There's a New Contender for the Title of Most Dangerous Lawn Game

The manufacturers of Beer Darts call it “an unforgettable experience” and, after testing the product, I am forced to agree.

Of course, they had me sold from the name “Beer Darts” and a PR email promising “a fun and exciting drinking game.” To be honest, the only words adjacent to beer that would have gotten me to respond quicker were “throwing stars.”

To play Beer Darts, each player takes one of the two “stabilizing beer can holders” and place it between their feet while sitting 10 feet apart. The object of the game is to throw the darts at, and pierce, your opponent’s stabilized beer can. They then drink what comes out of the can. As far as drinking games go, it’s pretty simple. Yes, there are more rules, but they feel more like suggestions. I would suggest that Beer Darts is more a platform for mayhem than a fully formed game. When you combine alcohol and thrown projectiles, rules are temporary considerations. I’m not being judgmental here, the last drinking game I played was called “Drink and Point.”

There’s no mention of what happens when an inebriated picnic acquaintance throwing darts at a beer can at your feet accidentally nails you in the shin, abdomen, or cornea. You’re on your own at that point. According to the small print on the bottom of the box, by purchasing Beer Darts, you and everybody you’ve ever known are releasing the manufacturers from all liability.

In 2022, the Colorado Chamber of Commerce named the game—along with a water purification system, prosthetic fingers, and hemp insulation–one of the 10 “Coolest Things Made in Colorado.” Beer Darts is a sturdy product that fits nicely together with magnets and includes a bottle opener, I assume for your friends who have no interest in throwing darts at cans. There’s also a clip where you can put the lid of a pizza box or other cardboard as shoe and shin protection. In addition to the red and blue Beer Darts models, there are glow-in-the-dark and ham and cheese versions. And it’s not just the Chamber of Commerce who appreciates Beer Darts, as the company has 45,000 Instagram followers.

Related: The 50 Best Beers in the World

I convinced a friend to try Beer Darts on Memorial Day. Though it’s against the spirit of the rules, we decided not to throw darts at each other. Instead, we set the beer holders on a short cement wall. We also neglected the suggestion to open our cans before throwing—but soon learned the reason for this. I punctured a can of American lager with my second dart and quickly grabbed the can as it sprung a leak. My friend missed his can four times in a row.

“I’ll say this, the darts are really sharp,” he said before his fifth throw, which hit the can right near the top. To appreciate the power and majesty of Niagara Falls, you really need to be there. I would say the same about the eruption of beer that spewed out of a tiny hole in the can and hit my friend directly in the face. In a move that he later termed “unfortunate,” my friend then moved directly toward the can as it continued to drench him with pressurized beer. For me, slurping beer through a pinhole in the side of the can, it was all very exciting.

Would we do it again? No, my friend declined a second round and I’ve reached an age when I don’t let darts, ping pong balls, or pointing decide my alcohol consumption. Was seeing my friend get hit in the face by a large amount of beer in a very short time “an unforgettable experience”? Yes, it was. Well played, Beer Darts.

[Starts at $45; beerdarts.co]