Cheers to the Governor: Official Rules

Count to twenty-one as a table, toast the Governor, and make the count harder for everyone.

Four or more players sit in a circle with their drinks. Choose a first player.

Rule 1. The count

Rule 1.1. The first player says "one." Going left, each player says the next number, one number each.

Rule 1.2. A player who says the wrong number, hesitates too long, or breaks a rule drinks. The count starts again at one, with the next player.

Rule 2. Twenty-one

Rule 2.1. When a player says "twenty-one," the whole table raises their drinks, says "Cheers to the Governor!" and drinks.

Rule 2.2. The player who said "twenty-one" makes a new rule, and the count starts again at one with the next player.

Rule 3. Making rules

Rule 3.1. A rule changes the count. It may swap two numbers ("seven is now fourteen, and fourteen is now seven"), replace a number with a word or an action ("instead of ten, stand up"), or add an action to a number.

Rule 3.2. Rules stack. Every rule stays in force for the rest of the game. A new rule may not cancel an old one.

Rule 3.3. A rule that makes it impossible to reach twenty-one is not a rule. The Official sends it back.

Rule 4. Ending

Rule 4.1. The game ends when the table can no longer reach twenty-one. The Commission has found this is usually after the sixth rule.

• A bad British accent for the toast. Approved. The Governor expects nothing less.
• Rules may only replace numbers, not add actions. Approved, for tables that prefer a cleaner count.
• The player who makes a mistake makes the next rule. Commissioner's Discretion. It rewards failure, which the Commission cannot support in writing.
• A rule may cancel an earlier rule. Approved, if declared.

Is this the same game as 21? No. In Cheers to the Governor everyone says one number and the table toasts at twenty-one. In 21, players may say up to three numbers, the direction changes, and the player who says twenty-one drinks alone. See 21.

Two numbers have been swapped, and a player says the original number. Mistake? Yes. A swapped number is gone. Saying it is a wrong number.

• Wrong number. Penalty: one drink; the count restarts. Signal: the Official holds up one finger and draws it back toward themselves.
• Twenty-one. Signal: the Official raises an imaginary glass.

The Commission has not been able to identify the Governor. It has reviewed a number of candidates. None has come forward. The toast continues regardless, and the Commission considers it the most loyal tradition in this book.

Toast with any non-alcoholic drink. The count is just as hard.