Splitting the G Challenge: below harp or middle of G? (rules explained)

Should the letter be bifurcated? Do you split the word from the logo? Does it really matter? We explain the Splitting the G Challenge.

Drinking games can liven up a quiet night down the local or set the tone for a good night out. One drinking challenge that causes debate across the country and further afield is the Splitting the G Challenge.

Should you aim to bifurcate the letter G? Or is it a case of splitting the word ‘Guinness’ from the iconic harp logo? Whatever your take on the Splitting the G Challenge, read ours below.

The rules – the bona fide certainties of the Splitting the G challenge

While the ultimate goal of the Splitting the G Challenge remains subject to bitter debate (we’ll get to that later), there are a few rules set in stone.

Firstly, the pint must be fully settled before you drink. To be fair, this constitutes advice more so than a rule, but a fully settled pint will help you better judge when to stop drinking. That, and it is simply sacrilege to drink a pint of Guinness before the thing has settled.

Secondly, you must attempt to split the G in one go, though not necessarily one gulp – that would amount to torture. This means no stopping to check your progress or take a breath. On this note, it’ll probably take three to four gulps to get there.

Lastly, the pint must be set on a flat surface. Holding your pint at an angle to dupe your fellow drinkers won’t do, and neither will a wonky table or uneven bar. Find a flat surface on which to set your glass to avoid any gamesmanship and maintain a level – literally – playing field.

Splitting the G Challenge – the two main variants of the challenge

The Splitting the G Challenge has caused much debate between Guinness drinkers and pub-goers across Ireland and, indeed, the world. Much of this debate centres around determining how the G is split.

There are two main schools of thought: those who believe that the letter G must be divided in two and those who argue that the top of the letter should be separated from the iconic Guinness harp logo.

Argument one – dividing the letter G in two

Those who argue that the letter G should be split in two aim to create the line between Guinness’s creamy white head and rich black body. As the name suggests, splitting the G in two.

In other, more complicated, typographical words, when you set your pint glass back down on the flat surface of the bar or table, the line should bisect the G between its arm and its crossbar, entering nicely into its counter.

Argument two – separating the word from the harp

As we’ve said, the second argument offers that the entire word ‘Guinness’ should be separated by that same line from the harp, that symbol of Guinness recognised by drinkers the world over.

So, when the glass is placed back on that flat surface, the word itself should be backed by the velvety black body, while the harp is somewhat obscured by the head and the ‘shtick’.

So, which is right? – the ultimate question

The name of the challenge calls on competitors to ‘split the G’, so surely this can only mean one thing – challengers must, indeed, split the letter G with the line created between the head and the body of the pint.

And I say this as someone whose previous experience of such a challenge is actually in the form of the second argument – splitting the word from the harp. Though I must concede, I never once called what I was doing ‘splitting the G’.

The Splitting the G Challenge was actually introduced to me by a second-generation Irish immigrant in London. Make of that what you will.

He also didn’t give it a name. It was just something we attempted to do over several second-rate pints in a North London pub. Let’s face it, it’s a fact that Guinness tastes better in Ireland!

Maybe, like Jack Change It, the Splitting the G Challenge can have its personal variations. Those who split the letter can split the letter, those who separate the word from the harp can do so, and those who just want to drink the pint can drink the feckin’ thing.