Strictly grown-ups only: How to gin-nify these classic board games!

Let the kids have their Playstations tonight - in fact, why not just lock them in their rooms and be done with them altogether this evening (just remember to chuck in some snacks every now and then)? These board games are just for the grown ups to play! Why, we hear you ask? Because.. oh yes.. they are soaked in gin!

That’s right, we have adapted five classic board games to incorporate our favourite tipple!

(Of course, while we’re making these suggestions for a fun night in, do please always drink responsibly. As your mum said when the board games got out of hand when you were little - it will only end in tears!)

This is the quintessential go-too board game for most people when they have lots of time to spend indoors. We all know how heated, soul-destroying or, indeed, deeply gratifying it can get when those big money exchanges happen or new hotels get built…. Add a little gin to proceedings to calm the nerves, we say! After all, a little Dutch courage can only help you develop into that property mogul you have always wanted to be!

The first step in ginnifying Monopoly is to add more fear to the threat of going to jail. If, for example, someone is sent to jail then their jail time must be spent as the whole group’s personal mixologist and they must make any drink that is requested until they get out of jail - be it anything from a martini to a red snapper (even if it means having to look up a recipe on our blog!).

The next step involves your glassware and using it as a status symbol. Hey, on’t blame us - Monopoly is the ultimate capitalist game! So, if you buy your properties in the cheap areas then you are only allowed to use the cheap glassware - maybe even a plastic kids cup or coffee mug if you buy Old Kent Road or Whitechapel Road!

Of course, on the other hand, only the finest crystal coupes are permitted for those who reside in Mayfair or Park Lane…

A murder has been discovered and the suspects noted, the game is afoot! Get out your spy (gin) glass and your cocktail shaker, it’s time to start your investigation!

This classic Agatha Christie-esque board game is full of mystery and intrigue, and while the addition of gin may not help your detective skills, it will certainly add to the fun of the game!

One of the things we adore most about this game is that you get to play as a character. So we love to start Cluedo by not revealing which character we have drawn. You then create a cocktail that you think will best suit that character. Miss Scarlet might enjoy a Pink Lady to match her sultry demeanour, for instance, or Colonel Mustard may go for a Gimlet (invented to help keep scurvy at bay on long navy voyages) from his days fighting overseas - get creative with it!

For those who know the game well, it is then their job to guess who your character is by the cocktail you have made. You then continue fully immersed in the drama as it unfolds.

This the mainstay of those people who are full of information that is largely useless in their day-to-day lives but shines through heroically when that Trivial Pursuit box lid comes off! Is knowing what a group of parrots called really that much of a reason to look so smug?! (It’s a pandemonium, by the way - a group parrots is called a Pandemonium of Parrots. Remember that for the next time you play! You’re welcome!)

We know how to even the odds for those who aren’t regular pub quiz attendees though: disregard the questions from the box and make your own that are gin-themed!

Okay, so this will take a little research from an appointed question master but the topic of gin and gin cocktails is so wide and varied that you will have lots to keep you entertained. Gin history and different types of gin would be good places to start!

Ah, the beautiful game, where art meets clear and concise communication, right? Our games definitely don’t just lapse into shouting random words as loud as we can as soon as the drawer puts pen to paper…

We have spotted a way to include an added touch of fineness to the proceedings. And that takes the form of cocktails!

There are two ways in which cocktails can be added to this game (besides drinking them as you play that is).

The first is to make your own deck of words to draw that are actually cocktail names - trying to draw a Hanky Panky, for instance, will definitely result in some giggles…

The second is to include a forfeit if the other team guesses what you have drawn. In that event, they not only steal the turn but you also have to make each person on their team a cocktail of their choice!

Two ice-cool admirals send out their armadas into choppy waters. Head-to-head they go. Both equal in resolve, both equal in their love of gin. Let battle commence!

For this classic game of naval strategy we recommend breaking out the navy strength gin (a gin with an ABV above 57.1%). We recommend NB Navy Strength Gin, it’s one our favourites!

Our first thought would be to make a ginny forfeit in the form of a shot of gin to be taken each time a battleship is sunk. But we would never encourage that kind of high-octane drinking *cough*. So why not tone it down a little by making each shot a half tonic water, half gin mini G&T. To make things really interesting you could then make a bottle of gin the prize for winning the game, or even better, a Craft Gin Club Gin of the Month box!

We hope you enjoyed our ginny board game suggestions! Happy games night, gin lovers!