Roxanne Drinking Game

This is by far one of my favourite drinking games, blending a great song with a copious amount of booze. If you haven’t seen my post on the Paranoia drinking game, that’s also worth checking out if you’re looking for a few pre-drink games or houseparty ideas. But today I want to cover the musical classic drinking game.

How Do You Play?

Firstly, the group has to be split into two. You will then need to play Roxanne by The Police so everyone can hear.

Every time the word ‘Roxanne’ is stated, group 1 has to drink. Every time the words ‘put on the red light’ are stated, group 2 has to have a drink. Keep going until the song ends, which is 3 minutes and 12 seconds.

When I say ‘a drink’, this is normally one finger of your drink, or a shot if you set them up beforehand. But be prepared for these to come thick and fast.

What Will You Need?

Before you play, you will need the following items setup:

• Something to play music, such as a Laptop or Mobile Phone, with the sound up so everyone can hear.
• Drinks setup for everyone – make sure nobody has an almost empty drink, then claiming ‘they’re topping up’ when they should be drinking.

The Pros And Cons

This is a great game as everyone can join in, regardless of the size of the group. It pushes everyone to get involved and it’s also a great song to listen to. It’s also great for those in the group that might be a little shy.

One issue is that there isn’t much communication, everyone is just listening for the line to come on. Also, the game is over in 3 minutes and it’s not quite as fun playing a second time, so it doesn’t have much longevity.

How Many Times Will I Have To Drink?

I got curious about this, so I had a quick look over the lyrics to work it out. ‘Roxanne’ comes up 26 times, while ‘put on the red light’ comes up 25 times.

So it’s technically easier to avoid Roxanne, but just by 1 time, so I wouldn’t worry too much, everyone will be getting equally involved.

So enjoy the game, let me know how you get on and, as always, drink responsibly!

Why Roxanne?

The classic song was released by The Police in 1978 and peaked at no12 in the singles charts in the UK, however it has achieved greater fame over time, taking its place in the Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest songs of all time.

However, it wasn’t chosen because it was a great song, it simply involved a sentence that is heavily repeated throughout the song. This drinking game can be adapted for other songs, providing you have a good 25-30 repeats of a certain word or sentence, hence why people fell in love with the What’s This drinking game. Definitely check that out if you want a more unique one, but get ready to step up a level!