Last Cup Standing

The Skill Shot, also known as Players Cup or Island Cup, is a commonly seen rule added by Beer Pong players all over the country.  It is designed to reward players who can shoot accurately.  When I go to house games it is almost always mentioned in the rules.  Most often in the sense of whether it is or is not in effect.  So today we dedicate this article to the Skill Shot. 

The way it works is simple.  If an active cup is sitting apart from the others it is a target for this rule.  A good example is when the second and third cups are sunk leaving the head cup by itself.  That cup is referred to commonly as the island cup, the players cup, or the solo cup.  If the Skill Shot Rule is called by a player, they must try to shoot that solo cup.  If the make it in it counts as two cups if they miss or hit another cup it doesn’t count.  The idea is pretty simple and can dramatically change the pace of the game.  There are those who believe that if you call Skill Shot and bounce it in it counts as three.  I am inclined to agree, since you are telling people to pay attention to your shot and if you can land a bounce in it, you deserve it.  Generally, you cannot win on a Skill Shot, so the rule is not in effect if you have two or less cups.

I find that if not mediated this rule can get a little out of control so when I use it I put the following restriction on it.  Only one person on a team may call Skill Shot a turn.  To make it even more interesting I sometimes add that a person cannot call it two turns in a row so either they wait a turn before trying again or more likely take turns between them or their partner shooting at it.  I like these additions so it doesn’t get monotonous if people are shooting bad.

All in all, this rule is a good addition if you are working on your accuracy or have good accuracy.  It can make for great comebacks and crushing defeats or have no effect on a game at all.