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Beer pong

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For the similar drinking game involving table tennis paddles, see beer pong (paddles).
Beirut
Playerstypically 2 teams of 2
Setup time2 minutes
Playing time10-15 minutes
ChanceEasy
Age rangelegal drinking age, however widely played by underage participants
Skillsaiming, taunting and alcohol tolerance

Beirut (also called Beer Pong, Rut, Lob pong or Scud) is a drinking game in which players throw a ping pong ball across a table with the intent of landing the ball in one of several cups of beer on the other end. The game typically consists of two two-player teams, one on each side of a table, and a number of cups set up on each side. The rules vary widely, though usually there are the same number of plastic cups - six, ten or 15 plastic cups - arranged in a triangle on each side. The number of players on a team can vary as well, from one to three or more.

When a ball lands in a cup, the defending team must consume that cup's beer. The game is won by eliminating all the other team's cups before one's own cups are eliminated. The losing team must then consume all the beer remaining in the winning team's cups. The order of play varies - both players on one team shoot, then both players on the other team, or players on opposite teams can alternate back and forth.

Although the preceding guidelines are common, the rules may be subject to a wide variety of modifications and additions that often vary based on the area of the country, the state, or even the house in which a particular game is played.

Today, beer pong is played at a multitude of American colleges and universities.[1] The game is also played at high school house parties.[2]

The most common modern version of the game is played without paddles and has a murkier beginning. The Daily Princetonian, the student newspaper of Princeton University, attributed the naming of the paddle-less game where balls are thrown into cups to the early 1980s at Bucknell University.[3]


Setup

Playing field

According to the World Series of Beer Pong, the regulation table size is 8x2 feet (2.44x0.61 meters), and it stands 48 inches (69.9 centimeters) above the ground.

However, the most common place to play beer pong is on a ping pong table, although the game can be played on any flat surface with enough space to hold the two formations of cups, such as a board or a door taken from its hinges. A folding banquet table is also a common playing surface.

Beer pong enthusiasts may create a personalized table for use by friends and visitors. In general, this will be a plywood board cut to proper size, painted with sports, school or fraternity symbols, and then given a liquid-proof coating.[4]


Alcohol

Usually a cheap pale lager or light beer of 3.2-5% abv, such as Natural Light, Keystone Light or Coors Light, is used since large quantities may be consumed during the course of several games. Typically, approximately 4 oz. of beer is poured into each cup in the formation, which is equivalent to the first or second ridgeline up from the bottom in a 16 ounce cup. This works out to be two 12 oz. cans of beer per team in a regular six cup game. However, more or less liquid can be used. Sometimes, teams may decide to fill one cup of their choice to the brim, which is called the "Money Cup" or "Challenge Cup". Also, strong ale may be used by one team and not the other as a means of handicapping. The game is not limited to beer. Hard alcohol mixes or wine can be substituted by choice or when beer is not available. At Lehigh University it is commonplace to find games played with a grain alcohol and Koolaid blend, which is usually referred to as "Grain 'Rut" by those involved.


Impact

A referee making a call during a game.

Despite the illegal nature of teen drinking in the United States, Beer pong is played nationwide by high school students.[2] There is quite a difference in the American cultural attitude concerning alcohol use by high school-aged teenagers versus use by college students (despite the fact that there is significant overlap between the actual ages of the two sets). Parents and school administrators tend to view high-school student drinking as severely dangerous and often treat it with a Zero tolerance mindset, whereas drinking is often seen as an accepted part of the "college experience" and viewed with nostalgia by older adults. While alcohol policy discipline is more often than not a "slap on the wrist" in college, many times high schools will engage in much more disciplinary action against violators. High schools have been known to exert disciplinary action even when drinking or drinking games occurred well outside the nominal jurisdiction of the school itself. This is perhaps an example of the school working in loco parentis to encourage habits that are more socially accepted as healthy.

A number of arguments exist as to why drinking games such as Beer Pong are especially dangerous for younger teens :

  • Most teenagers have not built a high level of drinking tolerance.
  • Peer pressure can lead teenagers to consume more than they safely may handle.
  • Participants in drinking games may not be fully cognizant of the rate at which they are consuming alcohol.
  • The competitive nature of the game causes the participants to take risks.[5]
  • Many teens may wish to emulate older, college-age people, by engaging in drinking culture without the same degree of collective experience and support that make it more socially acceptable among older students.

With this in mind, players new to Beer pong or any drinking game should be extremely careful to avoid overconsumption, and alcohol poisoning. When moderation is practiced in the presence of a trustworthy social support network, drinking games can be relatively safe, especially if light beer is consumed, which has low alcohol content.[citation needed]

In some areas, municipalities or states have attempted to ban beer pong, either from bars or in general. In Oxford, Ohio, where Miami University is located, the city council tried to ban the game from being played outdoors,[6] and in Arlington, Virginia, bar owners were told to stop allowing the game to be played in their establishments.[7] In some cases, parents have been arrested for allowing the game to be played by underage children.[2] Also, some schools in North Carolina have tried to ban the game, citing laws that all drinking games are illegal in the state.

