Ride the bus


Ride the bus is a drinking game played through using a standard pack of cards. The object of the game is to have the fewest cards at the end of the round.

Setup

The first part of the game is for the dealer to set up the table of cards, called The Bus. This can be done in two ways;

Diamond

This method requires 9 cards, placed in a diamond pattern of 1,2,3,2,1 cards, so that the start and end of the Bus are shorter than the center. If there are eight people, you must arrange an extra row.

Triangle

This requires placing 10 cards face down on the table in a non-overlapping triangle. The triangle consists of 4, 3, 2, and 1 card per layer, with the apex facing the dealer.

Deal

The dealer deals four cards to each player, beginning on their left. Remaining cards are left aside in the pile. The pile is left aside as it will be used at the end of the round.

Alternate Dealing Pattern

The dealer deals cards to each player in 4 rounds and each time the player gets the answer wrong, he/she must drink:
  1. Player must guess the color of the card.
  2. Player must guess whether the card is higher or lower.
  3. Player must guess whether the face value of the card is between or outside the previous two cards.
  4. Player must guess the suit of the card.

    "Riding the Bus"

The dealer then turns a card in the furthest row of the Bus. All players with a card with the same face value may choose to play as many as they have and then discard the played cards. If a player has a playable card, they nominate any other player to take a drink of the victim's choice. If the card turned over was from the bottom row, the player with a playable card can nominate another player to take one drink. Each successive row increases the amount of drinks the nominated player can be forced to take. Ex. If a player with a playable card plays his/her card in the last row of the bus containing only 1 card, the player can nominate 1 player to take 4 drinks or nominate several players to take a drink.
Play continues with the Dealer gradually showing every card in the Bus, being sure to empty each row before uncovering the next.
The game ends once the card in the bottom row of the Bus has been acquired. The player with the most cards remaining will continue playing from the beginning using the alternate deal until he/she guesses the answer correct.
Aces are neither high and low. Drawing an ace immediately requires a drink and restarts the round. This rule originated in Nova Scotia and has been followed since the mid 90s.