Beer Pong is a common physical drinking game.

Drinking games are games which involve the consumption of alcoholic beverages. These games vary widely in scope and complexity, although the purpose of most is to become intoxicated as quickly as possible. Evidence of the existence of drinking games dates back to antiquity.

The rapid consumption of alcohol, key to many drinking games, worsens judgement and decreases inhibition, and may lead to alcohol poisoning. As a result, drinking games have been banned at some American universities.^[1]

History[link]

Symposium, with scene of Kottabos - fresco from the Tomb of the Diver in Paestum, 475 BC

Ancient Greece[link]

According to Dr Rupert Thompson, the Orator of The University of Cambridge, the earliest reference to drinking games in Western literature is from Plato's Symposium The Drinking Party. The game was simple: fill a bowl with wine, drink it and pass it on to the next person. Kottabos is one of the earliest known drinking games from ancient Greece, dated to the 5th to 4th centuries BC. Players would use dregs to hit targets across the room with their wine. Often, there were special prizes and penalties for one's performance in the game.^[3]

Ancient China[link]

Drinking games were enjoyed in ancient China, usually incorporating the use of dice or verbal exchange of riddles.^[4] During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the Chinese used a silver canister where written lots could be drawn that designated which player had to drink and specifically how much; for example, from 1, 5, 7, or 10 measures of drink that the youngest player, or the last player to join the game, or the most talkative player, or the host, or the player with the greatest alcohol tolerance, etc. had to drink^[5] There were even drinking game referee officials, including a 'registrar of the rules' who knew all the rules to the game, a 'registrar of the horn' who tossed a silver flag down on calling out second offenses, and a 'governor' who decided one's third call of offense.^[6] These referees were used mainly for maintaining order (as drinking games often became rowdy) and for reviewing faults that could be punished with a player drinking a penalty cup.^[6] If a guest was considered a 'coward' for dropping out of the game, he could be branded as a 'deserter' and not invited back to further drinking bouts.^[6] There was another game where little puppets and dolls dressed as western foreigners with blue eyes (Iranian peoples) were set up and when one fell over, the person it pointed to had to empty his cup of wine.^[7]

Types of games[link]

Endurance[link]

The simplest drinking games are endurance games in which players compete to out-drink each other. Players take turns taking shots, and the last person standing is the winner. Some games have rules involving the "cascade", "fountain" or "waterfall", which encourages each player to drink constantly from their cup so long as the player before him does not stop drinking. Such games can also favor speed over quantity, in which players race to drink a case of beer the fastest.

Tolerance games are simply about seeing which player can last the longest. It can be as simple as two people matching each other drink for drink until one of the participants "passes out". Power hour and its variant, centurion, fall under this category. Another is the "Datsyuk Game" where a Datsyuk highlight reel is played on YouTube and contestants drink every time the word Datsyuk is mentioned. The ceremonial playing of the Russian national anthem before the game is an important tradition. Similar versions of the game are played, using the same premise, but using a different 'key word'.

Speed[link]

Many pub or bar games involve competitive drinking for speed and not necessarily for the quantity consumed. The object of these games may not be inebriation, but may simply involve "bragging rights" or wangs of cash which benefit the fastest drinker. Examples of such drinking games are Edward Fortyhands, boat races, beer bonging, shotgunning, flippy cup(a team-based speed game), and yard. The trick to speed drinking is opening the throat.^{[clarification needed]}

World records[link]

Petrosino broke a Guinness World record in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

