If you’ve ever seen “New Girl,” you know that some of the best episodes are ones where the loftmates get totally wasted and crazy playing their made-up drinking game, True American. While the rules are not easy to follow just from watching the show, there has been a comprehensive guide created for the Wiki.
In my experience playing True American, I will say that it is not as simple as studying the graphic and reading the rules. There will have to be alterations depending on the size room you have, the number of people who are playing, what you’re drinking and what you’re willing to do. The alterations we made had to do with how we wanted to finish the game. Instead of the winner being whoever was closest to the table when all the beers were drunk (not all of us even drank beer), we made it so the winner was whoever made it a full rotation back into their “home zone.”
Since there were six of us playing, we divided the room into six zones with about five spaces made up of either cushion, pillows or chairs to keep everyone out of the “lava.” The rule we made was that everyone had to hit at least three spaces in each zone, this way it didn’t take quite so long to get all the way around. Everyone began in their own home zone, which was the place you wanted to round the circle to or the place you would get sent back to if you didn’t follow the rules or stepped into the lava.
The person whose turn it was would always drink and move forward. The way others in the circle could move happened one of three ways—if they matched the number thrown up on the current player’s forehead, if they finished a quote or if they were able to figure out the similarity between two things they would name. There was the additional component of creating a rule on your turn (“if you’re standing on a pillow, you have to stand on one foot” or “if you’re drinking out of a bottle, you have to finish your drink”). They could be ongoing or one-time rules, but the only way they could be broken was if you got caught.
This created an environment full of yelling and laughing (sorry to Sarah, Sydney and Kenzie’s neighbors…). Throwing up numbers seemed to be the game play used most frequently as it was the easiest, so if you want to use more of the other two, be sure to come prepared with ideas. The guys were not into it as much as the girls, having not been fans of the show previously, so that led them back to their home zones quite frequently.
And, as drinking games go, this will get you drunk fast if you’re not paying attention (I wasn’t.). It also makes a difference what kind of alcohol you’re consuming. The game is meant to be played with beer, but some of us had mixed drinks or wine, which led to all of us getting into bed before 10:30 (and one of us staying up a bit longer and puking…). While the aftermath might not have been the best, this game is highly recommended for responsible drinkers and fans of “New Girl.”
Maybe next time I’ll have to try the Clinton rules.