Add Some Gamification to Your Drunken Holiday Office Parties

It’s finally 12/21/12 and the world is supposed to end at any moment now. It also just so happens to be right at the cusp of Christmas and other major holidays. Whether you’re cowering in fear or celebrating the holidays like a sane person, chances are that you’re probably drinking  a lot of alcohol for the occasion. Here are some gamification apps to make drinking even more engaging during your holiday boozing.

1) Untappd 

Show off your impeccable taste for craft beer and obscure microbreweries to your coworkers by using Untappd to check-in to all your favorite beers and earn a number of badges along the way. Untappd also has some social features that allows you to see where other drinkers are enjoying the same beer as you as well as other nearby bars. A favorite moment of mine with Untappd was when I unlocked the “Stout Day 2012” badge when I randomly checked-in to a stout on November 8th.

2) VinPass

VinPass works the same as Untappd in that it is another check-in application but for wines instead. It requires you use either WineLog, Drync, or NatDecants as it is layered in each of those apps’ functionality. Once you have one of those apps, you have free reign to start checking-in to wines, look at quick taste notes for wines, and even receive special offers from certain wineries.

BONUS: Drinkify

Available in standard and holiday flavors, Drinkify was a product from a 2011 Music Hack Day hackathon. Drinkify provides drink suggestions based off the music you are listening to. For example, the office radio right now is playing The Pixies and holiday drinkify suggested we have some PBR. Cheeky. While not explicitly a gamified product, this is a fun little way to determine what to listen to while you’re drinking.

While these apps serve mostly to be alcohol journals, they might just be your saving grace when you’re stuck in an awkward conversation and run out of things to talk about. Although I’m not sure you want to divulge your extensive (or empty) list of beer and wine trials to a superior. Happy boozing!