The Guinness Book of Records began to list world records for speed drinking in this category in the early 1960s. These early drinking records involved drinking beer from challenging vessels such as the yard glass, which, if not correctly mastered, resulted in the user receiving a blast of beer in his or her face. The 1969 edition of the Guinness Book lists Lawrence Hill (age 22) of Bolton as having consumed a 2.5 pint yard of ale in 6.5 seconds on December 17, 1964. The 1974 edition lists Jack Boyle, age 52, of Barrow-in-Furness as having consumed a 3 pint yard of ale in 10.15 seconds on May 14, 1971. In the mid 1970s, Guinness began to list speed records achieved using any drinking vessel. The 1977 edition dropped the earlier records established by Hill and Boyle, and listed a 2.5 pint yard record by the RAF at Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire in 5.0 seconds and a three pint yard record established at Corby Town F.C. on January 23, 1976 in 5.5 seconds". The 1977 edition listed the new world record established at the Gingerbreadman Pub by Steven Petrosino, (age 25) of New Cumberland, Pennsylvania on June 22, 1977. Petrosino drank 1 litre of beer in 1.3 seconds.^[8] Petrosino approached the challenge scientifically, and used two specially designed half-litre drinking vessels to establish this world beer record.^[9] The 1977 edition also lists Peter G. Dowdeswell of Earls Barton for drinking two pints of beer from a single vessel in 2.3 seconds on June 11, 1975 and two litres in 6.0 seconds on 7 February 1975. These records were all dropped from the Guinness book in 1991 due to concerns about litigation.

Competitive skill games[link]

Some party and pub games focus on the doing of a particular act of skill, rather than on either the amount a participant drinks or the speed with which they do so. Notable examples include beer pong, quarters, and chandeliers. To some extent, the focus of the players on doing the act of skill, rather than simply drinking, means that these games could be played for a longer time without participants getting significantly intoxicated.

These games, however, do not allow the participants to choose how much they drink, as this is dependent on the act of skill. This means that the drinking will necessarily be distributed unevenly between players, depending on the how skilled the players are at the act that is the basis of the game.

Thinking[link]

Thinking games rely on the players' powers of observation, recollection, logic and articulation. Such games are not difficult at the onset, but become much more challenging as the game continues as players become inebriated and their coordination and memory deteriorate.

Numerous types of thinking games exist, including 21, beer checkers, bizz buzz, buffalo, bullshit, tourettes, matchboxes, never have I ever, roman numerals, fuzzy duck, pennying, wine games, and zoom schwartz profigliano. Trivia games, such as Trivial Pursuit, are sometimes played as drinking games.

Physical[link]

Several games involve a skill such as scoring a ping-pong or darts. Players must have good aim throughout the entire game, even as they become increasingly inebriated. Examples of these games include beer pong, caps, pong, beer darts and blackout.

Card and dice[link]

Kings is played with cards.

Several popular drinking games involving cards are asshole, fuck the dealer, horserace, Kings, liar's poker, pyramid,^[10] bloody knuckles, Ring of Fire, Toepen, ride the bus, and Black or Red.

Dice games include beer die, dudo, kinito, liar's dice, Mexico, mia, pounce!, ship, captain, and crew, tablero da Gucci, and three man.

Film[link]

Film drinking games are played while watching a movie (sometimes a TV show or a sporting event) and have a set of rules for who drinks when and how much based on on-screen events and dialogue. The rules may be the same for all players, or alternatively players may each be assigned rules related to particular characters. The rules are designed so that rarer events require larger drinks. Rule sets for such games are usually arbitrary and local, although they are sometimes published by fan clubs.

Matching the characters in the film Withnail and I has become an accepted drinking game, although the levels of consumption required for a single player are hazardous.^[11][12]

Music[link]

Rock and pop music tracks can also be used as a basis for drinking games. "Roxanne" by The Police is one example.^[13] One more example is the song "Thunderstruck" by ACDC in which a player begins drinking when the word thunder is sung and switches to the next player the next time it is sung. Also the song "Real Nigga Roll Call" by Lil Jon & Ice Cube, is another song that may be used for this method. "La Dispuke" is a game in which participants listen to La Dispute and drink when the words "Lover" or "Darling" are sung.

Sporting events[link]

Sport related drinking games involve the participants each selecting a scenario of the game resulting in their drink being downed. Examples of this include participants each picking a footballer in a game. Should this player score or be sent off, a drink must be taken. Extreme versions include a drink for every touch a player takes of the ball. Multiple players may also be selected.

