On Vox: the story of the Civil War Drinking Game
The Civil War: Honorable Manhood
The Civil War Drinking Game is one of the most practically educational drinking games you can play. This game, as far as I know, was played for the first time in an Oberlin dorm in the dead of winter term 2003. The rules are very simple, but this is nonetheless one of the most grueling (but educational!) drinking games most people will ever attempt.
THE RULES:
1. Procure a copy of The Civil War by Ken Burns, a nine-episode, 11-hour documentary miniseries. Also procure at least... well, I'm trying to come up with an average beers per person, but I really just can't. So get as much beer as you can get your hands on.
2. Split into two teams, Union and Confederacy, based on state of origin.
3. Start up the Civil War. Each team drinks when their side incurs casualties or loses a city. The heaviness of the drinking should match the heaviness of the casualties.
Veteran players agree: the Civil War Drinking Games gives you a better, more visceral understanding of the history of the Civil War than any textbook ever could. You remember McClellan's incompetence a whole lot better when his fuckups are constantly causing you to have to drink even more cheap beer. The Confederacy gets the early exultation of kicking the Union around at Bull Run and Shiloh for a couple hours, the turning point at Gettysburg and later, the utter brutality of Sherman's march to the sea. Everyone gets pretty fucked up on Antietam. And it all seems so much more weighty when you're sort of participating.
Now, it's very difficult doing this all in one sitting; as far as I know, it's never been done. But even split up over a few nights, it's a worthwhile undertaking.
Originally posted on loveforthreeoranges.vox.com