Alcohol and gaming don’t tend to mix very well, but there are some games where a drink in the hand doesn’t automatically mean “Game Over.”
It seems obvious that combining a beer or two with any game requiring even a modicum of preciseness or skill would be a huge no-no. However, if there are games that go hand in hand with a pint of beer, what kind of characteristics should they have? According to L.B. Jeffries, from Issue 180 of The Escapist, they should have plenty of downtime, pauses for social interaction and a lower level of complexity. These criteria produce games that even the sober can enjoy:
The obvious places to start are bowling and golf games. Since players are drunk, you can’t really expect them to handle multiple buttons. Or even a joystick, if it’s a Friday after happy hour. Enter the ball controller. With one delightfully uncoordinated spin, you can launch a golf ball, throw a strike or arc a Frisbee. It’s hard to refer to any particular game in this instance because there are so many variations and knock-offs, but we’ve all seen them before: You spin the ball, then kick back to watch 15 to 20 seconds of instant replays – plenty of time to take a sip or two.
Jeffries cites Big Buck Hunter and Wii Sports as games made for alcoholic gaming joyrides. I’d say The Sims 3 would make for some hilarious drunken antics. Read “One Button, One Scotch, One Beer,” and share your opinion on how you like your scotch – on the rocks, with a twist of WoW, perhaps?
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