Athletic races involving alcohol including the beer mile, which consists of a mile run with a can of beer consumed before each of the four laps. A variant of this game is known in German speaking countries as Bierkastenlauf (beer crate running): A team of two is carrying a crate of beer along a route of several kilometers and has to consume all bottles prior to crossing the finish line.

See also[link]

• Binge drinking
• Pub Golf
• Tequila Survivor

References[link]

Notes[link]

Resources[link]

• Benn, Charles (2002). China's Golden Age: Everyday Life in the Tang Dynasty. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-517665-0.
• Schafer, Edward H. (1963). The Golden Peaches of Samarkand: A study of T’ang Exotics. University of California Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles. 1st paperback edition: 1985. ISBN 0-520-05462-8.

External links[link]

• Drinking Games at the Open Directory Project

v t e Drinking games Word games 21 Fuzzy Duck Ibble Dibble Never have I ever Pong games Baseball Beer pong Beer pong with paddles Slam Table games Beer die Blackout Boat race Chandeliers Flip cup Moose Quarters Three Man Card games Around the World Asshole Horserace Kings Pyramid Ride the bus Dice games Biscuit Liar's dice Three Man 7/11/2x Binge drinking games Beer mile Boot of beer Centurion Edward Fortyhands Funneling Keg stand Power hour Shotgunning Wizard Staff Yard of ale Miscellaneous Beerdarts Buffalo Detonator Fingers (drinking game) Ice luge Icing Pennying Stump Book:Drinking games Category:Drinking games

Mark Wahlberg
Wahlberg at the 2011 Time 100 gala
Born	Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (1971-06-05) June 5, 1971 (age 41) Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Other names	Marky Mark Monk D
Occupation	Actor Producer Rapper (former)
Years active	1989–present
Spouse	Rhea Durham (m. 2009–present; 4 children)
Relatives	Donnie Wahlberg, Robert Wahlberg (brothers)

Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971) is an American actor, film and television producer, and former rapper. He was known as Marky Mark in his earlier years, and became famous for his 1989 debut as frontman with the band Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. He was named No. 1 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the 90's. Wahlberg is well known for his roles in films such as Boogie Nights (1997), Three Kings (1999), The Perfect Storm (2000), Planet of the Apes (2001), Rock Star (2001), The Italian Job (2003), I Heart Huckabees (2004), Four Brothers (2005), The Departed (2006), Invincible (2006), Shooter (2007), and The Fighter (2010), Date Night (2010). He has also served as the executive producer of the TV series Entourage, Boardwalk Empire and How to Make It in America.

Early life[link]

Wahlberg was born in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, the youngest of nine children,^[1] with siblings Arthur, Jim, Paul, Robert, Tracey, Michelle, Debbie (died in 2003 at age 44), and Donnie. His father was of half Swedish and half Irish ancestry, and his mother is of Irish, English, and French Canadian descent.^[2] Maternally, Wahlberg is distantly related to author Nathaniel Hawthorne.^[3] Wahlberg's mother, Alma Elaine (née Donnelly), was a bank clerk and nurse's aide, and Wahlberg's father, Donald Edward Wahlberg, was a Teamster who worked as a delivery driver. His parents divorced in 1982.^[4] Wahlberg had a Roman Catholic^[5][6] upbringing and attended Copley Square High School (but never graduated) on Newbury Street in Boston.

Racist assaults and attempted murder charges[link]

Wahlberg claims to have been in trouble 20–25 times with the Boston Police Department as a youth. By the age of 13, Wahlberg had developed an addiction to cocaine and other substances.^[7][8] At 15, he harassed a group of black school children on a field trip by throwing rocks and shouting racial epithets.^[9] When he was 16, while high on PCP, Wahlberg approached a middle-aged Vietnamese man on the street and, using a large wooden stick, knocked him unconscious (while calling him "Vietnam fucking shit"). He also attacked another Vietnamese man, leaving him permanently blind in one eye, and attacked a security guard (using foul language).^[10][11]

