Edward Fortyhands Drinking Game

Two 40s taped to your hands - freedom must be earned.

Also known as: 40 Hands

Be the first to rate this game

Your rating:

Players 2-10

You needTwo 40 oz bottles per player, duct tape

DrinkMalt liquor or cider

Intensity

Time1-2 hours

Edward Fortyhands is the infamous commitment challenge of drinking games: two 40-ounce bottles get duct-taped to your hands, and they stay there until both are empty. Named as a pun on the movie Edward Scissorhands, the game strips away tables, cards, and scoreboards and replaces them with one absurd predicament - You cannot text, snack, scratch your nose, or open a door without help until you've finished. It's less a game than a shared comedy of errors.

Let's be honest up front: the classic version is one of the heaviest challenges on this site, and playing it with actual malt liquor in both hands is a genuinely bad idea for most people. The good news is that the fun of Fortyhands - The helplessness, the teamwork, the phone ringing in your pocket - Works exactly the same with cider, light beer, or one alcoholic and one water bottle. This guide covers the classic rules and the smarter ways to run it.

What you need & setup

Gather 2-10 players, a roll of duct tape, and two 40 oz bottles per player - Strongly consider cider, light beer, or one alcohol and one water per person.
Eat a real meal first and clear the schedule: everyone should plan to be at this party, with no driving, for the whole night.
Have every player use the bathroom and send any important texts before taping - Phones become decorative once the bottles go on.
Designate at least one untaped helper who stays sober-ish to open doors, hold phones, handle emergencies, and untape anyone who wants out.
Tape each open bottle into each player's palm with a few secure wraps - Snug enough to hold, loose enough to remove quickly.

How to play Edward Fortyhands

Prep like an adult

Before any tape appears, everyone eats a proper meal, drinks a glass of water, and handles bathroom and phone business. Agree as a group on the exit rule: anyone can tap out at any time, no questions, no penalty beyond gentle mockery. Choose your bottles wisely - A 40 of cider or light beer delivers the full comedic experience at a fraction of the wallop.

Tape the bottles on

Open both bottles first - This is non-negotiable, since you can't twist a cap with a bottle for a hand. The helper tapes one bottle into each palm with two or three wraps around the hand and bottle neck. The tape should be secure but cuttable in seconds. Test that everyone can actually lift and sip before declaring the game officially begun.

Live the Fortyhands life

Now the real game starts: existence with no hands. Players carry on the party - Talking, dancing, watching the game - While slowly working on their bottles. Every ordinary task becomes a group negotiation. Itchy nose? Ask a friend. Phone buzzing? Tough luck. The comedy is the point, so drink slowly and savor the predicament rather than racing to escape it.

Follow the freedom rule

You are untaped only when both bottles are completely empty - Finishing one bottle frees nothing. This is where pacing matters enormously: 80 ounces of anything is a lot of liquid, so the game should stretch across two hours or more, not thirty minutes. Smart groups check in regularly, and the helper offers every player a tap-out at the halfway mark.

Handle the bathroom problem

The infamous dilemma: you cannot use the bathroom until you're free, which is exactly why the tap-out rule exists. The civilized solution is the buddy system - A helper untapes one hand for a bathroom break, then re-tapes it after. Groups that treat the bathroom rule as an iron law are choosing misery over comedy; don't be that group.

Finish and get free

When a player empties both bottles, the helper verifies - Bottles upside down over a cup is traditional proof - Then cuts them loose to great applause. First player freed earns the title; last one taped buys pizza or takes cleanup duty. Once free, players switch to water, eat something, and enjoy their newly rediscovered thumbs. Nobody re-tapes for round two. Ever.

The rules

Each player has one open 40 oz bottle taped to each hand, and both must be completely empty before either hand is untaped.
Bottles are opened before taping - No caps, no straws, no assistance drinking from another player.
Players must handle life with no hands: no using fingers or setting bottles down as props; phones, snacks, and doorknobs require a helper.
Bathroom breaks are allowed via the buddy system - A helper untapes one hand, then re-tapes it after; anyone who prefers to tap out entirely may do so at any time without penalty.
First player to legitimately empty both bottles and get untaped wins; last player taped takes a pre-agreed forfeit like cleanup or the pizza order.
Pouring out, spilling, or 'accidentally' donating your drink disqualifies you - But tapping out honestly is always respectable and always available.
A designated untaped helper must be present for the entire game with scissors within reach.
No time limit and no chugging races: Fortyhands is a slow comedy, and any player pressuring another to speed up owes the group an apology and a round of water.
House-recommended loadout: one alcoholic bottle and one 40 of water per player - Same predicament, half the risk.

Variations & house rules

Amstel Lighthands

Same rules, lighter payload: tape on two 40s of light beer, or two 12-16 oz bottles for the express version. You get every ounce of the comedy - The helplessness, the phone panic, the triumphant untaping - With dramatically less alcohol. This is honestly the version most groups should play, and nobody watching can tell the difference anyway.

