Pennying
British pub prank: a coin in your pint means finish it, right now.
Easy
Players
3+
Length
30+ min
Intensity
Solid
You need
Coins
How to play
Origin: Pennying comes from British pubs and colleges. The common explanation: the coin carries the monarch's head, and royalty must not drown, so the glass has to be emptied at once. At Oxford and Cambridge it is part of the formal dinner ritual.
Setup: Everyone keeps a small coin at hand. Only unattended glasses are fair game.
How to play:
- Drop a coin into someone else's glass without being seen
- Whoever finds a coin in their glass has to finish it
- Fish the coin out, it stays in play
Rules of politeness:
- Only glasses more than half full count as a clean hit
- Get caught in the act and you drink instead
- A glass of water is immune
Hygiene: Use your own clean coins, nothing dug out of a trouser pocket.