Beer pong is not a competitive sport but a mere source of entertainment in pubs and playing arenas where people get together to wind down during weekends and have some fun. In communities where Beer is legal they use Beer while in Beer-prohibited societies a cup of water is a nice and inexpensive substitute.
There are no clues yet regarding who actually invented this game but there is a possibility that it’s an invention of traditional weekend pub gatherings in which people ended up developing a whole new set of games based on the cups and table.
Object of Playing Beer Pong
The object of this game is to eliminate all your opponent’s cups, this is done by throwing a small ball at your opponent’s end in such a way that it ends up falling into one of the cups part of the series arranged there. The first one to eliminate all his opponent’s cup is deemed the winner.
How to Play?
Beer Pong is played on a table with a certain number of glasses placed on each end, accompanied by a single player or team. Each of these glasses is filled with some liquid and players use their turns to throw the ball in the opponent’s glass, if they do so successfully, the opponent’s glass is eliminated otherwise it stays there.
If you want to win the game, you have to eliminate all your opponent’s glasses. But there are certain throwing techniques which makes an elimination legit, otherwise your opponent’s glass would stay as it was even if you manage to get the ball inside it.
Below, you can find each and every rule that a regular Beer Pong player must know to avoid any confusion and halt in the game.
General Rules of Beer Pong
- The cups on the table are arranged in triangular fashion, they can be 10 or 15 in front of each team. Each of these cups will be filled with any liquid.
- The number of cups and their arrangement can vary for singles and doubles, you can check out the arrangement on Google.
- If a player or team successfully throws the ball into his opponent’s cup, the opposition player/team drinks the cup and that cup is eliminated.
- Players are only allowed to throw the ball with their throwing arms behind the table.
- This goes on until one of the teams is eliminated.
- You can throw the ball directly, or on bounces. However, if your ball bounces before getting into the opponent’s cup, he has the right to block the ball by using his hands.
- In some set of rules, once the last cup of the losing player has been eliminated, the losing player gets consecutive shots at his opponent’s remaining cups. If he manages to eliminate all the cups in consecutive turns, the game goes into over time.
- In Overtime, both players set a rack of 3 cups. The player who finished in cups first gets the first shot and the first one to eliminate all his opponent’s cup during overtime is declared the winner.
Toss
A coin toss or any other means can be used to determine which player or team will get the first aim at the opponent’s glass.
Time Duration
It’s a casual sport, there are no time restrictions but a single game of Beer Pong hardly lasts for 15-20 minutes.
Playing Field
Beer Pong can be played on any table which has enough space to accommodate all glasses and maintain a significant distance between players at the both ends.
Playing Equipment
The equipment required for this game is a set of glasses and a table. Mostly plastic glasses are preferred as they are cheap and even if they fall off the table they won’t cause any damage.
Any form of liquid can be put into those glasses if you want to play an alcohol free version of the game.
Famous Beer Pong Events
It is not an internationally recognized sport and is only played in pubs, playrooms and anywhere with little space for fun during leisure hours.
Governing Body
There is no governing body of the sport at any level.