Buffalo (game)

Buffalo (or Buffalo Club) is a drinking game where participants agree to only drink from their glass with their non-dominant hand. If they are caught using the other hand, they must 'chug' or 'skull' (rapidly finish) their drink.

People who play the game refer to themselves as "Buffalos", and groups of players may refer to themselves as a "Buffalo club".

The history and origin of the Buffalo Club are obscure and many versions are in existence. A folk origin of the game states that Buffalo Club stems from the gunslinging days of the Wild West where the use of one's right hand (the shooting hand) was at times a matter of life or death.^[1] Thus, recreational activities such as playing cards or drinking were done with the left hand only to avoid severe consequences.^[2] The game is now popular around the world.

The rules are fairly simple, though widely varying,^[3] and involve which hand a player may use to drink.

The basic rule of the game is that a player can only drink with their non-dominant hand.^[4] If any other Buffalo players spot them drinking with their dominant hand, they call Buffalo on the player and that player must finish their drink as quickly as possible.^[5][6] If the player hesitates to finish their drink, the other players will usually proceed to make a ruckus chanting "Buffalo!" and banging on the table until the player finishes.^[4][7][8]

The game is often presented as a "lifetime commitment", where agreeing to play it means that others who know this may call a player out for drinking with the wrong hand at any point in the future.^[2]

• In one version of the game, all players must drink with their left hand, irrespective of their dominant hand. This removes the need for players to ask each others' dominant hand.^[3]
• The Left Hand brewery promotes its milk stout as being an "immunity beer", which may be drunk with either hand by Buffalo players.^[9]

• The Game (mind game), another game in which the players are perpetually playing.