12 Pubs of Christmas Rules

86 rules, 76 challenges and 54 forfeits for your 12 Pubs, sorted from easy to savage. One rule per pub, and whoever breaks it gets a forfeit.

How to do the 12 Pubs

1. Pick 12 pubs close together. Plan the route, and check opening hours in December.
2. Give every pub a rule. It lasts until you leave. Mix easy and classic ones, and save the savage ones for later.
3. Catch someone breaking it? They get a forfeit. Make forfeits funny, not "drink more".
4. Pub 4 is a water stop, pub 8 is a food stop. Actually do them.
5. Pub 12 is the finale. All rules lifted. Toast whoever made it.

The 12 Pubs app does all of this from one phone: it picks the rules, drops surprise challenges, rolls forfeits, hands out secret missions and makes a Wrapped-style recap at the end.

Easy 12 Pubs rules

Mild and silly. Good for a mixed group or your first 12 Pubs.

🍺 Drinking habits

• Left hand only. Drink with your right and you're caught.
• Order something you've never had before.
• Two hands on the glass. Always.
• Pinkie out every time you sip.
• Glass lives on a beer mat. Off the mat and you're caught.
• Water with everything. Every drink ordered here comes with a glass of water.
• Eye contact for every cheers. Look away and you're caught.

🗣️ Talking

• No swearing.
• No first names. Use 'boss', 'chief' or a nickname.
• Compliment sandwich. Every complaint has to be wrapped in two compliments.
• Cheers in a different language every time you clink. No repeats all pub.
• Big up the bar staff. Every order ends with a genuine compliment.

🤝 Social

• Phones off the table. Photos only.
• Seat swap. Nobody sits beside the person they sat beside last pub.
• Before your first sip, ask someone a question you've never asked them before.
• High fives all round for anyone coming back from the bar.
• Positive vibes only. No moaning about anything. At all.

🤪 Silly

• Everyone gets a new nickname at the door. Old names are banned.
• Salute every time someone says 'pint'.
• Clap twice before you sit down.
• Thumbs up to the bar staff every time you get served.

🧠 Brain

• Rhyme your order. Every drink order is a rhyming couplet.

💪 Physical

• Stand up to tell any story.

Classic 12 Pubs rules

The proper ones. What most groups play.

🍺 Drinking habits

• Five-minute pub. Everyone finishes their drink within 5 minutes of it landing on the table. Halves allowed.
• Thumb master. When they put a thumb on the table, everyone copies. Last one takes a forfeit.
• Sip word. The group picks a common word. Every time anyone says it, everyone sips.
• No drinking unless someone toasts first. Sip without a toast and you're caught.
• Hand on your head every time you sip.
• Someone else orders for you. No complaints.
• Say 'Sláinte' before every sip. Forget and you're caught.
• No touching your own glass. Someone else has to hand it to you.
• Copycat pub. You can only sip when the leader sips.
• Linked arms. Every sip happens arm-in-arm with someone.
• Clink before every sip. Find someone to clink with or wait.

🗣️ Talking

• Don't say 'drink', 'pint', 'beer' or 'pub'.
• No saying 'yes' or 'no'.
• Third person only. 'Harry would like a pint.'
• Accent pub. The group picks one accent and everyone keeps it all pub.
• Every sentence ends with 'lad'.
• Silent ordering. Order without saying the name of what you want.
• No English for the first 10 minutes. Any other language, or none.
• Pirate pub. Every sentence starts with 'Arr'.
• Sports commentator pub. Narrate whatever you're doing as you do it.
• No saying 'I' or 'me'. Find a way round it.
• Posh pub. Everyone talks like they're at a garden party.
• No talking about work, college or exams. Mention it and you're caught.
• Hashtag pub. End every sentence with a hashtag. Out loud.
• Robot pub. Talk like a robot and say 'beep' at the end of every sentence.
• Swap names with the person opposite you for the whole pub.
• County accents. Everyone picks a different Irish county and keeps its accent all pub.
• Toast master. Nobody sips until the toast master has toasted them by name.

🤝 Social

• Phones away completely, photos included.
• Standing pub. Nobody sits down.
• No pointing. Elbows only.
• Musical chairs. Every time someone goes to the bar, everyone shifts one seat left.
• One person goes to the bar per round and carries everything back.
• Introduce yourself formally every time you come back to the table.
• No checking the time. Ask someone and say please.
• Phones face down in the middle. First to touch theirs buys the crisps.
• Jacket on inside out for the whole pub.

