One of my favorite games of all time is the drinking game Rage Cage. Tons of drinking games such as beer pong and King’s cup are popular at parties and group settings but I think Rage Cage alone has the capacity to make every person at a party or gathering feel included.
I think some of the mechanics of the game are the reason it is effective at allowing everyone in a room to participate. For starters, there’s no cap on the number of participants, unlike beer pong and it can be adjusted to fit any number of people. Moreover, it involves little setup that can usually be done in a few seconds by one person. There’s an incredibly low threshold, skill-wise, for most people to get started playing the game and the drinking aspect is typically more than enough incentive to get people involved.
The game often leads to team work when people try to gang up on one person and ensure that they end uo with the bitch cup or when people who are friends within the larger group attempt to target their other friends together. Additionally, the game can depend on speed when people try to get better in order to stack the person after as quickly as possible or get the shot on their first try since it allows them to put the cup anywhere on the table. I think the most interesting part is the role alcohol and intoxication plays in the inter-player dynamic and game-player dynamic. The more they get stacked, the worse a player plays, making it harder and more confusing to land the ball in high cup stacks.
These factors create a clear sense of fellowship between players, regardless of whether or not they knew each other before the game. It poses a challenge, that grows in difficulty as the game progresses and involves a very attainable level of skill (typically improved by the number of games played). Most importantly, the sensation modifying aspect of the alcohol intensifies the other two aesthetic facets and lowers inhibitions towards game-playing and socializing in general.
