A few months ago, I played a round of a Survivorman drinking game with some friends—a game we made up on the spot. I enjoyed it so much (and enjoy Les Stroud’s show so much), I thought I’d share it with the world.
[blog_stripe]Survivorman Drinking Game Rules
The Survivorman drinking game follows the standard rules of any TV- or movie-based game: drink when X happens. What and how much you drink upon each of these events is up to you.
This is where I insert the stock message. Please drink responsibly; only 21+; don’t over do it; don’t be a meathead; it’s not my fault if you get wasted; I didn’t make you do it; etc., etc.
You have to watch and listen closely because some of these things happen quickly.
Drink when Les Stroud says:
- “Survival”
- “Will to survive”
- “Survival meal”
- “Life and death” or “Life or death”
- “With any luck at all”
- “Punky wood” or “Punky log”
- “Thick bush”
Drink when this happens:
- Les uses some tool or equipment — this happens all the time
- Les laughs or jokes — all the time
- Food ecstasy: Les goes berzerk with joy after eating something — nearly every episode
- Les wakes up with puffy eyes — several times each episode
- Les talks about his vivid dreams — pretty common
- Les appears shirtless or naked — frequent in warm-climate episodes
- Les has or sustains/contracts an injury/illness — this is rare; sometimes he mentions a head cold
- Les appears panicked, upset, or scared — I’ve only seen this happen three times *
Drink when Les does other stuff:
These ones happen nearly every episode, sometimes multiple times within an episode.
- Eats food
- Makes fire
- Uses fire bundle
- Admires nature’s beauty
- Tests gear/equipment (fire starters, MREs, camping gear, etc.)
- Gives an inspirational speech
- Swears or shouts in exasperation or pain
Drink when Les does manly things:
- Catches game for sustenance
- Dominates his surroundings in impressive ways
- Guts a fish or otherwise manhandles some creature of nature
- Real-life MacGyver’s just about anything
Drink when Les uses cool names for things:
- “Apache Match”
- “Payute Deadfall”
- Etc., etc…
This rule could apply to when he calls herbs and things by their textbook or colloquial name. Or he could just have badass nicknames for things.
[/blog_stripe]Drink when these camera/editing things happen:
- Les walks in the distance, away from camera on a tripod
- Les walks back for the camera
- Les makes the crew collect the camera
- Time lapse video
- Night vision footage
Drink whenever these things show up:
- Multitool
- Harmonica/instrument
- Live wild animals (caught game doesn’t count; that has its own rule)
- A house, building, or other man-made, permanent shelter
Bonus Round
These ones are even more fun. Some are rare, some are gross, some are just in their own category.
Drink when you see Les…
- Vomit
- Urinate or mention defecation
- Capitalizes on trash found at his survival site
- Make comments about or directed at the crew or editors
- Mention some viewer watching him make a mistake, yelling at their TV
If you enjoy Survivorman as much as I do, even in re-runs, you’ll appreciate this drinking game. It makes Stroud’s show even more enjoyable, especially in groups.
But fair warning: this game’ll gitcha drunk! Be careful out there, heroes. After all, it’s about survival.
[blog_stripe]Footnote
* To my knowledge, Les has appeared panicked, upset, or scared three times:
- Season 1, Episode 1 – Les encounters a moose in the Canadian Boreal Forrest
- Season 2, Episode 2 – Les is chased through the jungle by a jaguar (Forgive the German voiceover. I can’t find an English version of this video.)
- “Ten Days,” Season 1, Episode 4 – Les struggles to reach the bottom of a Norwegian mountain before nightfall.