🧠 Brain

• Maths toll. Before each sip, answer a sum set by the person on your left.
• Fizz buzz. Count round the table: 'fizz' for multiples of 3, 'buzz' for 5. Mess up, forfeit.
• Category pub. Pick a category (like Irish counties). Before each sip, name a new one. Repeat or freeze and you're caught.
• Spell it. Spell your drink out loud before ordering.
• Name that tune. When a song starts, first to name it picks someone for a forfeit. Guess wrong and it's you.

🤪 Silly

• T-Rex arms. Elbows stay tucked to your sides all pub.
• Duck walk to the bar and back.
• Everyone stands up whenever anyone says 'lads'.
• Dramatic gasps. Gasp loudly every time someone says the group's chosen word.
• Hat pub. Make a hat out of whatever you can find and wear it all pub.
• Slow-mo. When someone shouts 'action', everyone moves in slow motion for 10 seconds.

💪 Physical

• Sit on your hands whenever you're not holding your drink.
• Every time someone says 'Christmas', everyone does a squat.

Savage 12 Pubs rules

Hard to keep up. Best saved for the later pubs.

🗣️ Talking

• Questions only. Every sentence has to be a question.
• Rhyming pub. Each sentence must rhyme with the one before it.
• Opposite pub. Say the opposite of what you mean.
• Word ban. The group bans 'the'. Good luck.
• Every sentence has to include a colour.
• Alphabet pub. Each sentence starts with the next letter of the alphabet, round the table.
• No words starting with 'S'. Good luck saying anything.
• Yoda pub. Backwards, every sentence must be.

🤝 Social

• Swap one item of clothing with the person on your right, and keep it for the next two pubs.
• The group picks your opinion on everything for this pub. No disagreeing.

🧠 Brain

• Every question has to be answered with a number. Any number.

🤪 Silly

• Mime pub. For the first 10 minutes nobody talks. Mime everything, ordering included.

💪 Physical

• Wall pub. You can only sip with your back against a wall.

12 Pubs challenges

One-off things to do at a pub, either when you arrive or as a surprise halfway through your drink.

• Rock paper scissors tournament. Loser finishes their drink.
• Race the person opposite you to finish your drinks. Loser buys the next round of crisps.
• Blind taste test. Someone orders three drinks; guess which is which.
• Round of something local: a stout, a cider or an Irish whiskey. Soft drinks count.
• Never have I ever, five rounds. Sip if you have.
• Most likely to. Count to three and point. Most fingers on you means a big sip.
• Get a group photo with the bar staff.
• Find out a stranger's favourite pub in town and tell the group.
• Get another group to toast with you.
• Get a stranger to tell you an embarrassing story before you leave.
• Everyone tells a story the rest of the group has never heard.
• Everyone names their favourite pub so far and defends it.
• The group writes a text. You send it to someone of their choosing.
• Order your drink in the worst accent you can do.
• Ask the bar staff for their honest rating of your outfit.
• Give a 30-second toast to the whole pub. Volume required.
• Get a stranger to sign your arm with a pen.
• Post the worst photo of yourself from tonight to your story.
• Group picks your Instagram story caption for the next hour.
• Request a song from the bar staff. If there's a band, request one from them.
• Arm wrestle tournament. Champion picks the next rule victim.
• Walk to the next pub in a conga line.
• Piggyback someone at least halfway to the next pub.
• Coin flip game. Land a coin in an empty glass. Last to do it takes a forfeit.
• Pub quiz. Each person asks one question; the group keeps score.
• Guess the bill. Closest guess to the round's total wins; furthest buys the crisps.
• Name a country for each letter of the alphabet, round the table. Freeze and you're out.
• Mental maths speed round. Loser of three sums finishes their drink.
• Everyone writes a fake fact about themselves. Guess whose is whose.
• Recreate an old photo of the group, as accurately as possible.
• Staring contest bracket. Champion gets a free pass on the next forfeit.
• Everyone describes the person to their left in exactly three words.
• Two truths and a lie, round the table.
• Everyone shares the best thing that happened to them this year.
• Toast to someone who isn't here tonight.
• Everyone says what their autobiography would be called.
• Guess everyone's go-to order. Most right wins.
• Would you rather, round the table. Everyone asks one.
• Explain a film badly. The group guesses which one.
• Name all 32 counties as a group in two minutes.
• Rank the pubs so far. The whole group has to agree.
• Group photo where everyone pulls their worst face.
• Invent a team name for tonight. Best one wins.
• Make up a group handshake. Use it all pub.
• Everyone does an impression of the person on their right.
• Thumb war tournament. The champion picks the next person for a forfeit.
• Beer mat flip. Flip one off the table edge and catch it. Last to do it takes a forfeit.
• Plank-off. Last one holding wins; first to drop takes a forfeit.
• Everyone orders the drink the person on their left would least expect. Soft drinks count.
• Rock paper scissors, round the table. The champion is immune to the next forfeit.
• Hot seat. Two minutes, the group can ask you anything.
• Order the round using only a made-up language and pointing.
• Pick the music. Ask the bar staff nicely if they'll play one song.
• Everyone texts someone they haven't spoken to in ages: 'Thinking of you, happy Christmas!'
• Everyone shares their best moment of the night so far.
• Everyone does a 30-second wall sit. Right now.
• Arm wrestle the person opposite. Losers fetch a round of waters.
• Conga to the bar and back. Everyone.
• Freeze! Everyone holds their exact pose for 30 seconds. First to move takes a forfeit.
• Staring contest with the person opposite. Losers buy the crisps.
• Everyone swaps one item (hat, scarf, jacket) with the person on their left until the next pub.
• Quickfire Christmas songs. Name one each, round the table. Freeze and you're out.
• Quickfire capitals. Someone names a country, the next person names its capital. Freeze and you're out.
• Water round. Everyone gets a glass of water and finishes it before anything else.
• Swap drinks with the person on your right for one sip.
• The person with the most forfeits picks everyone's next drink. Soft drinks count.
• Get a stranger to teach you a dance move. Then show the group.
• Ask the bar staff to recommend your next drink, and order it.
• Lead the whole table in a song. At least one full verse.
• Find someone in the pub with the same birthday month as you.
• Get a stranger to guess your job. Keep going until they get it.
• Call a parent on speaker and tell them you love them.
• Get three strangers to tell you their favourite crisps.
• Give a stranger a genuine compliment on their outfit.
• Say the alphabet backwards. Get it wrong and take a forfeit.
• Give a 30-second wedding speech for two people at the table.

