{{Short description|Drinking game}} [[File:Man holding glass of beer (Unsplash).jpg|thumb|Buffalo is a game of a player remembering to drink with their non-dominant hand]] '''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" or a “Buffalo Herd”.
== History == The history and origin of the Buffalo Club are obscure and many versions are in existence. A [[folk etymology|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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Road Trip A: Buffalo|newspaper=[[The Grid (newspaper)|The Grid]]|url=http://www.thegridto.com/city/places/road-trip-a-buffalo/|last=Balkissoon|first=Denise|date=July 25–31, 2013|access-date=2013-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029204444/http://www.thegridto.com/city/places/road-trip-a-buffalo/|archive-date=2013-10-29|url-status=dead}}</ref> Thus, recreational activities such as playing cards or drinking were done with the left hand only to avoid severe consequences.<ref name="abc">{{cite web|publisher=American Buffalo Club Association|title=The American Buffalo Club Association|url=http://www.americanbuffaloclub.com/}}</ref> The game is now popular around the world.{{citation needed|date=October 2025}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=- |url=https://buffalo-club.ch/ |access-date=2026-02-20 |website=buffalo-club.ch |language=de}}</ref>
== Basic game ==
The basic rule of the game is that a player can only drink with their non-dominant hand.<ref name=NU/> 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.<ref name = realbeer>{{cite web|url=http://www.realbeer.com/fun/games/games-19.php|title=Beer Game: Buffalo Club|publisher = Real Beer|year=2008|access-date=August 7, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/UTSA_frat_kicked_out_for_hazing.html |title=UTSA frat kicked out for hazing |publisher=[[San Antonio Express-News]] |author=Melissa Ludwig |date=March 26, 2009 |access-date=January 18, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090401085945/http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/UTSA_frat_kicked_out_for_hazing.html |archive-date=April 1, 2009 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=NU>{{cite web|url=http://www.newuniversity.org/2007/11/features/let_the_games_begin49/|title=Let The Games Begin!|publisher=[[New University (newspaper)|New University]]|author=Kevin Pease|date=Nov 26, 2007|access-date=Jan 18, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://coedmagazine.com/2009/03/19/the-5-lamest-drinking-games/|title=The 5 Lamest Drinking Games|publisher=Coed Magazine|date=March 19, 2009|access-date=August 7, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.studentdrinkinggames.com/coordination/buffalo.html|title=Buffalo |publisher = Student Drinking Games|access-date=August 7, 2009}}</ref>
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.<ref name="abc"/>
Alternatively, players may only ever hold their drink in their left hand, even when they are not drinking it.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Banks |first1=Rob |title=Josh Allen's Fun Drinking Game is Called "Buffaloed" |url=https://1045theteam.com/josh-allen-drinking-game-2/ |access-date=22 October 2025 |work=104.5 The Team ESPN Radio |date=16 May 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Having everyone use the same hand removes the need for players to ask each other's dominant hand.
There is an alternative version of the game in which the hand used changes every hour. On even hours, any player must drink with their right hand, and on odd hours, with their left hand. This version is particularly widespread in Switzerland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=- |url=https://buffalo-club.ch/ |access-date=2026-02-20 |website=buffalo-club.ch |language=de}}</ref>
==See also== *[[The Game (mind game)]], another game in which the players are perpetually playing.
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Drinking games}}
[[Category:Drinking games]] [[Category:American frontier]] [[Category:Memory games]]