Last Cup Standing

Whether you have never heard of beer pong before and stopped here on accident or you might have played once or twice and want to know more this is a good place to start.  Even the best beer pong player you’ve ever seen had to start some where.  The following will contain a brief overview of the game of beer pong, but please note that not everyone plays by the same rules or set up so it is always important to ask what the rules of the table are before playing.

Getting Started

Beer pong is the premiere drinking game of dorm rooms, backyards, garages, where ever parties are had and beer pong is perfect for any size group of people be they two or two-hundred.  It is a competition of skill, luck, and the ability to maintain focus under the increasing influences of alcohol.  Competition in beer pong is often though not limited to 1 v 1 or 2 v 2 matches.  Teams stand to either side of beer pong table, a rectangular table or surface generally 6 or 8 feet apart.

In front of each team is six or ten cups, generally plastic disposable 16 or 18 ounce cups arranged in a triangle with the point facing their opponents.  There are also two additional cups on the table near either side filled with water to clean the ball should it hit the floor or other unappetising surface.  These are called water cups.  Get to know them and learn to use them.  Most importantly make sure your opponents use them.

The ball used is a typical ping pong ball that can be found at any sporting goods store or store with a sporting goods section.  Sometimes convenience stores or supermarkets that are hip to the popularity of beer pong will keep some around typically near the beer section.  It is always good to have spare balls just in case.  22 cups, 2 balls, a table, and an opponent are all you need to play beer pong.  Oh and beer of course, although non-alcoholic games can be played, using alcohol can add an additional challenge as motor-skills and depth perception start to deteriorate.  If you have all this then you are now ready to start playing beer pong.

Determining First Shot

The first task after the opponents are established and the table is set is finding out who goes first.  Commonly there are two methods of determining who starts.  They are Eye-to-Eye and Closest-to-Front-Cup.  For the purpose of clarity we will make up two teams. Team A will consist of players a and b.  Team 1 will consist of players 1 and 2.  Eye-to-Eye is exactly how it sounds.  Opponents a and 1 face of starring each other in the eyes.  They count to three and shoot without breaking eye contact.  If a makes it in and 1 misses then Team A goes first and vica-versa.  If both a and 1 make it in or neither do then it goes to the teammates b and 2 to face of and so on back and forth till shooting order is established.

In Closest-to-Front-Cup sides alternate turns.  First player a will shoot then player 1 and if no winner is established then player b will shoot then 2 and back to a until order is established.  a and 1 are still facing off as in Eye-to-Eye and so are b and 2.  If a hits a cup then 1 has to hit the same cup or closer to the head cup.  If the same cup or cup of similar distance is hit then it goes to the next player to shoot but if a closer cup is hit they win.  If a misses the cups and 1 hits then Team 1 goes first, just like if a hits and 1 misses or hits a further cup Team A goes first.

It is important to note that if five minutes of either method goes on without a winner declared then for sake of everybody switch to a coin flip or rock-paper-scissor to determine first shot.

Basics of Play

The basic play, while dependent on the rules of the house or table you are on, will have many commonly occurring rules.   First the team that won first shot will go both get to shoot before their turn ends.  If they make the ball into a cup the other team must remove the cup and drink the beer inside it.  If both teammates hit cups then they get a bring back.  A bring back is an extension of their turn where they each get another shot.  Bring backs can stack so long as they keep hitting cups.

If both players make the ball in the same cup it is called double cupping.  For example, player a shoots and hits a cup and before Team 1 removes the cup player b shoots and gets it in the same cup.  Double cupping results in an automatic loss of game for the team it happens to so in our example Team A wins for double cupping Team 1.

It is important to note that while an opponent may use any means necessary to distract the shooter they are not allowed to interfere with a ball that is in the air.  From the moment the ball leaves the shooters hand till the first surface it hits it is untouchable.  If disturbed a reshot or a one cup penalty is imposed against the opponent.  This is relevant for the next rule, the bounce.  In beer pong the bounce can be a formitable tool and a strategic shot.  Best if done when the opponents are distracted.  The ball is thrown in such a way that it bounces on the table before landing in a cup.  The result of a successful bounce is that it is worth two cups.  The one it landed in and one of the opponents choice.  The downside of the bounce shot is that after it hits the table it is fair game to be blocked or swatted away.

As cups are hit and the rack gets more and more gaps in it, it becomes time for another element of beer pong, the re-rack.  Depending on rules the re-rack can be done either at specific racks or at one or two racks of the shooters choice.  Racks are generally called at the beginning of the turn before shots are taken and when limited it is generally that ten cup gets two racks and six cup gets just one rack.  The most common racks can occur at six cups, four cups, three cups, or two cups.  Some people believe in racking a single cup by centering it, but I feel that that is a wasted rack and only to be used if it is an automatic rack as deemed by the rules of the table.  A visual of the most common beer pong racks is such:

1. To play you need 22 cups, 2 ball, a table and opponents.
2. Games can be 6 cup or 10 cup and played 1 v 1 or 2 v 2.
3. Eye-to-Eye or Closest-to-Front-Cup are good ways to determine who shoots first.
4. If both players on a team hit cups they get a bring back.
5. If both players hit the same cup its double cupping and they win.
6. Don’t interfere with a ball in flight unless it has bounced.
7. Redemion shots are shoot-till-miss so the game isn’t over till its over.
8. Alcohol can make people do silly and disturbing things.
9. Beer pong is the greatest thing to happen to beer since the invention of the keggerator.