Straight Face Drinking Game

Read the card out loud without cracking a smile - laugh and you drink.

Also known as: Keep a Straight Face · Poker Face

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Players 3-12

You needPaper and pens or a phone, drinks

DrinkAnything

Intensity

Time15-30 min

Straight Face is a battle of composure against comedy: players write the silliest, most embarrassing statements they can dream up, drop them into a pile, and then take turns drawing a slip and reading it aloud - without cracking a smile. Sounds easy. It is not. The moment a slip says something absurd in your own serious voice, the giggles come, and the first twitch of a grin means you drink. It is the rare game where doing nothing is the hardest thing in the world.

All you need is paper, pens and a group that's bad at holding it together - Which is everyone, eventually. It thrives on the same room-reading energy as Medusa and the rest of the party drinking games, and it's a brilliant leveler: the stone-faced poker champion and the person who laughs at their own jokes both meet their match. Write something ridiculous, keep your face like granite, and watch the table crumble one by one.

What you need & setup

Hand out paper and pens - Or open a notes app; each player needs several small slips to write on.
Write silly statements - Everyone secretly writes a handful of absurd, awkward or ridiculous one-liners.
Fold and pool the slips - Fold each slip so the text is hidden and drop them all into a bowl, hat or the middle of the table.
Everyone keeps a drink handy - The penalty for laughing is a sip, so make sure yours is within reach.
Pick a first reader - Choose anyone to go first; play then passes around the circle.

How to play Straight Face

Write your statements

At the start, each player privately writes several short statements on separate slips. The best ones are unexpected, mildly embarrassing or gloriously stupid - Think odd confessions, absurd declarations and lines that sound ridiculous said out loud in a serious voice. Fold each slip so nobody can see what's coming.

Pool and shuffle

Drop all the folded slips into a central bowl or hat and give them a good mix. From here on, nobody knows whose statement they'll draw or when their own masterpiece will come back to haunt the table.

Draw and read with a straight face

On your turn, pull a slip, unfold it, and read it aloud clearly and seriously. Your one job is to get through it with a completely straight face - No smiling, no laughing, no biting your lip. The more deadpan your delivery, the funnier it somehow gets.

Let the table try to break you

While you read, everyone else watches you intently. The classic rule is that others can laugh freely and only the reader must stay composed. Some groups let the table heckle out loud; others stay silent to make the reader's own giggles the enemy. Agree which version you're playing.

Drink if you crack

If you smile, laugh, snort or noticeably break composure, you drink. Made it through stone-faced? You're safe, and the glory is yours. Either way, set the slip aside so it isn't drawn again.

Pass to the next reader

Play moves to the next person, who draws a fresh slip. Keep going until the bowl is empty, then write a new batch if the group wants another round - The statements only get bolder the second time through.

The rules

Each player writes several silly or embarrassing statements on separate slips before the game.
All slips are folded and pooled together, then drawn at random.
On your turn, draw a slip and read it aloud clearly - No mumbling or rushing to get through it.
The reader must keep a completely straight face: no smiling, laughing, snorting or lip-biting.
Crack up while reading and you take a drink.
Read it stone-faced and you're safe - No drink for you this round.
By default, everyone except the reader is free to laugh; agree in advance if hecklers are allowed.
You must read the whole statement out loud, even if you drew your own slip.
Used slips are set aside so they're not drawn twice in the same round.
Keep statements silly, not cruel - Nothing targeting a specific person in a hurtful way.
The reader can't cover their face, look away or stall to avoid laughing.

Variations & house rules

Eye contact edition

The reader must make eye contact with a chosen player the entire time they read. Staring someone down while saying something ridiculous is far harder than reading to the wall, and it turns the game into a two-person duel of composure.

Heckler's rules

The whole table is encouraged to do anything short of touching the reader to make them laugh - Funny faces, silly noises, dramatic reactions. The reader who survives this gauntlet earns a round where everyone else drinks instead.

