Game of Thrones Drinking Game Season 6 Update: Halfway There, Chugging Along
With five episodes down (and a Monday holiday), it's time to check in on our Drinking Game and see how much liver damage it has inflicted. Reminder: it is important to play this game at your own pace. The total number of drinks will be the same, but if you have work in the morning, taking sips instead of gulps will help. If you're in college, on the other hand, drink up! With the heart-rending (figuratively and literally) deaths this show puts us through, a little liquid layer may dull the pain...or help the tears flow when Summer and Hodor both sacrifice themselves for Bran.
Rule Adjustments
One key adjustment encouraged by Kat saved us from drowning like Euron in Ironman's Bay: the Birdwatching rule was changed from an incremental rule to a one drink rule after a seven-spot in Episode 3 contributed 28 drinks. That was mild compared to the 66 it would have racked up in Episode 4 under the old rules. Instead, it *just* placed first with a solid (or maybe wobbly) 11 drinks. Episode 5 had another 8 (36 under the old rules), keeping Birdwatching firmly in first place overall. This surge has been downright...cuckoo.
We had our first strong showing by the Bastard Builder in Episode 4 with three mentions contributing 6 drinks. The "B"-word disappeared again in Episode 5. The White Walkers switched those, no-showing Episode 4 before appearing in three scenes for 6 drinks in Episode 5.
As for trends, the most consistent rule since the elimination of Scenery is Horses, contributing 3, 2, 3, 2, and 5 drinks so far. Kinslaying (0,12,0,0,0) and White Walkers (0,0,0,0,6) are on the other end of the consistency spectrum.
The biggest surprise is Littlefinger not creeping despite increased screentime. I thought he would be in top form seeing Sansa again, but her verbal dressing-down prevented him from ocularly undressing or otherwise harassing her. Somehow he and "Winter is Coming" are yet to contribute a single drink.
Of course, creating the perfect Drinking Game requires constant adjustments. This week we're removing both "setback" rules. I've found it difficult to determine what counts as a setback for a given party, so we'll scrap it altogether. New this week is the Giantsbane-Tarth rule, counting for two drinks every time we get to see Tormund hit on Brienne. Something needs to bring happiness into this show, and right now this budding romance is it.
Chart? Chart!
Here's a list of the updated rules:
1 Drink
- Nudity
- Tyrion says "drink", "drank", "drunk"
- Oaths, honor, loyalty, traitors
- Horses
- Birdwatching - any involvement of birds
- One character talks to another who doesn't look at the speaker
2 Drinks
- White Walkers
- "Winter is Coming"
- Creepy Littlefinger
- Direwolf sighting
- Giantsbane-Tarth
3 Drinks
- Dragon sighting (per dragon)
- Kinslaying
- Tyrion or Cersei appear in a scene but do not drink
Special Rule
- Bastard Builder - one extra drink each time someone says "bastard"
