How to Play The New Girl Drinking Game: True American

Players

• You can play solo or in teams
• No set number of people is specified, though a group of 5-8 is ideal

Materials

• Plenty of beer: 5 per player
• A bottle of liquor that is “The King”
• Pillows, blankets, chairs, sofa, furniture to counteract the floor being lava

Here’s how to set up the layout

This is quite complicated, so you can also refer to this image for guidance.

• Set up the bottle of liquor or “The King” in the middle
• Nestle the beers around it, along with the players
• The beers are the Prawns and Soldiers of the Secret Order
• The beers are lined up in four lines that move outward from the King
• These lines double as barriers between the four zones of the game
• There’s also an alternate zone called a “crazy” zone
• Add a trail of chairs, cushions, tables, etc through the zones as the floor is lava
• There are four zones that contain five spaces where players can stand
• The center of each zone is where Pawns can be grabbed and is the closest space to the Castle
• There are four center spaces for grabbing prawns, one per zone

Rules

• Floor is lava

• Everything that you hear in True American is a lie
• There can only be one True American
• When a player finishes their beer, they yell, “All trash belongs…” and all other players yell “in the junkyard!” at which point empty cans are thrown into a designated receptacle
• A player may yell “JFK” at any time, at which point everyone must yell “FDR” and finish their beer.
• If you play with Clinton Rules, the game includes stripping if you fail certain tasks
• Any time someone yells “Donald Trump,” all players must respond with “Build the Wall” and drink

While True American defies what we usually think of as a drinking game with its extremely chaotic rules (after all, its fiction),  it has one thing in common with classic drinking games: Get as drunk as you can while navigating the game zones under the rule of “floor is lava”.

The game kicks off with a classic shotgun start.  Select a player to yell, “One, two, three, JFK!” Everyone replies by shouting out “FDR!” This is your cue to race to the center table, grab a beer, and claim your nearest safe space. 

Don’t forget, the floor is lava!

The Molten Lava Shuffle:

Players move clockwise around the game area, one space at a time. However, the fun twist is that other players have to earn each move by completing challenges set by the player whose turn it is.

There are three actions to take on each turn. Choose one:

• Guessing Game: The player throws out two names or objects with a hidden connection. (Think “Abe Lincoln, George Washington” with the connection being “Cherry Tree”). Other players yell out the connection to drink and move on.
• Numbers: The player simply counts to “four.” At “four,” everyone throws a random number of fingers on their forehead. If your number matches the player’s turn, you drink and move!
• Famous Quotes: The player starts a well-known quote (think “Ask not what your country can do for you…”), and everyone shouts out the ending (“ask what you can do for your country!”). If you guess it right, drink and move on to the next zone.

Winning

• Once all the Prawn beers are gone,  it’s time for the real challenge as The King becomes vulnerable.
• The first player to land on a center space, finish their beer, and take a drink from the King is crowned the Truest American!

Losing

There are ways to lose or “get burned” in a game of True American:

• No beer in hand or only an empty one? You’re toast!
• Touch the “molten lava” floor? You’re done.
• Redemption, however, is easy! Just chug down a full beer and rejoin the game at a space chosen by the others.