The Wizard Staff drinking game, also called Wisest Wizard or Wizard Sticks, is an endurance drinking game where every finished can becomes another level of your increasingly stupid-looking wizard staff.
Finish a canned drink, tape the empty can into your staff, and keep building. If you have six cans attached, you're a Level 6 wizard. At the end, the player with the tallest staff is usually crowned the Wisest Wizard.
That's the core game. The arguments start when people add boss battles, White Wizards, staff duels, special powers, and whatever other wizard bureaucracy their group learned.
There is no single universal Wizard Staff ruleset. The can-stacking and leveling system is consistent across versions. Most of the RPG-style stuff is optional.
WIZARD STAFF RULES — QUICK VERSION
- Every player starts with one canned drink.
- Finish your first can. That empty can becomes the bottom of your staff.
- Place your next can on top and securely tape the cans together.
- Each finished can added to your staff counts as one level.
- Continue drinking from the can at the top of your staff as it grows.
- Optional boss battles can happen at predetermined levels.
- When the game ends, the player with the most completed cans on an intact staff is the Wisest Wizard.
To play Wizard Staff: each player drinks from cans and tapes every finished can into one continuous staff. Each completed can represents one level, so the staff physically tracks everyone's progress. Set an ending point before playing, then the player with the highest completed level wins.
What You Need to Play Wizard Staff
- 2+ players
- Canned drinks
- Duct tape or another strong tape
- Enough open space for increasingly tall staffs
- A predetermined stopping point
Cans work because they're uniform, lightweight, and easy to tape together. Bottles are a terrible substitute for reasons that should be obvious before someone constructs a six-foot glass weapon.
You also don't need alcohol for the actual game mechanic. Any canned beverage works.
How Many People Can Play Wizard Staff?
Wizard Staff works with two or more players, but a small group works better than playing head-to-head.
There are no turns in the basic game. Everyone builds their own staff independently, so adding more players doesn't fundamentally change how the game works.
The practical limit is mostly space, supplies, and whether you really want eight giant taped-together can towers wandering around the same room.
How to Set Up the Wizard Staff Drinking Game
1. Give Everyone Their First Can
Every player starts at the same time with one canned drink.
You don't have a staff yet. You are basically an unemployed wizard holding a beer.
2. Put the Tape Somewhere Everyone Can Reach It
You'll need it constantly.
Duct tape is the usual choice because the staff gets increasingly awkward as it grows. Weak tape turns Wizard Staff into a game about picking cans off the floor.
3. Decide How the Game Ends
This part matters more than people think.
The traditional loose version simply continues until everyone agrees they're finished, and whoever has the longest staff wins. That's not a particularly good rule when the game's scoreboard is literally based on drinking more than everyone else.
A better version uses a predetermined maximum number of levels or a fixed ending time.
4. Decide Which Optional Rules You're Using
If you're adding boss battles, special wizard powers, or any other house rules, establish them now.
Do not wait until somebody is Level 7 to announce that Level 8 apparently unlocks the ancient power of making shit up.
How to Play Wizard Staff
FINISH CAN → ADD CAN TO STAFF → LEVEL UP → REPEAT → HIGHEST LEVEL WINS
1. Finish Your First Can
Your first completed can becomes the bottom of your Wizard Staff.
That makes you Level 1.
2. Attach Your Next Can
Take your next can and position it directly above the first.
Tape the cans together securely around the point where they meet.
The goal is one continuous vertical staff rather than a vaguely connected pile of aluminum.
3. Drink From the Top of the Staff
Your active drink stays at the top of the staff.
As the staff grows, drinking from it becomes increasingly inconvenient. That's part of the game.
At Level 2, you're drinking from the top of two connected cans. At Level 5, you're trying to maneuver a five-can staff every time you want a sip.
4. Level Up After Each Finished Can
Every completed can adds one level.
| Finished Cans | Wizard Level |
|---|---|
| 1 | Level 1 |
| 2 | Level 2 |
| 3 | Level 3 |
| 5 | Level 5 |
| 8 | Level 8 |
The cans are both your staff and the scoreboard. No scorekeeper required.
5. Keep Your Staff Intact
A completed level should remain attached to your staff.
Some versions punish a broken staff by reducing your level to however many cans remain connected in the largest surviving section.
Other groups simply repair accidental breaks.
Decide this before playing. We recommend allowing repairs for accidental tape failures and skipping any rule that encourages people to smash staffs together.
6. Crown the Wisest Wizard
Once your predetermined ending point is reached, compare levels.
The player with the highest completed level wins and becomes the Wisest Wizard.
