Ride the Bus Rules
Ride the Bus is a deck-of-cards game in three parts: a run of guessing rounds, a matching pyramid, and the dreaded 'bus' that the player with the most cards has to ride at the end. It's pure luck, which is exactly why it's so much fun.
Here's how the whole thing works, start to finish.
How to play Ride the Bus
Round 1: Red or Black
Each player guesses the colour of their card. Wrong = one sip.
Round 2: Higher or Lower
Guess if your next card is higher or lower than the first. Wrong = two sips.
Round 3: Inside or Outside
Guess if your third card falls between your first two or outside them. Wrong = three sips.
Round 4: Guess the Suit
Guess the suit of your fourth card. Wrong = four sips (nail it and you can hand out four).
The Pyramid
Deal five rows of face-down cards. Flip from the five-card bottom row to the single-card top. Each matching card lets you give one sip on the bottom row, rising to five at the top.
Ride the Bus
The player with the most cards left must make five higher-or-lower calls in a row. An equal rank or a wrong call resets their progress. Every tied player rides.
What you need
Tips & house rules
Drinkcounter automatically sizes and shuffles the shoe for your group, including a full four-card hand per player and all 15 pyramid cards.
The drinkcounter version uses five correct calls for the bus and treats equal ranks as a miss. At the table, you can shorten that target or let the dealer set the give-out amounts. Keep the bus humane. It's meant to be a laugh, not a punishment.
Pace it: the matching pyramid can add up fast, so keep sips small and grab water between games.
Good to know
How many cards do you deal each player?
Four, one per guessing round (colour, higher/lower, inside/outside, suit).
Who rides the bus?
The player left holding the most cards after the pyramid round. In drinkcounter, every player tied for the most cards rides.
How long does a game take?
Usually 10–20 minutes depending on group size and how brutal your pyramid is.
Keep score for Ride the Bus
Tracking who's had what across the rounds is a pain on paper. Let drinkcounter handle it live.