Boredom is the bane of every college student. Full-fledged adults say we’re here to learn, and we are, but who haven’t planned their Friday night party during their Wednesday morning class? Especially since a semester full of boring nights, alone or with friends, is almost as horrible as getting a “D” in a class — well, maybe a “C.”

You know the feeling: sitting in your room, staring blankly ahead while everyone keeps asking “what should we do?” No one has an answer, but it’s all anyone can say — truly a tragedy. Good news then, Wildcats. I’m here to help with that.

From now on, every Friday, I’ll be here to talk games with you. That doesn’t just mean video games either — I’m broadening my scope to bring you columns about card games, age-appropriate board games, dice games, tabletop games, drinking games and, not to worry, video games will also make an appearance.

Try the games I talk about, even if you’re unsure about them. The suggestions are new avenues of entertainment to fill those boring nights, so that you have an answer when people start asking the dreaded question, “What should we do?”

Now, I figure that since we’ve made it back to the UA for another year and some are just arriving for their first, celebrations are in order. Good games to start with might be one of college students’ favorite kinds: drinking games.

Of course, the Daily Wildcat would never condone underage drinking, and, of course, not everyone drinks. But for those who can partake, I’ll be here to give the people what they want.

In the West, throw around names like Beer Pong and King’s Cup, and the masses know what’s up. Everyone might have a different rule for what to do if someone draws a Jack or the rules for death cup, but most of the designations are the same.

Beer Pong

Some places on the East Coast insist that Beer Pong should be called Beirut, because pong implies the use of paddles. Don’t let those East Coast bros fool you though. Use the West Coast name when you are past the Mississippi. While holding onto the wrong name won’t lead to much more than confusion, it might make you look like a bit of an outsider since most everyone else won’t know what you’re talking about. Support your school and call it what it is.

King’s Cup

By a similar token, King’s Cup’s other alias isn’t pinned down to any specific location, but some people refer to it as Waterfall. Either way, names are based off events within the game — the Ace is usually waterfall and the King is king’s cup — so it’s not as big a deal. Still, for simplicity’s sake, just stick to King’s Cup. It’s more well-known and, well, since that’s what Wikipedia calls it, it’s pretty official.

President

Asshole is a less popular game, which makes it all the more confusing when not everyone calls it the same thing. Some refer to the card game as President, since the winner of the round is called the president. Before it was Americanized, the game’s name was Dai Hin Min, but since we live in ‘Merica, let’s stick to the name we gave it.

There are likely other games similar to these, but they’re either too obscure or the other name isn’t that common. Now that everyone is on the same page though, you can all focus on the important part of the game: playing them — and by extension … well, you know what I’m getting at.

— Jason Krell is a junior studying creative writing and Italian. He can be reached at arts@wildcat.arizona.edu.