Themed slips

Everyone writes to a theme - Terrible pickup lines, fake motivational quotes, things a toddler would say. A consistent theme sharpens the comedy and stops the pile from becoming random. It plays nicely alongside Most Likely To for a full night of writing games.

Two-strike knockout

Instead of drinking, laughing costs you a strike; two strikes and you're out of the round. The last player still composed wins and assigns drinks to everyone eliminated. Turns the party game into a tournament.

Phone edition

No paper needed - Everyone types statements into a shared notes app or group chat, then the phone is passed around and each reader reads the next unread line aloud. Perfect for spontaneous games when nobody has a pen.

Pro tips

Deadpan delivery is your armor - Read slowly and seriously; rushing to get it over with almost guarantees a laugh.

Take a breath and a sip of water before you read; a calm body is far easier to keep composed.

Don't look at the funniest person in the room while you read - Their face will end you.

When writing slips, absurd and unexpected beats crude - A weirdly specific mundane line often destroys people faster than a shock line.

Bite the inside of your cheek gently or press your tongue to the roof of your mouth; the small distraction can hold back a grin.

If you feel a laugh coming, read faster through that clause rather than pausing - Pauses are where giggles escape.

Where Straight Face fits on the shelf

Straight Face is one of the gentler picks on the shelf - 13th of 15 party games by intensity, rated 1 out of 5.
It needs at least 3 players to spark, but it scales all the way to 12+ - a true big-group game.
A typical session runs 15-30 min - 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

Straight Face belongs to a long family of composure and 'try not to laugh' games that predate any drinking version - Children have played staring and no-smiling contests for generations. The written-slip drinking format became popular as a low-cost party game precisely because it needs nothing but paper and produces guaranteed laughter, echoing party card games where players supply their own absurd content. It's a house-party and hostel-common-room favorite because it scales to almost any group and requires zero setup beyond a pen.

Drink responsibly: Straight Face is about as gentle as drinking games get - The penalty is a single sip and the worst that happens is you laugh too much. Keep the written statements silly rather than cruel, and steer clear of anything that singles out a person in the room in a hurtful way; the game is funniest when nobody is the butt of the joke. It plays perfectly with water or soft drinks, so include everyone regardless of what they're sipping, and let anyone sit out a round they're not feeling. See our safety guide for pacing tips and alcohol-free versions.

Straight Face FAQ

How do you play the Straight Face drinking game?

Everyone writes several silly or embarrassing statements on slips of paper and folds them into a shared pile. Players take turns drawing a slip and reading it aloud, and the reader has to keep a completely straight face - No smiling or laughing. If you crack up while reading, you take a drink; if you stay composed, you're safe. Play passes around the circle until the pile is empty, and you can write a fresh batch for another round.

What should you write for Straight Face statements?

Aim for lines that sound ridiculous when read aloud in a serious voice - Absurd confessions, silly declarations, oddly specific observations, or gloriously dumb one-liners. Unexpected and weird tends to beat crude or shocking, since surprise is what breaks people. Keep them playful rather than mean, and avoid anything that targets a specific person in a hurtful way.

How many people can play Straight Face?

It works well with anywhere from three to a dozen players. Around four to ten is ideal - Enough writers to keep the pile varied and enough spectators to pile pressure on the reader. For very large groups, split into two circles or use the two-strike knockout variation so turns don't drag.

Can you play Straight Face without alcohol?

Yes. Swap the drink for any penalty you like - A sip of water or soda, a point against you, or a strike in the knockout version. The heart of the game is the struggle to keep a straight face, which is just as funny sober. It's a great option for mixed groups where not everyone is drinking.

What counts as breaking your straight face?

Any visible loss of composure while you're reading: smiling, laughing, snorting, giggling, or biting your lip to hold it back. Groups vary on strictness - Some forgive a tiny twitch, others count the faintest grin. Agree on how strict you're being before you start, and appoint the table as judges so there's no arguing over whether that was a smile or a wince.

Straight Face Drinking Game

What you need & setup