If two players are tied, call it a tie. You do not need an overtime drinking round to settle the sacred Wizard Council.
What Is a Level in Wizard Staff?
One completed can equals one Wizard Staff level.
If your staff contains four finished cans, you're a Level 4 wizard. Finish another and add it to the staff, and you're Level 5.
This terminology becomes more important when playing versions with boss battles or abilities that activate at specific levels.
What Is a Boss Battle in Wizard Staff?
A boss battle is an optional challenge that must be completed at predetermined levels before a player can continue leveling up.
Common versions place bosses every three or five levels. Older rulesets often make the boss an additional drinking challenge.
So if bosses occur every three levels:
- Finish Level 3
- Face the Level 3 boss
- Finish Level 6
- Face the Level 6 boss
- Continue from there
The important part is that boss battles are not required for basic Wizard Staff. They are a variation layered onto the core leveling system.
They're also where the game can become excessive very quickly.
A better boss system uses something other than additional alcohol: trivia, rock-paper-scissors, a ridiculous wizard speech, a mini-game, or another challenge. Same RPG mechanic. Considerably less stupid drinking math.
What Happens If Your Wizard Staff Breaks?
There isn't one universal broken-staff rule.
One established version reduces the player to the level represented by the longest remaining intact section. If a Level 7 staff breaks into sections containing five and two cans, the player drops to Level 5.
Other groups allow staffs to be repaired, especially when the break is caused by shitty tape rather than anything the player did.
OUR RULE:
If your staff separates accidentally, tape it back together. If you're intentionally doing staff battles, establish the broken-staff penalty beforehand. Do not create a drinking penalty for a roll of duct tape failing at its only job.
Wizard Staff House Rules & Variations
The basic game is almost absurdly simple, which is why Wizard Staff has accumulated a lot of extra rules.
These are variations, not requirements.
Wisest Wizard
Wisest Wizard is both another name for Wizard Staff and the title commonly given to the leading or winning player.
In some versions, whoever currently holds the highest level earns special powers, such as creating a rule when they reach another level.
If you're using that version, don't unlock it too early. Five players creating rules from Level 2 onward turns the game into drunken tax law.
White Wizard
One established variation makes the first player to reach a high predetermined level—commonly Level 10—the White Wizard.
Later players who reach the required level can challenge the White Wizard for the title.
Some versions settle this with a physical staff duel where players attempt to break the other person's staff.
Skip the staff-fighting part. Long aluminum poles plus drinking plus people swinging them at each other is exactly as smart as it sounds.
If you want the White Wizard mechanic, settle challenges with rock-paper-scissors, a quick trivia question, cup pong shots, or another mini-game.
Feeling Wise
Under this house rule, nobody is allowed to say they're “drunk.”
They're feeling wise.
That's it.
Wizard Powers
Some groups unlock privileges at certain levels, especially once someone becomes the Wisest or White Wizard.
There is no universal spell list or progression system. Elaborate classes, spells, commands, and character abilities are house-rule expansions rather than standard Wizard Staff rules.
If your group wants them, great. Just establish the rules before playing instead of conveniently discovering that your Level 6 Necromancer apparently has the power to make everyone else drink.
Staff Duels
Physical Wizard Staff battles appear in some versions of the game, usually with the loser determined by whose staff breaks first.
We don't recommend actually doing this.
If competitive wizard combat is absolutely necessary for the integrity of your fantasy universe, use a non-contact challenge instead.
Our Recommended Wizard Staff Rules
The traditional game has one obvious problem: drinking more is both the way you score and, in some versions, the punishment for other parts of the game.
That gets dumb fast.
For an actual party, we'd keep the staff-building mechanic and remove the escalation.
COLLEGEWARES WIZARD STAFF RULES
- One completed can = one level.
- Every player builds one continuous staff.
- Set a maximum level or ending time before starting.
- No chugging requirement.
- Boss battles are optional non-drinking challenges.
- Accidentally broken staffs can be repaired.
- No physical staff fights.
- Highest completed level at the end is the Wisest Wizard.
- A tie stays a tie unless you settle it with a non-drinking mini-game.
This keeps the part that makes Wizard Staff actually interesting—the increasingly ridiculous physical staff—without turning the rules into a contest to see who can consume the most alcohol.
Wizard Staff vs. Wisest Wizard: Are They the Same Game?
Yes. Wizard Staff and Wisest Wizard generally refer to the same drinking game.
You may also see names such as Wizard Sticks or simply Wizard.
