Roulette: The Drinking Game Where the Wheel Decides

Some nights nobody wants to pick who goes next, who drinks, or who has to do the embarrassing thing. That's what Roulette is for. You load a wheel with whatever you want — names, dares, sips, forfeits — give it a spin, and let pure chance ruin someone's evening in the best possible way.

Roulette is one of 8 party games inside Cold Ones, the free party and drinking game app with 3,000+ questions across its games. No ads, no login, just a wheel and a room full of people blaming fate.

What is Roulette?

Roulette is a spin-the-wheel picker built for parties. You add any entries you like — the players in the room, forfeits like "take 3 sips" or "do 10 push-ups", or a mix of both. Then someone spins. The wheel slows down, everyone leans in, and whoever it lands on loses. That's the whole game, and that's exactly why it works.

The magic is that nobody's the bad guy. Nobody chose you to sing the chorus of a song you hate. The wheel did. You can't argue with the wheel.

Rules: how to play Roulette as a drinking game

1. Get everyone in a circle and agree on the stakes. The classic penalty is a few sips of your drink, but every round works just as well alcohol-free — push-ups, silly dares, or grabbing the next round of snacks.
2. Build your wheel. Put every player's name on it, or fill it with forfeits instead. No app? Write options on paper scraps and pull them from a cup, or spin a bottle.
3. Take turns spinning. Whoever the wheel picks is up — they drink, do the dare, or take the forfeit. No swaps, no vetoes.
4. The loser spins next. That keeps the game moving and gives them a shot at instant revenge.
5. Feeling brave? Add a "double or nothing" slice: land on it and you spin again with the stakes doubled.
6. Play until the group calls it — Roulette has no finish line, only victims.

Why play Roulette in Cold Ones

A real spinning wheel beats scribbled paper scraps every time. In Cold Ones you type in your entries, tap spin, and watch the wheel do its dramatic slow-down before announcing who's next. Fully customizable, endlessly reusable.

• Free — the wheel costs nothing, ever.
• No ads, no login — open the app and spin. That's it.
• Works offline — cabin, campsite, basement party, all fine.
• 4 languages — English, German, Spanish and French.
• 6 more games included — when the wheel picks a loser, send them straight into Truth or Dare, Never Have I Ever or Paranoia. 3,000+ questions are waiting.

Tips to make it even better

Run two wheels back to back: spin the first one loaded with names to pick a victim, then spin a second one loaded with forfeits to pick their fate. Double spin, double drama.

Roulette is also a great decision engine outside of drinking games — who pays for the pizza, who controls the music, who takes out the trash tomorrow. Once your group starts settling arguments with the wheel, there's no going back.

Example wheel entries

• Take 3 sips
• Tell your best bad joke
• Do 10 push-ups
• Swap seats with the person on your left
• Speak in an accent until your next turn
• Sing the chorus of the last song you played
• The group picks your nickname for the night
• Grab the next round for everyone

Spin the wheel — get Cold Ones free: