Whales Tales

Wales Tails
GenresDrinking
Players2+, usually 4-8, and ideally 5 or 7
Setup time0
Playing timevaries
ChanceLow

Whales Tales (alternatively, "Wales Tails" or "Prince"[1]) is a fast-paced, vocal drinking game,[2][3][4][5] which is simply described as a form of "Tag, you're it," where one player (the "Prince") standing in a circle of players begins by declaring the number of players and then calling on another player by number.[2][3]

Rules

These are some typical rules:[4][6][1]

Declaring

The Prince beings a round by (A) drinking, then (B) declaring (1) the total number of players ("Knights") standing in the circle, followed by (2) a number designating a target player by number of places to the left relative to the "Prince".

Phrasing of the Prince's declaration can vary. Examples of common declarations include:

"Whales Tales, the Prince of Whales, Prince in the court of (number of players) calls (target player number),"

"I see <number of players> knights and a Prince. And (target player number)."

The declaration is not complete until the Prince uses a designated word, e.g.,

"... Prince in the court of 5 CALLS 3" or

"I see 4 knights and a prince . . .AND 2 . . ."

Responding

The target player responds "nah," the speaker then asks "Who?", and the target player responds with a number designated the next target player, to the left relative to the target player. In fast games, the targeted players do not wait to hear a "who" but in essence respond "Nah <next target player number> . . . Who?"

The sequence of number, nah, who? continues until a mistake is made.

A target player failing to respond promptly, another player responding when not called, a player not following the specific phrasing, or a late "who?" are errors that stop the round. The erring player become the new prince, drinks, and declares to begin a new round.[3][6]

If multiple players chirp, or a player chirps and the target player misses (fails to respond), the left-most player becomes the new Prince. The new Prince may try to cause the other players to chirp by blurting numbers prior to using the designated trigger word. "I see 4 knights and a prince... 3, 2, 5 knights and a prince, AND ..."

Blunders

Mistakes stopping play and requiring a drink by blundering players include:

  • Improperly stating the initial declaration immediately before calling a target player.
  • Failure to take a drink prior to making a declaration.
  • Playing with an empty cup / vessel
  • When a target payer responds too slowly (a "miss").
  • When an uncalled person responds out of turn (a "chirp").
  • A slow, or no, "who?" from a responding player

Pointing with one's finger is a blunder that requires a drink. Players must indicate other players using their elbow.[3]

A new player joining the game becomes the new Prince. When a player leaves the game, the player to the left of the leaving player becomes the new Prince.

Example game[6]

Four players A, B, C, and D stand in a circle:
            A

B                    C

            D

A is the Prince and declares: "Whales Tales, the Prince of Wales, calls regular rotational tails, on a court of 4 on 2

D: "nay"

A: "who"

D: "3"

C: "nay"

D: "who"

C: "4"

C: "nay,who,1"

D: "nay"

C: "who"

D: "1"

B: "nay"

D: "who"

and so on....

Variations

  • The Prince may declare and respond to themselves multiple times before calling a target player. For example, "I see 4 knights and a Prince, and 5, nah who? 5, nah who? 3." Alternatively, the Prince may call themselves by zero, for example, by calling "nought" or "aught".[6]
  • The Prince may declare a variation of the rules. For example, "Whales Tales, the Prince of Whales, Prince calls <type of> tales, in the court of (number of players), on (target player number)." Example variations include:
    • blindfolded
    • facing outward
    • playing at far corners of the room
    • pants around the ankles while spinning in a circle
  • Landmines. Players who want to participate but are learning or too slow to keep up may opt to be designated a landmine. The other players cannot call the landmine's number. If the a landmine is called, (ideally) the landmine says "Boom!" and the calling player becomes the next Prince.

Cultural Influence and legacy

A session of Whales Tales, dubbed "Rotating Prince," is described in Thomas Pynchon's novel Gravity's Rainbow.[7] Pynchon's reference to the game has itself been called "a dramatized reading and interpretation of Gravity's Rainbow. The Pynchon industry has, of course, been immersed in a session of the game for three decades."[8]

Track 4 of the Cocteau Twins album Victorialand is titled "Whales Tales."

Origins

Whales Tales reached its heyday in the late 1930s after the Abdication of Edward VIII,[1] the Prince of Wales, and was played in fraternities at least as early as the 1960s.[9]

Whales Tales bears some resemblance to certain traditional children's games, including The priest of the parish,[10][11], which reportedly dates back to the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century,[12] King Plaster Palacey,[13] and The Prince of Wales[14] (or Prince of Paris).

References

  1. 1 2 3 Weisenburger, Steven C. (March 15, 2011). A Gravity's Rainbow Companion: Sources and Contexts for Pynchon's Novel. Greece: University of Georgia Press. pp. 135, 137. ISBN 9780820337647.
  2. 1 2 Rhoads, Robert A. (1995). "Whales Tales, Dog Piles, and Beer Goggles: An Ethnographic Case Study of Fraternity Life". Anthropology & Education Quarterly. 26 (3): 306–323. doi:10.1525/aeq.1995.26.3.05x0935y. JSTOR i360307 – via JSTOR.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Griscom, Andy; Rand, Ben; Johnston, Scott (2000). The Complete Book of Beer Drinking Games. Mustang Publishing Co., Inc. pp. 20, 70–71. ISBN 9781461750116.
  4. 1 2 "Whales Tales Drinking Game". The Webtender. Retrieved 2026-07-14.
  5. ↑ "Realbeer.com: Beer Game: Whales Tales". www.realbeer.com. Archived from the original on 2025-10-15. Retrieved 2026-07-14.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Whales Tales from ftp.funet.fi". May 3, 1993.
  7. ↑ Pynchon, Thomas (1973). Gravity's Rainbow (PDF) (Bantam ed.). United States: The Viking Press. pp. 246–248.
  8. ↑ Hägg, Samuli. Narratologies of Gravity's Rainbow. pp. 97–99. ISBN 952-458-432-8.
  9. ↑ Potts, George W. (2010-11-02). "Dartmouth Traditions: Wales's Tails". Dartmouth Traditions. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
  10. ↑ Carleton, William (1843). Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry. Vol. I (A New ed.). Dublin: William Curry Jr. and Co. pp. 111–112.
  11. ↑ Gomme, Alice Bertha (1898). The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Vol. II. London: David Nutt. p. 79.
  12. ↑ Morton, Henry Canova Vollam (April 9, 1929). "Priest of the Paris: Napoleonic Game of the Navy" (PDF). Daily Express. London – via the Hong Kong Daily News (May 10, 1929), p. 1.
  13. ↑ Gomme, Alice Bertha (1894). The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (PDF). Vol. I. London: David Nutt. p. 301. The players are a King and his three sons named White Cap, Red Cap, Brown Cap. Red Cap says, " Plaster Palacey had a son, whose name was old daddy White Cap." White Cap, in an injured voice, says, " Me, sir ? " The King says, "Yes, sir." White Cap answers, " You're a liar, sir." The King then says, " Who then, sir ? " White Cap answers, " Old daddy Red Cap."
  14. ↑ Clark, Imogen (1925). Suppose We Play: A Collection of Indoor and Outdoor Games for Young and Old. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company. pp. 181–182.
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