by Dan Ketchum

From the dawn of man — or at least from the dawn of ganja — weed has been totally inseparable from parties. And, look, we’re cool with zaza-powered late-night examinations of deep philosophy and the music-enhancing power of a huge blunt (until Devin busts out the acoustic guitar again, no one asked for that DEVIN). But why should booze have exclusive rights to the type of party games that elevate the vibe from a schmooze into a rager? Not on Mama’s watch.

So we’re making an official Tough Mama Declaration, right here, right now: smoking games are the new drinking games. End of story. Let the stoner games begin with this collection of new classics.

Medusa 🐍👁️

Here’s a true classic starter, like basically the beer pong of weed games. In case you didn’t go to school or ever see the stoner masterpiece Clash of the Titans (get on that Ray Harryhausen trip, son), 

Medusa is a mythological hottie with snakes for hair who turns people to stone when they look her in the eye. So in this game, everyone has their own joint (shorties like our Mini Mofoz fit the bill perfectly) and they sit in a circle facing inward. Everybody puts their head down, and on the count of three, raises those heads up to stare at another random player. If you’re making eye contact with someone else, yell “MEDUSA” — whoever says it last has to take a hit.  

Ganjenga 🧱😵

This twist on the party icon Jenga comes rec’d by Leafbuyer, and like regular Jenga, it’s great for a small get-together or for pulling a group aside at a bigger gathering. So you’re gonna need a Jenga set, a Sharpie, and, uh, weed. Obviously. Plus the willingness to ruin — or some might say, improve — that Jenga set.

It takes a little prep, but before the party, you’ll write rules on some or all of the blocks. Your choice. Stuff like “1 hit” to take one hit, “2 hits” to take a double rip, “eyes closed” to take your next turn blind, “leftie” to use your non-dominant hand next turn, “shotz” to take a Yolo Shotz sip. Whatever your weed-addled brain can come up with is fair game.  

Strip Choker 🃏👙🩲

This is strip poker, but with weed. Get a big-assed Infused Hemp Cone Blunt and get in a circle with your friends and friends-with-benefits. You’ll want to be very, very comfy friends; for real, make sure everyone’s 1,000% OK with this beforehand — sexual liberation is great but don’t be a creep. 

With that out of the way, everyone takes a big hit at the same time. First one to cough or exhale loses a single piece of clothing, and so on. Like that cheap Venice Boardwalk tee says: shit happens when you party naked. So let’s make shit happen.  

Don’t Smoke and Drive 🚭🎮

OK, smoking and driving isn’t as deadly as drinking and driving, but it’s time to retrofit the classic Mario Kart-powered drinking game “Don’t Drink and Drive” into the next classic weed game. 

Each player starts with a shorty, like Tough Mama’s .85-gram Mini Mofoz. That shorty must be fully smoked before crossing the finish line of a regular, four-player, three-lap race, but the catch is you cannot touch the controller and the joint at the same time. You must fully put that controller down when you’re smoking and you can only grab it again when the joint’s on the table. Suck it, chess, this is the real strategy game.  

It’s-a me, high as f**k.  

What’s in the Box? 📦😱💨

OK, think of this one like Fear Factor, but all you need is a cardboard box and some stuff that you probably already have around the house. Just cut a hand-sized hole in the box, which conceals a bowl full of something that feels as vile, weird, or surprising as possible. The game runner’s job is to switch out the bowl every round. Go for stuff like peeled boiled tomatoes, super cold ice cubes, slimy expired mushrooms, pudding with chunks of other food in it, wet tortilla chips, chicken livers, your exceptionally chill cat, however creepy or shocking you want to get. The touchers have to stay stone-cold stoic; any reaction equals a mandatory puff. Ideal for a Halloween bash or just the tough guys at the party with something to prove. 

Power Hour ⏰🍃

Elegant in its simplicity, beautifully dumb in its stoner-ness, Power Hour keeps the party flowing by keeping everyone higher than a giraffe’s ass for as long as you want. All you need is a (loud) timer. Set that timer for whatever interval you want — let’s say an hour for light stoners, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay less for Tough Mama hardasses. Every time the alarm goes off, everyone has to take a toke (or a sip of Yolo Shotz).  

Or, if you don’t want to kill the vibe with a morning-shift PTSD-triggering alarm, take your drag or your weed-infused shot every time a new song shuffles onto the playlist. 

Bonus Round😮‍💨🍹🎉

Here’s something beautiful, a Tough Mama party hack if you will: with a communal bowl of Yolo Shotz Party Punch, you can make any old-school drinking game into a new-school stoner game. Just replace the booze with a weed-infused punchy cocktail shot. 

For a punch bowl that serves about 40 shots with 2.5mg of THC in each shot, you can make a ginger-cran version a little something like this, served over ice:

• 3 cups of cranberry juice
• Two 12-oz. bottles of ginger beer
• 1 cup of fresh lemon juice
• Two shots of fresh lime juice
• One Tough Mama Tropical Punch Yolo Shotz (100mg)
• A hefty sprinkle of ginger sugar
• Orange and lemon slices floating in the bowl  

Remember, a recommended normal Yolo Shotz serving is about 5mg of THC, so scale the recipe for how hard your group wants to go, or consider serving Yolo Shotz on their own so partiers can control the dosage individually. Once you’ve got a comfy dosage sorted, you’ve got a versatile smoking game companion. Beer pong? Take a shot when you get scored on. Quarters? Same deal. Kings Cup? You get the idea. For the best stoner games turnout, remember to be safe, get turnt, go hard, and be excellent to each other. Next up: the hunger games, because you will most definitely have the munchies.