Tournaments and leagues

National Beer pong tournaments are held in the United States. Since the drinking age in the United States is currently 21 in all states, entry into most tournaments is restricted to players who meet this age requirement. Some, however, have held tournaments with other liquids legal to minors, such as milk or water.

The most notable include The World Series of Beer Pong, The Bing Bong Spring Cup, The World Pong Tour[8][9], Beer Pong Summer Cup, Beer Pong World Cup Invitational, ABAA's National Tour and the World Beer Pong Tournament.

A more common and decentralized organization of Beer pong games is small leagues. Ordinarily, a group of college students or other pong enthusiasts will create teams (partnerships) and play weekly against each other, such as at the University of California, Santa Barbara, with the "Isla Vista Beer Pong League",[10] and New York University.[11]

Bud Pong

Bud Pong was the branded version of beer pong that brewer Anheuser-Busch said involved the drinking of water, not Budweiser or any other beer. In the summer of 2005, the company began marketing "Bud Pong" kits to its distributors. Francine I. Katz, vice president for communications and consumer affairs, was reported in The New York Times as saying that Bud Pong was not intended for underage drinkers because promotions were held in bars, not on campuses. And it did not promote binge drinking, she said, because official rules call for water to be used, not beer.[12]

The New York Times quoted a bartender at a club near Clemson University as saying she had worked at several Bud Pong events and had "never seen anyone playing with water. It's always beer. It's just like any other beer pong."[12]

Some expressed incredulity at Anheuser-Busch's public statements. Henry Wechsler, director of the College Alcohol Study at the Harvard School of Public Health, said: "Why would alcohol companies promote games that involve drinking water? It's preposterous,"[12] while advertising news site Adjab opined that "someone playing Bud Pong with water is about as likely as a teenage kid using the rolling paper he bought at the convenience store to smoke tobacco."[13]

On October 19, 2005, the company professed surprise that some players were using beer instead of water, and withdrew the game in response to criticism. Katz stated that "Despite our explicit guidelines, there may have been instances where this promotion was not carried out in the manner it was intended." However, on many campuses this water rule has been adopted to promote cleanliness. Players then keep a beer in a can or cup and must finish it by the end of the game.

Water Pong

Water Pong is an altered version of Beer Pong. Though the game is played the same, the cups are filled with water, and instead of drinking the contents of the cups, the losing team instead drinks from a bottle, can, or some other beer containing receptacle. The advantages of this are mostly sanitary: players do not need to share cups that dozens of others have drank from, and dirt, hair, and other filth do not end up in beer cups via pong ball as is a common problem from having the balls end up rolling all over the ground. It also prevents players from walking away with game cups after a match has ended.

References

  1. ^ Corbett, Jill (2005). "Beer Pong!". UWeekly. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
  2. ^ a b c Flynn, Courtney (July 22, 2007). "Parents guilty of permitting underage drinking". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2007-07-27. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Berner, Laura (2004). "On language, Princeton style: The history of 'Beirut'". Daily Princetonian. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
  4. ^ "Advice on building Beer Pong Tables". Terrapin Tables. 2005. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
  5. ^ Abels, Alex (November 10, 2005). "Teen drinkers play to lose with booze". Silver Chips. Retrieved 2007-07-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Strader, Sean (February 23, 2007). "Council vote freezes beer pong ban". The Oxford Press. Retrieved 2007-07-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Shott, Chris (October 7, 2005). "The Pong Arm of the Law". The Washington City Paper. Retrieved 2007-07-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ MuCullough, Andy (April 25, 2007). "Skill Cup: students vie for a chance to win Vegas vacation at Chuck's beer pong tournament". The Daily Orange (Syracuse University). Retrieved 2007-07-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Gabak, Jason (April 19, 2007). "Beer Pong Tour Makes 2 Stops in Southern Tier". The Buzz (Binghamton, New York). Retrieved 2007-07-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Smith, Ashley Nikole (April 24, 2007). "Students Create I.V. Beer Pong League". Daily Nexus (University of California, Santa Barbara). Retrieved 2007-07-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Kfoury, Branden (November 15, 2005). "Even at chic NYU, beer pong prevails". Washington Square News (NYU). Retrieved 2007-07-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ a b c Gettleman, Jeffrey (October 16, 2005). "As Young Adults Drink to Win, Marketers Join In". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-07-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Finley, Adam (October 18, 2005). "Beer Pong promotions not so good". Ad-Jab. Retrieved 2007-07-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

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