For these crimes, Wahlberg was charged with attempted murder. He pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to two years in jail at Boston's Deer Island House of Correction, of which he served 45 days.^[10][12] In another incident, the 21-year-old Wahlberg fractured the jaw of a neighbor in an unprovoked attack.^[13] "I did a lot of things that I regretted and I certainly paid for my mistakes," Wahlberg says. "You have to go and ask for forgiveness and it wasn't until I really started doing good and doing right, by other people as well as myself, that I really started to feel that guilt go away. So I don't have a problem going to sleep at night. I feel good when I wake up in the morning."^[14]

^[15]

Career[link]

Music[link]

Wahlberg first came to fame as the younger brother of Donnie Wahlberg of the successful 1980s and 1990s boy band New Kids on the Block. Mark, at age thirteen, had been one of the group's original members, along with Donnie, Danny Wood, Jordan Knight, and Jonathan Knight. However, he soon quit. It was his departure that eventually allowed Joe McIntyre to take his place as the fifth member of the group.

Wahlberg began recording as Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, earning a hit with "Good Vibrations" from the album Music for the People. The record was produced by brother Donnie and later hit No.1 on The Billboard Hot 100, later becoming certified as a Platinum single. The second single, "Wildside," peaked at No.5 on Billboards Hot Singles Sales chart and at No.10 on The Billboard Hot 100.^[16] It was certified as a Gold Single. Marky Mark opened for the New Kids on the Block during their last tour. The second Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch LP, You Gotta Believe, was not as successful as the prior, yielding only a minor hit single in the title track. Wahlberg later collaborated with the late reggae / ragga singer Prince Ital Joe on the album Life in the Streets. The project combined rap and ragga vocals with strong eurodance music (as in the singles Happy People, German No.1 hit United, Life in the Streets, and Babylon) courtesy of Frank Peterson and Alex Christensen as producers.

He was also featured in the Black Label Society music video for "Counterfeit God", as a stand-in for the band's bassist.^[17]

Advertising[link]

Wahlberg first displayed his physique in the Good Vibrations music video and most prominently in a series of underwear ads for Calvin Klein shot by Herb Ritts, following it with Calvin Klein television advertisements.^[18] Magazine and television promotions would sometimes feature Mark exclusively or accompanied by model Kate Moss. Annie Leibovitz also shot a famous session of Mark Wahlberg in underwear for Vanity Fair's annual Hall of Fame issue.^[19] He also made a workout video titled The Marky Mark Workout: Form... Focus... Fitness (ISBN 1-55510-910-1).

Film[link]

Wahlberg at the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011.

Wahlberg dropped the "Marky Mark" moniker and began an acting career, making his debut in the 1993 TV movie The Substitute. His big screen debut came the next year, with the Danny DeVito feature Renaissance Man. A basketball fanatic, he caught the attention of critics after appearing in The Basketball Diaries in 1995, playing the role of Mickey alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, in a film adaptation of the Jim Carroll book of the same name. He also starred in the 1996 James Foley thriller Fear.

He has earned many positive reviews after successful movies like Boogie Nights as Dirk Diggler, Three Kings, The Perfect Storm, The Italian Job, and Four Brothers. His performance in I ♥ Huckabees was voted best supporting performance of the year in the 2004 Village Voice Critics Poll. Wahlberg was originally cast as Linus Caldwell in Ocean's Eleven; Matt Damon played the role instead. The two later worked together in The Departed.^[20] Wahlberg was also considered for a role in the film Brokeback Mountain. It was originally intended to star him and Joaquin Phoenix, but Wahlberg was uncomfortable with the film's sex scenes and his role ultimately went to Jake Gyllenhaal.^[21]

Wahlberg starred in the American football drama, Invincible, based on the true story of bartender Vince Papale. He is also the executive producer of the HBO series Entourage which is loosely based on his experiences in Hollywood. He also appeared as a foul-mouthed Massachusetts State Police detective in Martin Scorsese's critically acclaimed thriller, The Departed in 2006, which netted him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, and an NSFC Best Supporting Actor award. Wahlberg has confirmed that he was approached to star in a sequel to The Departed, but it is still early in development. The sequel would reportedly revolve around the Staff Sergeant played by Wahlberg.^[22]

Wahlberg at the Shooter premiere in London, March 2007

Wahlberg at the premiere of Max Payne.

