Vodka barman is a popular and simple drinking game for two or more players (usually more), based on the art of deception and bluff.

Standard Rules

• One player is chosen to be the barman. He is equipped with a bottle of vodka, a jug of water, and a suitable item of furniture to use as a bar (such as a high-backed chair or kitchen surface). He also has two identical glasses (for safety reasons these should be half a pint or less in volume).
• Somewhere out of sight of the other players, the barman fills the glasses - one with water and one with vodka. The amount of fluid in each may differ, sometimes substantially, as part of the deception involved in the game. He then places the two glasses on top of his “bar”.
• The barman invites another player to drink with him from the surrounding crowd of people. This is generally done in a comically overblown caricature of British upper-class received pronunciation: “Andrew, old bean, would you care to join me for a drink?” The other player must agree, typically in the same manner - “Absolutely, old chap, I would love a quick snifter!” - and stands in front of the bar.
• The customer asks the barman which drink he would recommend. The barman can recommend whichever glass he likes, in whatever verbal manner he chooses, and the customer may accept or ignore his recommendation. The differing levels in the two glasses are therefore an essential part of the deception: the customer must judge whether the barman is confident enough in his powers of persuasion to risk a large dose of vodka should he fail.
• The object of the game for both players is to drink the water rather than the vodka: the barman must deceive the customer by whatever verbal means possible into believing the vodka glass to contain the water. The customer selects his drink, and the barman must take the other.
• Having chosen their drinks, the barman and customer simultaneously pick them up from the bar and down them in one: the entirety of each drink must be consumed in one gulp by the respective players. Pausing to sniff the drink is discouraged or banned, as it lessens the shock or relief felt by the customer.
• If the barman is successful, his customer becomes the new barman and must in turn convince another to drink the vodka. (Often, at the arbitrary end of the game, the extant barman must finish the vodka bottle.)
• During each round of the game, neither the barman nor his customer may drink anything other than his designated glass of mystery liquid. The barman may not drink anything other than his designated glass between becoming the barman and transferring his responsibilities to someone else.