The ultimate guide to Memorial Day party games that’ll make your BBQ legendary
Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer, and what better way to celebrate than with epic backyard games? Whether you’re hosting a chill cookout or a full-blown bash, we’ve got the perfect mix of drinking games, lawn games, and party activities to keep everyone entertained.
Best Memorial Day Drinking Games
🍺 Patriotic Flip Cup
Players: 8-20
What you need: Red and blue solo cups, a long table, beer
Split into two teams — Team Red and Team Blue. Standard flip cup rules apply, but losers have to do a dare from the winning team. The championship round? Winners get to assign “freedom shots” to anyone they choose.
Pro tip: Use star-spangled napkins as your flip cup “arena.”
🌭 Hot Dog Roulette
Players: 4-10
What you need: Hot dogs (one per player), hot sauce, regular condiments
One hot dog gets absolutely destroyed with the hottest sauce you can find. Everyone picks a dog without looking. Whoever gets the hot one takes a shot — or chugs their drink while everyone else cheers “USA!”
🎆 Firework Shots
Players: Any number
What you need: Layered shots (red, white, blue — grenadine, cream, blue curaçao)
Every time someone says “summer,” “freedom,” “America,” or “BBQ,” everyone takes a patriotic shot. You’ll be surprised how fast these keywords fly at a Memorial Day party.
🍔 Grill Master Challenge
Players: 2 teams
What you need: Grill, burgers, timer, drinks
Teams compete to flip burgers perfectly. Judges rate appearance, timing, and “grill marks aesthetics.” Losing team drinks, winning team gets first pick at the food line.
Classic Lawn Games (With a Twist)
🎯 Drunk Cornhole
Players: 4-8 (tournament style)
What you need: Cornhole boards, bean bags, drinks
Standard cornhole, but every round the losing team takes a sip. Land a bag in the hole? You get to make a rule for the rest of the game. By the third round, things get interesting.
🏐 Beer Pong Volleyball
Players: 4 minimum
What you need: Volleyball net, beach ball, cups arranged in triangle on each side
Set up beer pong triangles on both sides of a volleyball net. Teams volley until the ball lands — wherever it lands in a cup formation, that team drinks those cups. Spike = bonus drinks for the other team.
🥏 Frisbee Drink
Players: 4-12
What you need: Frisbee, drinks, open yard
Every time someone drops the frisbee, they drink. Catch it one-handed? Pick someone else to drink. Behind-the-back catch? Make a new rule.
🏹 Kan Jam Chaos
Players: 4
What you need: Kan Jam set, drinks
Play normal Kan Jam, but add drinking rules:
- Dinger (1 point): Nothing
- Deuce (2 points): Opponents sip
- Bucket (3 points): Opponents chug
- Instant win (slot): Opponents finish their drinks AND do a dare
Party Games for Groups
🇺🇸 American Trivia Showdown
Players: 6-20
What you need: Trivia questions, drinks
Split into teams. Categories include:
- American History (easy mode)
- State Capitals (medium mode)
- “Is This a Real Law?” (hard mode)
- Celebrity Presidents (chaos mode)
Wrong answers = drink. Get three in a row right? Other teams do a group shot.
🎤 BBQ Karaoke
Players: Any
What you need: Portable speaker, karaoke app
Belt out summer anthems and American classics. Audience votes on performances. Best performance gets to skip dishes duty. Worst performance mans the grill for 30 minutes.
Must-play songs:
- “Party in the USA” — Miley Cyrus
- “American Pie” — Don McLean
- “Born in the USA” — Bruce Springsteen
- “Sweet Home Alabama” — Lynyrd Skynyrd
🔥 Two Truths & A Lie: Summer Edition
Players: 5-15
What you need: Good stories, drinks
Everyone shares two true summer stories and one fake. If the group guesses wrong, they drink. If they catch your lie? You drink.
Starter prompts:
- Best summer vacation disaster
- Weirdest thing that happened at a BBQ
- Most embarrassing pool/beach moment
🎲 Memorial Day Dice
Players: 4-10
What you need: Two dice, drinks
Roll the dice:
- 2-4: Take sips equal to the number
- 5-6: Give out sips equal to the number
- 7: Waterfall (everyone drinks until you stop)
- 8: Categories (summer edition — name types of grills, BBQ sauces, pool floats)
- 9: Rhyme time (“grill” — “chill” — “thrill”…)
- 10: Rule maker
- 11: Thumb master (last person to put thumb down drinks)
- 12: FREEDOM SHOT — you pick who takes one
Water Games (When It Gets Hot)
💦 Water Balloon Beer Pong
Players: 4-8
What you need: Water balloons, cups, drinks
Replace ping pong balls with small water balloons. Same rules as beer pong, but way messier. Getting splashed adds to the chaos.
🏊 Marco Polo Shots
Players: 4-8 (pool required)
What you need: Pool, drinks poolside
Classic Marco Polo, but every time you get tagged, you do a shot poolside. Tag someone while they’re mid-“Polo”? They take two.
🎈 Slip N Slide Racing
Players: 4-20
What you need: Slip N Slide, timer, prizes
Race heats with drinks as stakes. Slowest time in each heat takes a shot. Winner of the tournament gets to assign a dare to anyone.
Chill Games (For the Post-Food Coma)
🃏 Patriotic Kings
Standard Kings rules, but with Memorial Day themes:
- Ace: Waterfall
- 2: You (pick someone to drink)
- 3: Me (you drink)
- 4: Floor (last to touch the ground drinks)
- 5: Guys
- 6: Chicks
- 7: Heaven (point up — last one drinks)
- 8: Mate (pick a drinking buddy)
- 9: Rhyme
- 10: Categories (summer/BBQ themed)
- Jack: Rule (must be Memorial Day appropriate)
- Queen: Question master
- King: Pour into the King’s Cup
- Last King: Drinks the King’s Cup + does a dare
🌅 Sunset Watch Challenge
Players: Any
What you need: View of the sunset, drinks
Everyone picks a time they think the sun will fully set. Closest wins. Furthest off finishes their drink.
Pro Tips for Memorial Day Hosting
Food timing: Start games early, break for food, resume with chill games after eating.
Hydration station: Set up a water/lemonade table. Happy guests = longer party.
Backup games: Have Cards Against Humanity or a deck of cards ready for when the sun goes down.
Designated griller: Rotate grill duty so everyone can play.
Safety first: Have rideshare apps ready, offer crash space, and keep an eye on the pool.
Ready to Level Up Your Party?
Download Truth or Dare 500 for 500+ questions and dares that’ll take your Memorial Day bash to the next level. Perfect for when the sun goes down and you want to keep the party going.
Got a Memorial Day party game tradition we missed? Drop it in the comments below!
Related:
- Best Backyard Party Games for Adults 2026
- Backyard Beer Olympics Rules Guide
- Outdoor Adventure Games
Last updated: March 2026