To prepare for his role in Shooter, Wahlberg attended long-range shooting training at Front Sight Firearms Training Institute near Pahrump, Nevada, and was able to hit a target at 1100 yards on his second day, a feat which usually takes weeks to achieve.^[23] He has said in a number of interviews that he will retire at the age of 40 to concentrate on parenthood^[24] and professional golf. However, in early 2007 he indicated that the latter was no longer the plan as "his golf game is horrible".^[25] He played Jack Salmon, a leading role in Peter Jackson's film of The Lovely Bones.^[26] In 2007, he starred opposite Joaquin Phoenix in We Own the Night, a movie about a family of police officers in New York City.

He starred in M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening as Eliot Moore, which premiered in movie theatres on June 13, 2008. The same year, he played the title role in Max Payne, based on a video game of the same name. While promoting Max Payne, Mark became involved in a playful feud with Saturday Night Live's Andy Samberg and threatened to "crack that big fucking nose of his." Samberg had done an impression of Wahlberg in a Saturday Night Live skit titled "Mark Wahlberg Talks To Animals."^[27][28] However, Wahlberg later appeared in a follow-up skit parodying both the original skit, Samberg's impression of Wahlberg, and his own threats to Samberg.^[29][30]

Personal life[link]

Family and relationships[link]

In the early '90s, Wahlberg dated former child actress Soleil Moon Frye.^[31] Wahlberg and model Rhea Durham have been together since 2001 and were married on August 1, 2009 at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills. The couple have four children, Ella Rae (born September 2, 2003), Michael Robert (born March 21, 2006), Brendan Joseph (born September 16, 2008) and Grace Margaret (born January 11, 2010). In a 2011 interview with USA Weekend, Wahlberg stated that he had taken his children to visit his old Dorchester neighborhood, saying "I want them to know that not everyone is as fortunate and how important it is to work hard and give back."^[32]

His father, a US Army veteran of the Korean War, died on February 14, 2008.^[33]

Religion[link]

Wahlberg is a committed Roman Catholic,^[34] who attends daily Mass, credits his faith and a priest from his childhood for helping him turn his life around, and recognizes the seriousness of his faith.^[6]

Charity work[link]

Actively involved in charity, Wahlberg established the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation in May 2001 for the purpose of raising and distributing funds to youth service and enrichment programs.^[35]

Wahlberg is also active with The Good Shepherd Center for Homeless Women and Children. In an interview, Mark said that it's important to let the homeless know that people care about them and are working to help the impoverished get back on their feet.^[36]

Tattoos[link]

Wahlberg has four tattoos done by various artists including Paul Timman.^[37] The tattoos include Sylvester the cat with Tweety Bird in his mouth on his ankle, a design of his initials "MW" with his surname "Wahlberg" on his upper right arm, and a Bob Marley tattoo with "One Love" on his upper left arm.^[38] The final tattoo, which Wahlberg holds as his most meaningful, is the rosary tattooed around his neck, with a crucifix and the words "In God I Trust" resting over his heart.^[38] On January 9, 2012 Wahlberg was a guest on The Late Show With David Letterman. He spoke about his tattoos and stated he is in the process of having them removed. Initially he was told it would take 8-10 laser treatments however he required over 30 treatments and is still in the process of getting them removed. He cited his career and children as the reason for the removal of the tattoos. His first tattoo was as a young teenager and it was of a shamrock. Because it was not professionally done, he said the shamrock was not straight and had the Tweety Bird tattoo placed over it after arriving in Los Angeles.

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mark Wahlberg

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Mark Wahlberg

• Mark Wahlberg at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Mark Wahlberg in libraries (WorldCat catalog)