Here's a good drinking game that's easy to learn and quick to play. A student friend of ours told us about it - she recommended playing it when the taxi is on its way and you need to finish your drinks quickly before heading to the club.

How to Play Black 'n' Red

You will need: a standard deck of playing cards, a drink for every player

1. Sit in a circle and choose one person to be the dealer.
2. The dealer goes around the circle, placing a card in front of each player in turn. If the card is red (a heart or a diamond) that player must drink; if the card is black (a spade or a club), the player can nominate someone else to take a drink.
3. Continue until the whole deck has been used. Then, if you're still waiting for the taxi to arrive, pick up all the cards and start again!

We told you it was pretty straightforward. If you want to make it more complicated, you can stipulate that picture cards (kings, queens, jacks) count for two drinks, or that aces reverse the direction of play, or something like that, but we think that this game is just perfect in its simplest form!

What's that? You’ve never played beer pong before? Don’t worry – we’d be more than happy to show you the ropes! It’s pretty straightforward, and once you know how to do it, you can teach your friends and organise a tournament!

You will need:

• 1 x Beer Pong Table
• 2 x Ping-Pong Balls
• 12 x Paper Cups
• Lots of beer (or another beverage of your choosing)

How to play:

Two people (or four, if you want to play in teams) stand at opposite ends of the pong table. Fill all 12 cups with beer, and place six at each end, arranged in this triangle formation:

Give each player a ping-pong ball, and you’re ready to start! Players take it in turns to throw their ball at the other player’s cups; if the ball lands in one of your cups, you have to drink that cup’s contents. The first player to drain all six cups is the loser!

It really is that simple, so grab the essentials from our Beer Pong department now and give it a whirl at your next party! Oh, and if you want to spice things up a bit, you could even try some of these additional rules...

Optional rules:

• Each player has a separate drink set aside from the pong table. If you miss a throw (i.e. if your ball doesn’t land in a cup), you have to take a swig from your own drink!
• The losing player has to perform a forfeit, as chosen by the winner.
• Give each cup a number, and stipulate that each player must hit his opponent’s cups in the correct order (1-6). If a ball lands in the wrong cup, the thrower must perform a forfeit.