Oktoberfest Party Games: Maßkrug Holding, the Nail and the Hammer, and Five More

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Every Oktoberfest party ends up needing something to do between the eating and the standing around with a drink, and most party-planning lists just say “games” without telling you the actual rules, which is how you end up refereeing an argument about whether someone’s elbow bent. This page has the real rules for the two games everyone has heard of, an honest read on the card game people always suggest and should not, and five more, all pulled from sources that actually publish rules rather than a blog’s paraphrase, so you can settle the argument before it starts. It is one piece of the full Oktoberfest party plan, alongside the food, the drinks and the outfits.

Maßkrug Holding: the official rules

Steinholding, sometimes called Maßkrugstemmen, looks simple until you try it: hold a full one-liter Maß out at arm’s length for as long as you can. The US Steinholding Association’s official rules specify a “1L dimpled glass Masskrug-style stein with handle, weighing approximately 3 lbs” and are strict about form: “the arm holding the stein must be extended straight with no bending at the elbow” and must “remain parallel with the ground” throughout¹.

Spilling ends it instantly. “If any amount of the liquid filling the stein spills or drips off of the stein, the competitor is immediately disqualified,” and short of a spill, judges hand out strikes for form breaks, with a third strike also ending your turn¹. For scale, the association’s own founder, Jim Banko, once held a stein for an official time of 17 minutes and 11 seconds, which was the previous US record and a good reason not to bet the last round of the night on your own stamina¹.

For a party, you do not need an official stein; any one-liter mug with a handle and enough water in it works, and using water instead of beer means nobody has to sit out for being under 21. Time it in heats of two or three people, and let the room vote on who holds their arm the straightest, since a living-room floor is not going to have a judge counting form strikes.

Resi says If you want the real dimpled glass rather than a plastic stand-in, the 1-liter Hofbräuhaus München stein sold on Amazon is a true liter, the same shape as the mug this whole game is named after, and doubles as your everyday Maßkrug once the party is over³. I could not get a current price to hold still on the listing, which seems to be a running theme with this retailer, so check the page before you buy rather than trusting a number here.

Hammerschlagen: the nail and the hammer

Nagelbalken, known in North America as Hammerschlagen, is a log, a circle of nails started partway into the wood, and a hammer passed clockwise, one continuous swing per turn. Nails-N-Ales’ official rules add a wrinkle most party guides leave out: which end of the hammer you are allowed to use depends on your skill. “If you do not use hammers regularly you must use the blunt end of the hammer. If using a hammer is second-nature to you, you must use the pointy side”². A nail you bend yourself has to be straightened on your own turn; a nail an opponent bends for you earns you a free swing². The winning move is to drive your own nail flush: “Drive your nail vertically into the wooden stump until its head is level with, or even below, the surface”². Scoring gives first place 10 points, second 7, third 4, and everyone else 1².

Resi says This is a game played with a hammer, by people who have been drinking, aimed at a log everyone is standing around. Keep it to one hammer in play at a time, keep the circle of onlookers a full arm’s length back, and if anyone’s swing starts looking more confident than their aim, that is your cue to switch them to steinholding instead.

Schafkopf: understand it, don't attempt it at a party

Bavarian Schafkopf is a genuinely serious card game, and I mean that as a warning as much as a compliment. Pagat.com, a card-game reference site, calls it “a truly fascinating game that deserves wider recognition” and the “supreme discipline” of Bavarian card games, rating it maximum difficulty on its own three-star scale. It is played with 24 or 32 German-suited cards, uses 14 trumps, and needs 61 of 120 points to win a hand⁴. Even the site’s own verdict is blunt: Schafkopf “isn’t recommended for casual party settings,” despite simplified variants like Bierkopf existing for learners⁴. Explain the concept if someone asks what Bavarians actually play, and leave the real game for a table that wants to commit an evening to it.

Five more that actually work in a backyard

These come from a fetched Oktoberfest party-games list built for offices, which means every one of them survives a mixed group of drinkers and non-drinkers without needing a log, a hammer or 32 special cards.

Source: Surf Office⁵.

The same source frames all of it as workable “with or without alcohol, making it an inclusive event for all,” which is why several of these show up again in my office Oktoberfest page built specifically around non-drinkers⁵.

Ein Prosit, and the song nobody can agree on

“Ein Prosit,” the toast song played across the Oktoberfest tents, has a real story behind it, and the two most detailed accounts I found split on one detail. Both agree that it was not written by a Bavarian at all, and that Nuremberg innkeeper Georg Lang made it a fixture of the Wiesn starting in 1898, when he handed out songbooks and brought in a brass band to play it in his tent; from there it became standard repertoire across the big tents, played two to three times an hour to this day. Where the two sources part ways is the composer’s name, so rather than pick a side, I am leaving that one detail out and telling you honestly that it is disputed⁶⁷.

Schuhplattler, if you are feeling ambitious

Schuhplattler, the stomping, clapping, thigh-slapping Alpine folk dance, comes up on every Oktoberfest party list, and I am giving it one line rather than a how-to: it takes a live teacher to learn properly, and a YouTube tutorial in your kitchen is not going to get you there before the party starts, so treat it as something to watch a video of together rather than perform.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do you need for Maßkrug holding at home?

A one-liter mug with a handle, filled with water rather than beer so nobody has to sit out, and a flat arm held parallel to the ground for as long as possible.

Is Hammerschlagen safe for a home party?

It can be, with one hammer in play at a time, spectators kept back from the log, and a rule that beginners use the blunt end of the hammer.

Should I teach guests to play Schafkopf at my party?

Probably not as the main activity; it is a genuinely difficult card game that a dedicated reference site itself says is not suited to a casual party setting.

Who wrote "Ein Prosit"?

The two most detailed sources on the song’s history disagree on the composer’s name, though both agree it was written outside Bavaria and became an Oktoberfest fixture only after 1898.

What are good non-drinking Oktoberfest games?

Steinholding with water instead of beer, a pretzel toss, a water-filled stein race, musical stein pass, Bavarian hat decorating and a yodeling contest all work without alcohol.

Can kids play any of these games?

The water-based versions of steinholding and the stein race, the pretzel toss and hat decorating all work for kids; my Oktoberfest for kids page has more that are built for them specifically.

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