Ready to crown a Shithead among your friends? Shithead drinking game blends strategy, sabotage, and just enough tequila to question your life choices. Whether you’re a card shark or just here for the booze, grab a drink, shuffle up, and brace yourself—because in this game, even winning feels like losing (but funnier). Let’s dive into the beautiful madness that is Shithead.
Table of Contents
What is the Shithead Drinking Game?
It’s a card game. It’s a drinking game. It’s a glorious mess. Born in the UK, raised in Aussie pubs, and now wrecking college dorms worldwide, Shithead is the unofficial Olympic sport of getting tipsy with strategy. It starts simple: be the first to ditch all your cards. Or fail, and be crowned the Shithead. With a drink. Or three.
The sober version’s got rules. The drunk one? Rules plus punishments, gender-based sips, and maybe a dance-off if things get weird. And they will get weird.
Known by many names—Karma, Palace, Idiot—Shithead adapts like a chameleon with beer goggles. Fast-paced, easy to learn, and absolutely unforgiving.
Shithead Drinking Game Setup and What You Need
Deck: Standard 52-card. No jokers unless chaos is your love language.
Players: 3 or more.
Booze: Pick your poison—beer, wine, shots, boxed sangria you regret buying.
Optional flair: Score sheet or BeerBaller’s “Skate Sheet” if you like nautical nonsense.
The Setup:
- 3 face-down cards (don’t peek)
- 3 face-up cards (everyone sees)
- 3 cards in hand (the only ones you can play at first)
You’ll be playing from the hand first, then the face-up cards, and finally the wild roulette of the mystery pile.
Shithead Card Rules and Powers (Drink or Die Edition)
Base Card Functions
Here’s your cheat sheet of power cards:
- 2 – Resets pile. Next player plays anything.
- 10 – Burns the pile. Boom. Fresh start.
- 4 – Skips the next player. Petty revenge card.
- 8 – You drink 2. That’s the tax.
- Jack – Give 2 drinks. Cheers, suckers.
- Queen – All girls drink. Blame the patriarchy.
- King – Everyone drinks. A royal mess.
House Rule Variants
- 7 – Force the next card to be lower than a 7, adding a fun reversal.
- Jokers – Wildcards that can burn the pile or make someone chug
- Triples/Stackables – Playing three of a kind lets you skip ahead or reverse order
- Burn pile punishment – Whoever causes a burn hands out drinks
- Face-down Roulette – If you misplay a blind card, you drink and pick up the pile
How to Play the Shithead Drinking Game (Step-by-Step)
Starting the Game
- Everyone gets 3 hand, 3 face-up, 3 face-down cards.
- Smallest card goes first. It’s not glamorous, but it’s strategic.
- Play begins from the hand pile only.
Taking Turns & Drinking Rules
- Play equal or higher than the top card.
- Can’t play? Pick up the pile and drink. Congrats.
- Drop a 10? Burn it and flex.
- Certain cards trigger drinks (King, Queen, 8, etc).
- Play two or more of the same card? That’s a power move.
- Blind round? Hope and pray. Wrong guess = drink + pick up pile. Skill meets chaos.
Ending the Game
- First to ditch all their cards = legend.
- Last one left = SHITHEAD.
- Punishments? Endless. Chug. Twerk. Tiktok dance? Your group decides.
Being Shithead isn’t a title—it’s a lifestyle. A very sloppy one.
Fun Variations of Shithead Drinking Game
- Captain Shithead – Add sailor hats and nautical roles, make the Shithead “sing sea shanties while shuffling” or serve drinks.
- Karma / Palace – Strategy-based with fewer drinking rules.
- Twisted Shithead – Fewer wildcards, no 2s or 10s, and emphasis on planning over luck.
- Dare Edition – Before each round, every player draws a dare. The loser must complete it.
- Burn Frenzy – Any four-of-a-kind instantly nukes the pile. Explosive fun.
- Gender-Based Drink Rules – Queen = girls drink, King = all chug, Jack = assign drinks.
