no time-outs, no off-nights, and no 'we weren't playing.' You are always playing. That's the game.

Learn what counts as a violation

The classic standard: the violation is being caught with your drink in your dominant hand. Lifting it, sipping from it, or idly holding it all count. Transporting closed containers, pouring, or handing someone else a drink usually doesn't - though clubs vary. Establish your club's exact line at initiation, because rules-lawyering mid-callout is half the sport.

Make the call

Any member who spots a violation points at the offender and yells 'BUFFALO!' loudly enough to stop conversation. The call must be specific and immediate - vague accusations or minutes-late callouts don't count. Only initiated members can call Buffalo; civilians pointing out your hand are merely embarrassing you, not penalizing you.

Pay the penalty

A valid call means the offender must finish their current drink - or perform whatever softened penalty your club agreed on, such as three solid sips, which we genuinely recommend. If the drink is nearly empty, bad luck for the caller; if it's a fresh pour, agony. Refusing a valid call is the deepest dishonor Buffalo knows, so keep your drinks modest.

Dispute bad calls

False accusations carry a price. If the accused can show the call was invalid - wrong hand identified, drink wasn't actually alcoholic, caller isn't a member - the penalty reverses onto the caller. Disputes are settled by witnesses on the spot. This keeps trigger-happy members honest and adds a delicious risk to every callout.

Recruit and remember

Buffalo grows by initiation: existing members explain the rule and its permanence, and newcomers accept freely (never trick someone into 'membership' - a contract nobody knew about is void and lame). Then the long game begins. The best Buffalo calls arrive years later, across a wedding reception, from a friend you forgot was watching.

The rules

Always hold and drink alcoholic drinks with your non-dominant hand.
Any member may call 'Buffalo!' on a member caught drinking dominant-handed.
A valid call means the offender finishes their drink - or performs the club's agreed softer penalty.
Calls must be immediate and specific; retroactive accusations are void.
Only initiated members can make or receive calls.
False calls reverse the penalty onto the caller.
Ambidextrous members are assigned a permanent 'dominant' hand at initiation.
Non-alcoholic drinks are exempt (house rules vary - some clubs play all beverages).
Membership is voluntary, must be knowingly accepted, and is permanent.
No stacking: one violation, one penalty, even if three people called it.

Variations & house rules

All-Beverage Buffalo

The hardcore club plays every drink - coffee, water, juice - not just alcohol. Violations at breakfast meetings are called with the same ceremony as at parties, though penalties downshift to a forfeit or a dollar in the club jar rather than draining your latte. This version turns Buffalo into a full-time posture of caffeinated vigilance.

Buffalo Jar

Replace or supplement the drinking penalty with a cash forfeit: every valid call costs the offender a dollar into the communal jar, which funds the group's next pizza or round of soft drinks. Perfect for making the lifetime game sustainable - and for friend groups who love the callout culture more than the chugging.

Session Buffalo

For groups unwilling to sign a lifetime contract: Buffalo applies only for tonight, announced at the start of the party. Same rule, same calls, same penalty, but everyone is released at midnight. A great trial membership - though veterans will tell you, correctly, that the years-later ambush call is the entire soul of the game.

Reverse Buffalo Hour

Once per gathering, any member may declare a secret 'reverse hour' with two witnesses: for the next hour, the correct hand flips to dominant. Members not paying attention get called mid-sip on what they thought was the safe hand. Diabolical, controversial, and banned in stricter clubs - which tells you exactly how fun it is.

Pro tips

Keep your drinks small once initiated - the penalty stings less when your cup holds four sips instead of sixteen.

Negotiate the softened penalty (three sips, not a full drain) at initiation; even veteran clubs increasingly play it this way.

Train the habit sober: carry your water non-dominant for a week and the reflex becomes permanent.

Watch new members hawkishly for the first hour - autopilot violations cluster right after initiation.

Photos are evidence. Wedding albums have settled more Buffalo disputes than witnesses ever have.

Never trick someone into membership; consent at initiation is what makes the lifetime clause funny instead of hostile.

Where Buffalo fits on the shelf

Buffalo lands mid-table for intensity (8th of 15 party games), rated 2 out of 5.
It is one of the few games here that genuinely works with just 2 players, and it stays fun up to 999.
A typical session runs forever (lifetime rule) - a solid middle act for the evening.
Browse the full party drinking games shelf to compare all 15 games side by side.

A little history

Buffalo's true origin is contested, wrapped in invented lore about frontier gunslingers keeping their shooting hand free while drinking - a story that's almost certainly retrofitted myth, though it's a good one. What's documented is a social "Buffalo Club" tradition spreading through universities, rugby clubs, and traveler hostels over recent decades, complete with initiation rituals and the insistence that membership, once accepted, can never be revoked.

Drink responsibly: Buffalo's classic drain-your-drink penalty is the heaviest single forfeit in party gaming, so soften it: agree on a few sips instead, keep cups small, and never Buffalo someone holding a full pour of anything strong. The callout is the punishment - the chug is optional. See our safety guide for pacing tips and alcohol-free versions.

Buffalo FAQ

What is the Buffalo drinking game rule?

One rule: always drink with your non-dominant hand. If another player catches you holding your drink in your dominant hand and yells 'Buffalo!', you must finish your drink - or perform your group's agreed lighter penalty, like three big sips. The rule has no end date: once you accept membership, you're playing at every gathering, forever.

Why is it called Buffalo?

The popular legend says Old West gunslingers drank with their off hand to keep their shooting hand free, and 'buffalo' supposedly echoes that frontier world. It's almost certainly invented backstory - no credible historical source supports it - but the myth is now part of the game's furniture, retold at initiations with a completely straight face.

Does Buffalo really last a lifetime?

By tradition, yes - that's the game's defining joke. Membership is a permanent social contract, and the greatest calls happen years apart, ambushing someone at a reunion or wedding. In practice it lasts exactly as long as your friend group honors it. Groups who want a trial run play Session Buffalo, a single-night version, first.

What if someone is left-handed or ambidextrous?

Left-handed members simply drink right-handed - the rule is symmetrical. Self-declared ambidextrous players are assigned a 'dominant' hand at initiation, usually their writing hand, and it's recorded in front of witnesses. What matters is that every member has exactly one forbidden hand and everyone else knows which one it is.

Do you really have to finish your whole drink?

That's the traditional penalty, but you genuinely don't have to play it that way - and increasingly, clubs don't. Agree at initiation on a softer forfeit: three solid sips, finishing only what's left, or a dollar in the club jar. The humiliation of the callout is the real punishment; the volume of liquid adds nothing.

Buffalo Drinking Game

What you need & setup