What is the pyramid drinking game?
The pyramid drinking game is a card drinking game that mixes memory and bluffing. You build a pyramid of face-down cards, each player keeps a few cards secret and, every time a pyramid card gets flipped, whoever has that value sends a sip to someone else. The best part is nobody can check your hand… unless they call “Liar!”
This is the online pyramid: same idea, but the phone shuffles, deals, keeps your cards and tracks the points. You don't need a deck or a big table, and since the phone checks your hand when you get called out, bluffs are settled instantly with no arguing.
If you've played Ride the Bus, the pyramid round will feel familiar: here it's a full game on its own, with points and bluff calls checked by the phone.
How much each row of the pyramid is worth
The higher the card, the more it's worth. Points only count for the score: every penalty is always just one sip (or water), no matter what the row is worth.
Row 1 (the base, 5 cards): 1 point if they buy it; 2 points if someone calls “Liar!”.
Row 2 (4 cards): 2 points if they buy it; 4 points if someone calls “Liar!”.
Row 3 (3 cards): 3 points if they buy it; 6 points if someone calls “Liar!”.
Row 4 (2 cards): 4 points if they buy it; 8 points if someone calls “Liar!”.
Row 5 (the top, 1 card): 5 points if they buy it; 10 points if someone calls “Liar!”.
That's why the last rows decide the game: a bluff caught at the top is worth as much as 10 sends accepted at the base. The screen always shows which row you're on and how many points it's worth.
Bluffs and “Liar!”: who drinks in each case
You believe it: you take a sip (or water) and add the row's points. Whoever sent it doesn't show anything, so you'll never know if it was true. And if it was, that card stays in their hand for the next time that value comes up.
You call “Liar!” and it was a bluff: the phone checks their hand and the card isn't there. The sip (or water) and double points go to the liar.
You call “Liar!” and they had it: you were wrong, so the sip (or water) and double points go to you. Since everyone has now seen that card, its owner swaps it for a new one from the deck, which only they see and have to memorize.
Calling someone out is a risk both ways, and that's the fun: the same card can bring several sends, and you have to decide who to believe.
Online pyramid: one phone or everyone on their own
With one phone, it gets passed around during the deal: each person looks at their cards without anyone else seeing and hands it back. Then it goes in the middle of the table, the cards get flipped and whoever sends a sip says it out loud; the phone records who sends it, to whom and what the receiver decides.
In a room, everyone plays from their own phone: create a room and share the code. Everyone sees their cards only on their own screen, sends with I have… and answers whatever comes their way. It's the easiest way with big groups, and it works long-distance too.
In both modes nobody sees anyone's cards until the end, not even their own (except the new card you get when you're called out and you had it): if you forget yours, you'll have to bluff with what you actually have too.
Tips to memorize and bluff
Group your cards. It's easier to remember “two sevens, a queen and an ace” than four separate cards. And if you have two of the same value, you know the others have fewer of that number left: a good clue for calling someone out.
A card they believed is still yours. If they buy it, you don't show anything and you can use it again when another card of that value comes up. But if you get called out and you had it, you lose it and get a new one: everyone now knows the one you showed; only you know the new one.
Careful with calls at the top. Up there, a mistake is worth 10 points. Before you yell “Liar!”, think about how many cards of that value have already come up and who hesitated when sending you the sip. If you love bluffing, try the Imposter Game too.
Can you play without alcohol?
Yes. Every sip can be swapped for water, or you can play for points only: the score already decides who loses the pyramid, and the game works exactly the same. Plus, here every penalty is just one sip, no matter what the row is worth.
This site is for adults only (18+ and of legal drinking age where you live). If you want to stick with cards, the Drinking Card Game has 13 cards with rules and quick games, and Kings Cup uses the whole deck.