Welcome to the wildest, most chaotic Borderlands experience yet! Whether you’re looting for the legendary gear or watching your favorite Vault Hunters on the big screen, one thing is certain—you’re going to need a drink. This drinking game guide turns the mayhem into a booze-fueled adventure, leaving you laughing, looting, and tipsy. Just remember to drink responsibly—and may the best Vault Hunter win!
Table of Contents
What’s Borderlands Drinking Game
We’ve designed custom drinking rules for every Borderlands video game—and even the 2024 Borderlands movie. Prepare yourself for epic chugging, shot-taking, and sip-slurping while Claptrap annoys you to death, Handsome Jack insults your very existence, and Tiny Tina blows up everything in sight. Grab your favorite drink, get your friends, and dive into five ways to get wasted with the Borderlands universe. Please don’t blame me if you’re seeing double after fighting Skags!
Borderlands 1 (2009) Drinking Game Rules
Let’s start where it all began—the original Borderlands. Back when Pandora was just a barren wasteland, and Scooter’s iconic “Catch a riiiiide!” became the battle cry of reckless vehicle driving. The game that started it all deserves some truly wild drinking rules, so grab a drink every time you hear a voice line that makes you want to punch something.
General Drinking Triggers:
- Open a loot chest: Take a sip. It’s like opening Pandora’s box, except instead of nightmares, you get a crappy pistol.
- Receive a quest: Sip again. Every time someone makes you run across the map, drink to numb the pain of excessive backtracking.
- Level up: Take a celebratory gulp—being a badass is thirsty work!
- Miss a sniper shot: Sip for your shame. If you miss twice in a row, take a shot and consider switching to a shotgun.
- Scooter says “Catch a riiide!”: Take a shot. If Ellie ever says it, just finish your drink because she’s got enough horsepower to knock you flat.
Character-Specific Triggers:
- Lilith (The Siren): Every time you Phasewalk into a bunch of enemies thinking it’s a good idea but immediately regret it, take two shots. If you manage to Phasewalk away without dying, sip and cheer for your survival.
- Roland (The Soldier): Deploy your turret and draw aggro? Sip. Deploy it for no reason other than to block bullets while you run away? Take a shot and own your cowardice.
- Mordecai (The Hunter): Bloodwing misses an enemy? Shot. Bloodwing flies into a wall and just flaps there uselessly? Two shots. Let’s face it, you’re better off just throwing grenades.
- Brick (The Berserker): Melee an enemy to death? Sip with pride. Accidentally kill yourself with a rocket launcher because you thought you could tank it? Chug your drink and maybe lay off the explosives for a while.
Legendary Loot Rule:
- Finally get a legendary drop? Take a victory shot! But if it’s the wrong element or stats, groan loudly and take another out of sheer frustration.
Borderlands 2 (2012) Drinking Game Rules
Ah, Borderlands 2—the game where Handsome Jack torments you with an endless supply of insults, Claptrap won’t stop calling you “minion,” and you’re constantly on the hunt for that one perfect weapon. This game takes the chaos up several notches, and so do the drinking rules.
General Drinking Triggers:
- Claptrap calls you “minion”: Take a sip. Every time you cringe or die a little inside, take another sip.
- Handsome Jack insults you: Shot. If he calls you something creative, like a “worthless Vault Hunter”, take two shots.
- Someone says “Got a job for ya!”: Sip. If they say, “Come on back,” after you complete it, sip again because you’re basically a glorified delivery person.
- Tiny Tina references explosives: Finish your drink. Seriously, she’s the queen of chaos, and we love it.
Character-Specific Triggers:
- Maya (The Siren): Every time you Phaselock the wrong enemy and end up pulling a Psycho instead of a badass, take a shot. If you accidentally Phaselock an exploding barrel, just finish your drink—you deserve it.
- Salvador (The Gunzerker): Take a shot when you Gunzerk with a sniper rifle equipped. If you do this intentionally, you might need a different game plan (or a stronger drink).
- Gaige (The Mechromancer): Drink every time Deathtrap glitches and gets stuck behind a wall. If you lose your Anarchy stacks by accidentally reloading, take two shots and scream into the void.
- Axton (The Commando): Every time your Sabre Turret shoots at absolutely nothing or misses the target entirely, sip. If it actually helps you survive, take a shot out of sheer gratitude.
Epic Boss Fights Drinking Rules:
- Die to a Badass enemy: Take a shot for each death. If you survive by the skin of your teeth, sip and toast to your own awesomeness.
- Get killed by a boss: Chug. If you beat the boss without dying, make everyone else drink in your honor.
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (2014) Drinking Game Rules
In Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, you’re up on Pandora’s moon with zero gravity, oxygen tanks, and more Jack than you ever wanted to deal with. The rules get a little spacey, but so do the drinks.
Moon Mechanics Drinking Game:
- Oxygen canister pickup: Sip. You’re gonna need it to keep breathing (in both the game and real life).
- Fall off the map and drift into space: Take a shot and curse at the moon. If your teammates laugh at you, they have to drink too.
Character-Specific Triggers:
- Athena (The Gladiator): Reflect a bullet with your shield? Sip. If it ricochets and kills an enemy, take two shots and bask in your skills.
- Nisha (The Lawbringer): Use “Showdown” and miss half your shots? Sip out of shame. If you pull off a perfect combo, take a celebratory shot.
- Wilhelm (The Enforcer): Chug when you put a skill point in the wrong skill tree. If this happens during a boss fight, finish your drink because you’re going to need it.
Jack’s Ego Rule:
- Every time Handsome Jack calls himself a hero, take a shot. If he belittles someone else to boost his own ego, take two. You’ll be drunk in no time.