12 Pubs forfeits

For whoever gets caught breaking the rule.

• Big sip.
• Finish your drink.
• Drink from someone else's glass. They choose how much.
• Buy the next round of shots or crisps. Your choice, the group decides how many.
• 10 squats, right now.
• 20 push-ups on the pub floor.
• Carry everyone's coats to the next pub.
• Compliment everyone at the table, one by one.
• Text your mam 'I love you' and read out the reply.
• Text your ex 'thinking of you'. Or a full drink instead.
• Group gets your phone for 60 seconds. Anything but messages.
• Call someone and sing them happy birthday. It doesn't have to be their birthday.
• Wear the tinsel until the next pub.
• Do an impression of someone in the group. They pick who.
• Whisper only until the next pub.
• Speak in a pirate voice until your next forfeit.
• Sing the opening line of a Christmas song. Loudly.
• Stand on your chair and announce your crimes to the pub.
• Tell your most embarrassing story. The group judges if it counts.
• The group writes your next Instagram story. It stays up 24 hours.
• Name 10 pubs in this town in 30 seconds or take a big sip.
• Wear a napkin hat until the next pub.
• Talk in rhymes until your next sip.
• Say something nice about every pub so far.
• Build a five-high beer mat tower before your next sip.
• Ten seconds of your best robot dance.
• Speak in the third person until the next pub.
• Be the group's butler for the next round. Fetch, carry, and say 'certainly'.
• Runway walk to the bar and back.
• Take your next three sips through a straw.
• 15 star jumps.
• Drink a full glass of water before your next drink.
• Hold a plank for 30 seconds.
• Lunge your way to the bar.
• Buy a round of waters for the table.
• Give the group a 30-second motivational speech.
• Tell the table a joke. Nobody laughs, tell another.
• Send a voice note to the family group chat singing Jingle Bells.
• Ring a friend and tell them a terrible joke. They have to laugh.
• Sing the chorus of your most-played song this year.
• Post 'I love 12 Pubs' to your story with no context.
• The group picks your profile picture for 24 hours.
• Let the group read your last three searches out loud.
• Give a stranger a genuine compliment.
• Ask the bar staff to rate your dancing out of 10. Then dance.
• Serenade someone at the table. The group picks the song.
• Twenty-second interpretive dance about your day.
• Swap an item of clothing with whoever the group picks, until the next pub.
• Name five Irish counties in five seconds.
• Name every pub so far, in order.
• Spell the name of this pub backwards.
• Alphabet backwards in 30 seconds.
• Your next drink is a half.
• Your next drink is the group's choice. Soft drinks count.

12 Pubs FAQ

Look after each other

If a mate's had too much, call it: water, food, a taxi home. Nobody walks home alone. This time of year is for fun, not A&E.

18+ only. Nobody has to drink to play, and soft drinks always count. Look after each other, and never drink and drive. Emergency: 112 or 999.