Edward Ciderhands

The beloved orchard-flavored remix: two bottles of hard cider instead of malt liquor, often at lower ABV and much easier drinking. A soft-drink sibling, Edward Sodahands, works for non-drinkers who want in on the predicament. Mixed parties often run Cider, Soda, and Water hands side by side so everyone's equally helpless together, which is the whole point.

Fortyhands & Water

Each player gets one alcoholic 40 and one 40-ounce bottle of water - Both must be finished for freedom. The built-in hydration transforms the game's risk profile while keeping the full two-bottle absurdity intact. Strategy emerges too: alternate bottles, or bank the water for the endgame? Recommended as the default for any group actually using malt liquor.

Team Fortyhands

Pairs share the predicament: each partner gets one bottle taped to one hand, keeping the other hand free, and the team is judged on both bottles being empty. Partners can help each other with doors and phones but never with drinking. Faster, safer, and highly social - And watching two people coordinate a bag of chips one-handed is elite entertainment.

The Museum Rule

Players must complete a scavenger list while taped - Take a group selfie, make a sandwich, fold a shirt, win one round of another party game. Points for each completed task, and the highest score at untaping wins regardless of who finished first. Shifts the focus from drinking speed to no-hands problem solving, which was always the funniest part.

Pro tips

Tape over a sock or sleeve on your wrist - Direct duct tape on arm hair turns the untaping ceremony into a waxing appointment.

Choose cider, light beer, or the one-water-bottle loadout; the comedy of Fortyhands is identical at every ABV.

Pee first. Then think about it, and pee again. Future you, two hours into taped hands, is begging you.

Keep scissors with the sober helper at all times - Tap-outs should take ten seconds, not a wrestling match.

Wear a hoodie with a big front pocket; it's the only storage you'll have access to all night.

Play it early in the evening on a full stomach, never as a nightcap stacked on top of other games.

Where Edward Fortyhands fits on the shelf

Edward Fortyhands is the most intense of the 17 challenge games on this site, rated 5 out of 5.
It is one of the few games here that genuinely works with just 2 players, and it stays fun up to 10.
Rounds are fast (1-2 hours), so it slots between bigger games without hijacking the night.
Browse the full outdoor & challenge games shelf to compare all 17 games side by side.

A little history

Edward Fortyhands appears to have originated in American college party culture, most likely in the late 1990s or 2000s as 40-ounce malt liquor bottles became a campus punchline. The name riffs on Tim Burton's 1990 film Edward Scissorhands, swapping blades for bottles. Its exact birthplace is unknown - Origin stories are claimed by many campuses - But internet forums and party photo sites spread it widely in the 2000s, cementing it as a rite-of-passage challenge.

Drink responsibly: Real talk: two full-strength 40s is more alcohol than most bodies should handle in one sitting, so downsize the drinks, eat a full meal first, and stretch the game over hours. Keep a sober helper with scissors nearby, make tap-outs penalty-free, push water at halftime, and lock in rides or couches before anyone gets taped. Never drive after this one. See our safety guide for pacing tips and alcohol-free versions.

Edward Fortyhands FAQ

What is the Edward Fortyhands drinking game?

It's a party challenge where two 40-ounce bottles are duct-taped to your hands, and you can't be untaped until both are empty. Named after Edward Scissorhands, the fun comes from total helplessness - No phone, no snacks, no doorknobs - Rather than from drinking speed. Most sensible groups now play with cider, light beer, or one alcohol and one water bottle.

How much do you actually drink in Edward Fortyhands?

The classic version is two 40s - 80 ounces, roughly six to eight standard drinks depending on ABV - Which is genuinely too much for most people in one game. That's why lighter loadouts exist: light beer cuts the alcohol dramatically, and the one-alcohol-one-water version halves it while keeping the exact same experience. Stretch the game over at least two hours regardless.

How do you go to the bathroom in Edward Fortyhands?

The traditional rule says you can't until both bottles are empty, which is exactly the kind of rule that should be modified. Civilized groups use the buddy system: a helper untapes one hand for a bathroom break and re-tapes it afterward, with no penalty. Anyone can also tap out entirely at any time - That rule is mandatory, not optional.

Can you play Edward Fortyhands without malt liquor?

Yes, and most groups should. Edward Ciderhands (hard cider), Lighthands (light beer), Sodahands (soft drinks), and the alcohol-plus-water loadout all deliver the identical no-hands comedy with far less alcohol. Since the entertainment comes from the taped-hands predicament and not the drink, mixed groups can run every version side by side and nobody's experience differs.

Who wins Edward Fortyhands?

Traditionally the first player to empty both bottles and get untaped wins, with the last taped player taking a forfeit like cleanup duty. But racing is exactly the wrong way to play - Better groups treat it as a survival comedy where finishing at all is the achievement, and hand out side titles for funniest struggle, best no-hands problem solving, and most dignified tap-out.

Edward Fortyhands Drinking Game

What you need & setup