Borderlands 3 (2019) Drinking Game Rules
Welcome to Borderlands 3, where the Calypso Twins have turned Pandora into a social media nightmare, and you’re just trying to survive their livestreamed chaos. The drinking rules here are a bit more intense—just like the game itself.
General Drinking Triggers:
- “Butt Stallion” gets mentioned: Shot. Every time Moxxi makes an innuendo, sip flirtatiously.
- Tyreen Calypso rants about being a god: Sip. If she calls you a “scrub” or something equally insulting, take a shot.
Character-Specific Triggers:
- Amara (The Siren): Every time you miss a melee attack, take a shot. If you hit and it’s super effective, sip and high-five yourself.
- FL4K (The Beastmaster): Drink when your pet glitches or gets stuck in some ridiculous place. If your pet kills something without your help, sip in admiration.
- Moze (The Gunner): Take a shot when your Iron Bear runs out of fuel at the worst possible moment. If you blow yourself up with a grenade, chug.
- Zane (The Operative): Sip every time your Digi-Clone fails to distract anyone. If it actually helps, take a victory shot.
Loot Mayhem Rules:
- Golden Key drop: Sip when you don’t get anything useful. If you get a perfect legendary, make everyone else finish their drinks because you’re a god among Vault Hunters.
Mayhem Mode Madness:
- Trigger an elemental explosion that backfires and damages you? Take a shot and try not to set yourself on fire next time.
The Borderlands series has two exciting editions that dive into Tiny Tina’s wild imagination: Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep (2013) and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands (2022). Both games take players on a D&D-style adventure full of fantasy, chaos, and Tina’s unique storytelling. If you’re interested in adding a fun drinking game twist to your Borderlands experience, head over to Borderlands DND Drinking Game: Tiny Tina’s Chaos Edition.
Tales from the Borderlands (2014) Drinking Game
Tales from the Borderlands brings a narrative-driven, episodic adventure that’s filled with humor, deception, and plenty of gun-toting mayhem. As Rhys and Fiona navigate through Pandora’s chaos, you can navigate through this drinking game to enhance the experience. Just make sure your decisions don’t get too wobbly!
General Drinking Triggers:
- Rhys does something awkward: Sip. If his awkwardness leads to trouble, take a shot.
- Fiona pulls off a con: Take a sip for every successful con. If it backfires, take a shot to drown the failure.
- Claptrap appears: Sip every time Claptrap makes an appearance. If he tries to be useful (and fails), take two shots.
Story Decisions and Dialogue:
- Make a morally questionable choice: Sip and embrace your villainous side.
- Encounter Handsome Jack’s AI: Take a shot. If he manipulates Rhys, sip again.
- Every time Sasha flirts with Rhys: Sip. If Rhys flirts back, finish your drink in secondhand embarrassment.
Vault Madness:
- Every time you see a vault symbol: Take a sip.
- Someone dies in a funny or unexpected way: Take a shot.
- When Gortys, the robot, does something adorable: Sip with a smile.
New Tales from the Borderlands (2022) Drinking Game
In New Tales from the Borderlands, you get to experience a fresh set of misfits trying to survive on Promethea. The action, humor, and chaos continue in this follow-up, and so do the drinking rules.
General Drinking Triggers:
- Fran’s frozen yogurt store appears: Sip every time it’s mentioned or featured.
- Octavio makes a ridiculous business plan: Sip, then question your own life choices.
- Anu nerds out about science: Take a shot for every science fact you don’t understand.
Character-Specific Triggers:
- Anu (The Scientist): Sip when she tries to reason with someone using logic. If it works, take another sip out of sheer surprise.
- Octavio (The Fame-Seeker): Drink when his fame-hungry schemes fail miserably.
- Fran (The Frozen Yogurt Queen): Sip for every time she uses her hoverchair in an unnecessarily dramatic way. If it leads to a fight, take a shot.
Vault Key Shenanigans:
- Every time the group gets closer to finding a Vault Key: Sip. If they lose track of it or are outsmarted by a rival, take a shot.
- Tediore soldiers appear: Sip for every over-the-top battle sequence.
Borderlands (2024) Film Drinking Game
And now, for the grand finale—Borderlands on the big screen! The 2024 Borderlands film adaptation brings all the vault hunting chaos to life, so it’s only fitting we give it some epic drinking game rules.
General Drinking Triggers:
- Lilith uses her gunslinger skills: Sip every time Cate Blanchett steals the show with her badassery.
- Claptrap says something dramatic or annoying: Shot. If he tries to be funny and fails, take two shots.
- Roland gets all serious and gives a motivational speech: Sip and pretend you’re inspired.
Movie-Specific Triggers:
- Atlas manipulates or threatens someone: Sip If he acts like a typical corporate villain, take a shot.
- Psychos on screen: Take a shot every time a Psycho shows up. If one screams about “the meat bicycle,” chug for dear life.
- Tiny Tina throws a grenade: Finish your drink. Explosives and booze, what could go wrong?
Epic Action Scene Rules:
- Sip during any vault scene where characters are trying to unlock some ancient Eridian treasure. If Krieg goes on a rampage, chug your drink and scream like a Psycho.
Borderlands Drinking Game: Drink Through the Chaos
There you have it—five Borderlands experiences, five ways to get completely obliterated. Whether you’re looting, shooting, or just enjoying the chaos on screen, these drinking games will take your Borderlands experience to the next level. So grab your drink of choice, call your friends, and dive into the mayhem. Just remember, Vault Hunter—drink responsibly, or you might end up in Fight For Your Life mode!