The terminology gets confusing because “Wisest Wizard” can mean either the entire game or the player who currently has the highest level.
| Term | Usually Means |
|---|---|
| Wizard Staff | The drinking game |
| Wisest Wizard | The game or the highest-level wizard |
| Wizard Sticks | Another name for the same basic game |
| White Wizard | An optional advanced title/variation |
Is Wizard Staff Good for Beer Olympics?
Not really.
Wizard Staff technically produces a winner, but it's an endurance game rather than a short competitive event. Making “who drank the most” a scored Beer Olympics event is also a pretty bad format.
For an actual tournament, games with clear rounds and skill-based winners work much better.
Beer Pong and Flip Cup are much easier to score as head-to-head events.
Wizard Staff works better as a ridiculous background game that develops throughout a party while other games are happening.
Wizard Staff Safety Rules That Actually Matter
- Don't race. The basic game doesn't require chugging.
- Set an ending point. Don't make unlimited alcohol consumption the win condition.
- Skip shot-based bosses. Use mini-games or challenges instead.
- Don't fight with the staffs. They're long aluminum objects being handled by people who have been drinking.
- Watch the ceiling. Fans, lights, and tall Wizard Staffs are natural enemies.
- Stop adding cans when the staff becomes difficult to control.
And obviously, nobody playing a drinking game should be driving afterward.
Can You Play Wizard Staff Without Alcohol?
Yes. The actual Wizard Staff mechanic works exactly the same with non-alcoholic canned drinks.
Each completed can still becomes another level. Players still build staffs, compete for the highest level, complete boss challenges, and crown a Wisest Wizard.
Honestly, the physical joke of someone eventually carrying around a ridiculous six-can staff does most of the work anyway.
Wizard Staff Drinking Game FAQ
How do you play the Wizard Staff drinking game?
Finish a canned drink, attach the empty can to your staff, and repeat. Every completed can counts as one wizard level. When the predetermined game ends, the player with the highest completed level is the Wisest Wizard.
What do you need for Wizard Staff?
You need canned drinks and strong tape. Duct tape is commonly used because each player's cans need to remain connected as the staff gets taller.
How many players do you need for Wizard Staff?
You need at least two players for a competition. There is no strict maximum because players build their staffs independently rather than taking traditional turns.
What is a level in Wizard Staff?
Each completed can represents one level. Five completed cans on your staff makes you a Level 5 wizard.
Do you tape the full can or empty can to the Wizard Staff?
The completed cans form the permanent staff, while your current drink sits at the top. In the common version, the next can is secured above the previous empty can before being consumed.
What is a boss battle in Wizard Staff?
A boss battle is an optional challenge at predetermined levels. Common versions use every third or fifth level, but boss battles are not necessary to play Wizard Staff and can easily be replaced with non-drinking challenges.
How often do you fight bosses in Wizard Staff?
Every three or five levels are both established versions. There isn't one universal interval, so choose the boss levels before starting if you're using that variation.
What happens if your Wizard Staff breaks?
It depends on the house rules. One version reduces your level to the number of cans remaining in your largest intact section. A simpler rule is to repair accidental breaks and continue.
What is the White Wizard?
The White Wizard is an optional high-level title. In commonly circulated versions, the first player to reach a predetermined high level—often Level 10—takes the title and can later be challenged by another qualifying wizard.
When do you become a wizard in Wizard Staff?
This varies by version. Some players simply call everyone a wizard from Level 1, while another established variation treats a player whose staff reaches or exceeds their height as having achieved “wizard status.” It doesn't affect the basic game.
How do you win Wizard Staff?
The player with the highest completed level at the end wins. In other words, compare the number of completed cans making up each player's staff.
Is Wisest Wizard the same as Wizard Staff?
Yes, usually. Wisest Wizard is a common alternate name for Wizard Staff and can also refer specifically to the player with the highest level.
Is Wizard Staff the same as Wizard Sticks?
Generally, yes. Wizard Staff, Wizard Sticks, and Wisest Wizard are names used for the same basic game of building staffs from finished cans.
Can you play Wizard Staff with soda?
Yes. Any canned beverage can be used because the actual game mechanic only requires finishing cans and attaching them to the staff.
Other Drinking Games to Play
Wizard Staff is weird because it can run in the background while you're playing something else. You don't need everyone standing around watching somebody slowly construct Level 4.
For something competitive, play Beer Pong or Flip Cup. If the goal is considerably more chaos, there's also Dizzy Bat and Stack Cup.
Wizard Staff in One Sentence
Finish a can, tape it to your increasingly impractical staff, gain a level, and eventually determine which idiot has become the Wisest Wizard.