- Reverse Combos – Certain doubles change direction. Trick your enemies. Betray your friends.
Invent your own twist. “No talking = take a shot” or “every time someone says ‘wait, what?'” gets punished. You do you.
Karma / Palace vs. Shithead: What’s the Difference?
Shithead vs. Palace / Karma: Quick Comparison
| Feature | Shithead | Palace | Karma |
| Chaos Level | High – pure party madness | Medium – clean and strategic | Varies – depends on house rules |
| Card Powers | 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Jokers | Mainly 2 and 10 | Custom – often includes new powers |
| Drinking Rules | Built-in (and brutal) | None by default – must be added | Often includes dares, drinks, and forfeits |
| Game Flow | Unpredictable, silly, fast | Tactical and steady | Wild – rules change based on group |
| Strategy vs. Luck | Mixed, with chaos ruling | Heavily strategic | Depends on how it’s modified |
| Best For | Parties, pre-games, wild nights | Quick sober rounds or light drinking games | Creative groups who love tweaking rules |
| Special Mechanics | Jokers, stacking, blind face-down plays | Four of a kind burns pile, reversals | Dare cards, wild rules, jokers with effects |
Drunken Shithead: 2-Player Rules
Setup
- Standard 52-card deck (no jokers unless you hate stability).
- Each player gets:
- 3 hand cards
- 3 face-up cards
- 3 face-down cards
- Create a shared discard pile in the center.
- Have your drinks ready. You’ll need them.
How to Play
- Take turns playing a card equal to or higher than the top card on the discard pile.
- Can’t play? Pick up the pile and drink.
- Run out of hand cards? Move to your face-up cards.
- Finish those? Start flipping your mystery face-downs—hope for mercy.
- First to empty all their cards wins.
- Last one standing? You guessed it. Shithead. Take your punishment shot, loser.
Drunken Card Game (2-Player Style)
- 2 – Resets the pile. The other player drinks. Power move.
- 4 – Skips the next turn. Skipped player drinks and grumbles.
- 8 – You drink 2. No reason. Just chaos.
- 10 – Burns the pile. The player who played it chooses who drinks.
- Jack – Assign 2 drinks to your rival. Do it with flair.
- Queen – If you’re a girl, drink. If not, choose who does. Gender politics, but fun.
- King – Both players drink. Regal regret is real.
2-Player Twists to Keep It Savage
- Play a Pair – The other player drinks.
- Mess Up a Face-Down Card – Pick up the pile and chug.
- Back-to-Back 10s – Winner picks a dare and a drink.
- Face-Up Staredown – If you know they’re about to burn you, bluff and distract. Psychological warfare is encouraged.
Optional Shithead Punishments
- Loser does a TikTok dance chosen by the winner.
- Loser takes a selfie and posts “I lost at Shithead” to their story.
- Each time someone becomes the Shithead, they write one embarrassing fact on a napkin to be read at the end.
This two-player version keeps the game tight, brutal, and hilarious—without needing a crowd. Just remember: in Shithead, even a 1v1 can feel like a war crime with enough tequila.
Pro Tips to Survive and Dominate Shithead Drinking Game
- Low cards first: Ditch the 3s and 4s before they trap you.
- Save your 2s & 10s: They’re your get-out-of-jail cards.
- Face-up strategy: Stack useful power cards here.
- Drink smart: That fourth shot might turn you into the Shithead.
- Fake confidence: No one can read you if you don’t even know your plan.
- Hydrate: Seriously. No one wants a hungover Shithead.
Final Thoughts: Why You’ll Love (or Hate) Being the Shithead
This game is fast, brutal, and wildly entertaining.It’s strategy meets slurring. Memory meets mayhem. The high-stakes world of drinking games needs a villain, and Shithead always delivers.
Play it once and you’ll laugh. Play it twice and you’ll scheme. Play it five times and someone’s definitely doing karaoke with a traffic cone. In Shithead, you either win… or you refill.