Beer pong is a throwing game played on a long table with cups arranged in triangles. The rules below are the common ones, plus the variations people argue about.
One change from the previous version of this page. It recommended a specific cheap beer on the reasoning that you go through several cans per game, which is a page on an alcohol retailer’s site encouraging volume. That is gone, and the water version of the game is described first, because it is both the more sanitary option and the one most regular players actually use.
Where it came from
The game is generally traced to Dartmouth in the 1950s, originally played with ping pong paddles. The handheld throwing version that replaced it is technically a different game, sometimes called Beirut, though almost nobody makes the distinction now.
Equipment
- A table roughly eight feet long. A dedicated beer pong table exists but is not necessary.
- 20 plastic cups with a wide brim, 10 a side.
- Ping pong balls. Have spares, they get lost.
Fill the cups with water. The ball spends the game bouncing off floors and table edges and then goes into the cup. Most people who play regularly use water in the cups and keep their own drink to the side, which is the version described below.
How a game runs
- Set the cups in a triangle at each end. Ten a side is standard, six works for a shorter game.
- Two teams of two, one at each end. Decide who starts, usually a coin flip.
- Players take turns throwing at the opposing triangle. A ball landing in a cup removes that cup.
- If both players on a team sink their shot, that team throws again.
- First team to clear the other side’s cups wins.
The rules people argue about
Settle these before you start rather than mid-game.
- Elbows and wrists. Keep them behind the table edge when throwing, so reach is not an advantage. Break it and the shot does not count.
- Re-racking. The opposing team can ask you to rearrange your remaining cups, usually twice a game. Pushing them back into a tight triangle makes a bigger target.
- Bouncing. In some versions a bounced shot that lands removes two cups. Usually disabled once two cups remain. Some houses do not allow it at all.
- Blowing. Whether the defending team can blow or flick out a ball spinning on the rim.
The fine print
A drinking game sets the pace for you, which is the thing to watch. Pour your own, keep track of what you have actually had, and stop when you want to rather than when the cups run out. Have water and food on the table.
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