Wetherspoons visit could mean a free drink as pub app game sweeps the country
Punters are sending strangers free drinks and even bowls of peas in an unusual drinking game sweeping the nation.
Hundreds of thousands of people have joined a Facebook group where strangers order each other free drinks at Wetherspoon pubs, the chain founded by the prominent Brexiteer Tim Martin.
It is made possible by the company’s mobile app which allows people to order drinks and food to a specific table in any of its 900 pubs across Britain, as long as they know the table number.
The game is the brainchild of Chris Illman, 42, who launched it as a way to lift his spirits in 2018 when he was diagnosed with cancer and had just gone through a break-up with his partner.
In November 2023 it suddenly went viral and now has 530,000 members, with Mr Illman confident that it will hit a million by the end of 2024.
Players submit a photo of themselves in a Wetherspoon pub with the location and table number attached.
And, as long as it meets the rules it is approved by moderators and everyone else in the group can start ordering drinks to the table despite having never met the poster.
Trying to pay back
Rules including being over 18, the picture showing everyone who is drinking and no drivers or pregnant women.
“I wanted to start a concept of trying to pay back [those who] help,” Mr Illman, from near Portsmouth, told The Telegraph.
“The main demographic is females between 18 and 45 so it’s widespread and people from all walks of life. We could have 200 posts a night.
“We don’t let it get out of hand, as a rule of thumb we let people have up to five to ten drinks then we cut it off because we don’t want to be encouraging binge drinking.”
Among those who have played the game are elderly couple Geoff and Josephine Irlam, who were sent wine, beer and shots of liquor at the George Inn near Stoke-on-Trent after their son-in-law posted on the Facebook group in December 2023, saying he had “bought nana and grandad out for their early night cap”.
Another was Sonya Colliander, a 20-year-old foreign student in London who was out at The Moon Under Water in Leicester Square “to celebrate the beginning of a new chapter” on Monday night. She was with her best friend who had broken up with her boyfriend of two years before strangers in the group ordered them shots.
Others have been less fortunate, being sent prank orders such as bowls of peas and a side order of red chillies, which has led to moderators cracking down.
Rule prevents silly orders
“We have a rule that prevents silly orders. It’s not fair on Wetherspoon staff to keep having to make and bring out bowls of peas,” Mr Illman said.
Alongside the strangers game, Mr Illman also visits Wetherspoon pubs across the country and encourages the Facebook group members to order meals in takeaway boxes for the homeless.
“We did Brighton on December 11 and got 200 sausages and mash in just over 12 minutes. In Portsmouth on December 23 we got 100 breakfasts in just under nine minutes and we also sold the pub out of snacks in under 12 minutes,” Mr Illman said.
“Next Monday we’re heading up to Birmingham and ordering 300 burgers and chips which we’re donating to a charity and three hostels, so it’s all pre-arranged.”
A separate Facebook group is non-alcoholic and focused on allowing families to take their children out for a free meal funded by the kindness of strangers.
Mr Illman estimates that the games have raked in at least £1 million in revenue for Wetherspoon. The chain declined to comment.
