一个个过通关?

[Lu]

In the book I'm currently translating, a man has invited some colleagues for a drinking party. It then says:

开门红喝过，酒席才正式开始，划拳行令，一个个过通关，最后到底能喝多少就难说了。

开门红 refers to three cups that get the party started, it's explained in the previous lines. I know 划拳行令 means 'guess-fingers' and such various drinking games. But what is 一个个过通关? Is it another drinking game, or does it mean they play several rounds or something? I can't help thinking of the drinking scene in Shanghai Knight, where they yell something that sounds like this, but I'm not sure if I got that right.

Insights are much appreciated!

[Kenny同志]

It does not seem to be a common or acceptable phrase to me. However, it could be a regional usage which just means 通了一個個關. I am not sure.

[陳德聰]

I don't think it's the name of a game. 过通关 to me means "beat the game" as with cellphone games that have like 60 levels or something and you beat them all. I don't really understand how it makes sense in this text, unless the speaker is saying that each person at the party beats him/her one at a time. But I don't think 划拳行令 works like that?

[Lu]

Perhaps 'all of them played' or 'they played several rounds' then?

[陳德聰]

Just asked my slightly more drinking-game experienced partner, he imagined a party with everyone sitting around a table where everyone has to 划拳 each other (individual games) but in a round-robin format so that if you win, you go to the next person, but if you lose you have to drink, so if you keep on losing you end up at the bottom and always drinking and if you keep winning you end up at the top and don't need to drink. Presumably that's why it's hard to say how much you'll end up drinking.

[Lu]

Thanks both! I now made it 'they played drinking games, they all played against each other' (it sounds a little better in Dutch). It's not exactly what you describe but I have to keep it simple.