Sink the Bismarck (drinking game)
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Sink the Bismarck (in reference to the German battleship Bismarck, also called "Sink the Biz," and sometimes just "Sink"; also called "Sink the Titanic" in Lapland and the Northwest Territories) is a drinking game between at least two people. It comes in two forms, one involving two teams, the other involving all participants playing against each other, which is the more popular of the two forms.
[edit] Nick's English Hut
The most popular version of "Sink the Biz" has been a longtime bar tradition at Nick's English Hut[1] at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, where it is played with a 6oz. tea glass with a heavy bottom and a plastic-lined wine bucket. The wine bucket is filled with beer up to the bolts, which are approximately one inch below the top of the bucket. The tea glass is floated in the beer, and then the players, in turn, pour beer from their own glasses into the tea glass. The object is to keep the tea glass floating. Whoever causes the tea glass to sink must drink the contents of the glass. That player then must pour first to resume the game. If he sinks it immediately again, then he must drink two tea glasses full of beer. If he then sinks it for a third time in a row (i.e., without anyone else having gone), then he must drink the entire bucket (this rarely happens). There is also a three-second rule, which awards skill and precision pouring. If the glass sinks more than 3 seconds after a player pours, then the person next in line must drink the glass full of beer. Furthermore, the player pouring must always pour with a straight arm, and must pour at a height taller than the wine bucket's handle. If another player is able to flip the handle up and hit the pourer's glass, then the pourer must fill the tea glass and drink it. If, however, the other player misses the pourer's glass with the handle, then she must drink the tea glass herself, and the game resumes after that with the person who was pouring starting back up. Nick's now sells Sink the Biz packages, including a bucket, lining, and a tea glass.
[edit] Other Variations
Another individual variation is played with a standard-sized mug filled with beer. A shot glass is floated in the beer, and then the players, in turn, drizzle beer from their own cups into the shot glass. The amount is not important, as long as the shot glass stays floating. Whoever causes the shot glass to sink first must drink the contents of the mug, which is then refilled and the game reset.
The team variation is played between two (usually large) teams. The idea is the same, except a mug is suspended in a very large amount of drink (a punch bowl). Each team takes turn sending one member to pour beer into the mug. When the mug sinks, the losing team must drink the whole contents of the bowl. The team member that caused the mug to sink is usually left to do most of the work.
