What is it?

Landmines is a drinking game which seems innocuous at first, but before long devolves into madness. Play Landmines only if you have plenty of beer, plenty of time, and don't intend to leave the house for a while.

What you'll need:

• At least four players, including yourself
• A table big enough to seat all players, but preferably not much bigger
• No fewer than 5 beers per player, depending on the desired length of the game
• A quarter or similar large coin

The rules

To begin, all players sit around the table. If the table is large, cluster near one end. The less table area is available, the faster the game becomes interesting.

Now it's time for everyone to crack into their beers. Take a drink to start out.

The basic idea of the game is to spin the quarter, take a drink, and then pick up the quarter with the hand you just drank with before the quarter stops spinning. If the quarter stops spinning before you can pick it up, or if you fumble the quarter, you have to spin again. After successfully completing the turn, pass the quarter to the left.

Play continues in this fashion until someone has emptied a beer. At this point, he should get another but hold onto the empty. Now, at his discretion, he can slam the bottle or can on top of someone else's spinning quarter. When this happens, the spinner must take a drink, remove the quarter, and spin again. The bottle/can is left on the table.

Before long, there will be a couple empties on the table. This is where the name "Landmines" comes from, because the empties are a special hazard. If the spinning quarter hits an empty, the current spinner has to take his drink and go again. Pretty soon most players will have to drink at least 3 or 4 times on each turn, in turn speeding up the rate at which empties accumulate on the table.

Drinking between turns is highly encouraged.

An important note: only the current spinner is allowed to have his beer sitting on the table. Everyone else must hold theirs. If someone puts his beer on the table and it isn't his turn, any player may tap the can/bottle with his own drink, thus forcing the owner to take a drink.

A properly-paced game will have everyone taking at least one drink every minute or two. The urge to finish up a beer early and use it to screw over another player also contributes to a general drunkenness before long.

Strategy

It's pretty clear that with a little coordination, it is possible to get one player extremely drunk in a short amount of time by placing all your empties during his spins--soon there won't be any place left to spin without hitting a bottle or can.

This strategy can be somewhat mitigated by spinning the quarter directly in front of another player, preventing all the empties from ending up in front of you.

Endgame

The game ends when you're out of beer, too many people have been sick, you lose the quarter, or you all black out.

There are no winners in Landmines; or, rather, everyone wins, since the point is to get drunk anyway.

Surgeon General's Warning

Playing Landmines can damage your health, your grades, and your relationships. People who cannot take their liquor should refrain from playing Landmines, as it may induce massive embarrassment, short-term memory loss, streaking, and vomiting. Quitting Landmines today seriously reduces the risk of hangovers.

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