Beer pong
For the similar drinking game involving table tennis paddles, see Beer Pong (paddles)
Beer Pong (also known as Beirut) is a drinking game that involves propelling a table tennis ball across a table with the goal of making the ball land in one of several cups of beer. The game generally involves two teams, each composed of two people. Once a player is scored upon, they are supposed to consume the entire amount beer (or other alocholic beverage) that resides in cup where the ball landed. When one of the teams has scored in all of their opponents' cups, the game is won.
While having a remarkedly simple premise, the game has a great depth of skill and strategy with different kinds of shots, cooperative planning, and a large element of confrontational psychology. These elements combined with the dehabilitating effects of alcohol creates a complex alluring game, or as some say, a sport. Beer Pong also has a remarkable number of variations styles, which can depend on what area of the country, state, or even what house the game is being palyed. Today, beer pong has become a staple of American highschool and college subculture, and along with Quarters, is one of the most played drinking games in the country.
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Entymology
The meaning of the terms Beer Pong and Beirut vary depending on locality to which the game is played: Beirut is unambiguously accepted to be the version of the game where players throw the balls and do not use paddles to hit the ball, while Beer Pong can mean either the same game as Beirut, or the similar game where players use paddles to hit the ball toward the cups of their opponents. Beirut is generally a term used in the northeastern United States while 'Beer Pong' is the most commonly used in the southern and western regions. Beer Pong, in its paddle variation, is rarely played in the South.
The name "Beirut" is said to derive from an irreverent, and some would deem offensive, allusion to the civil war in Lebanon in the 1980's in which mortar shells were lobbed at Beirut, the country's capital city. Calling the game Beiruit is said to have originated at Lehigh University or Bucknell University [1].
Setup
Players and officials
Beer pong can be played with two teams of two persons each or two teams of one person. Each team begins the game standing at either end of the table behind their rack of cups. There may be up to two officials observing one game. These officials should be unbiased individuals competent in the rules of the game. Officials should stand at the side of the table as to not interfere with gameplay. The job of the official is to determine any violation(s) of the rules that follow.
Playing field
Beer pong can be played on any flat surface with enough space to hold the two formations of cups, although it is typically preferred to be played on a surface that is 4' x 8' or larger. To compensate for smaller playing fields, additional rules can be ad hoc created forcing players to shoot from several paces away, establishing the 4 to 6 foot separation distance between the point of shooting and the opponent's cup formation necessary for correct gameplay.
The cups
The most common and preferred cups used are Dixie, or similar style, 16 ounce cups. These cups have ridge-lines which can be used to precisely measure the amount of beer to be poured. Smaller cups greatly vary the aim necessary in order to score, so it is preferred to use this universally accepted size. However, smaller cups can beneficial in situations where the teams are playing on a smaller or lower playing field.
On each side of the table, a equilateral triangle formation of cups is assembled, with the convergence point focusing on the other team. Different variations allow for different numbers of cups, although ten (4-3-2-1) and six-cup (3-2-1) are the most common.
Also on each side is a wash cup or holy cup, which is a cup of warm water. This is used to clean the ball of dirt, grime, or beer that accumulates on the ball when it accidentally hits the floor, table, etc. It is proper etiquette for the player to wash the ball before shooting, to generally promote good hygiene. The act of dunking the ball in water can also serve as a pre-shot ritual that gets the player focused for the upcoming shot.
The alcohol
Any type of beer, or other alcohol, can be used to play beer pong. Usually a light beer is used as large quantities may be consumed during the course of several games. Light beer tends to be less filling, allowing participants to play more games. Cheap beer, such as Pabst Blue Ribbon or Keystone Light is used as the players are less concerned with what they're drinking and more concerned with the game. Typically, approximately 4 oz. of beer is poured into each cup in the formation, which is equivalent to the fourth or fifth ridgline in a 16 ounce cup. This works out to be about two 12 oz. cans of beer for a rack of six cups.
The Rules
Offense
The two basic offensive options a player has are the shot and the bounce, however the bounce is not universally accepted as legal. The shot is referred to as tossing or pitching the ball across the table without having it hit the ground first. A bounce, is performed by bouncing the ball at a point at least at the midpoint of the table. The ball can bounce multiple times torward the cups, but this should be minimialized as the bounce shot can be swatted away or defelcted by the oppposing team's hands. Because of the increased difficulty of this shot, it is worth two cups; the one in which it lands is pulled, and then an additional cup chosen by the scored-upon team. In general there are no stipulations that each player must shoot alternatively; however most players generally prefer to take the time needed to prepare the shot properly. Rules vary on whether or not a strict alternating order must be followed. Generally a team determines their own order and may "switch it up", if their performance is not acceptable.
An "Elbows" rule may present a limit to how far towards the opposing team's cups a throwing player's elbow may go. On a typical table configuration, the elbow limit is midway through the intial triangle formation (see diagram). The edge of the table is also used as common boundary, particularly when playing on a short table or the players involved are tall in stature.
The enabling of the bounce also allows the possibility of scoring a shot even though it initially missed its target. If the ball, say hits the side of a cup, bounces on the table, and then manages to get in a cup, it counts for only that cup it conclusively landed in. This shot style can be better effectively used if the ball is bounced simultaneously while the player's partner is performing a traditional shot. This creates an element of surprise and is also harder to defend against, as the player does not want to commit goaltending on the pitched shot.
Reracking and "bringing it back"
Reracking refers to the rearrangement of cups into different formations, after designated amount of cups has been scored upon. Beer pong can be played with our without this rule; however it is normally used in order to keep the game progressing at a steady pace, and thus give other players an opportunity to play. In a six cup game, reracking occurs at (in quantities of cups remaining): 4 (rhombus or diamond), 3 (forward-facing triangle), 2 (horizontal or vertical line), and 1.
When each member of one team each makes a sucessful shot, consecutively, they have said to "brought it back". This means that the team has two additional chances to score. A team can repeatedly bring it back, to the conclusion of the game. If a game is won without allowing the other team a turn, the game is said to be swept or a sweep. There are common stipulations regarding re-racking after a team "brings it back." Some local rules stipulate that there is no re-rack after a bring-back, while others require the opposite.
Defense
Beer distribution and formations
Players have some strategy regarding the amount of beverage poured in their cups. If the player(s) are getting to the point of inebriation, they may desire to lessen the amount of beer in the cup. This can also detrimentally affect the traditional arc shot, as the cup has less "give" than it would normally have. However, if this is discovered, it could cause a foul or allow the other team to repeat their attempt, once the cup has been remedied. Less beer can also increase the risk of the cup being knocked over by a shot, especially the fastball type.
It is to the defensive players' benefit for them to slightly mess up the formations, usually having the edges of some cups be over or under the other edges. This can highly affect arc shots, causing the ball to bounce out. It is the responsibility of the team on offense to recognize a improper formation and then instruct the defending players to remedy this. Once instructed, the opposing team must remedy this or can risk a penalty or disqualification.
Ball blocking
If bouncing the ball is allowed, then players can swat away a ball that has hit the ground or has hit one cup, although they have to be careful not to knock over any cups and commit a foul. If the player hits the ball away before the ball happens to hit a cup, a goaltending violation occurs. Depending on rules, goaltending either results in a re-try, or a pulled cup. It is generally accepted that the player can shift the formations of the cups as long as they stay in the triangle area that the cups were initially set up in.
If the ball is spinning inside a cup, players may blow into the cup to try to make the ball fly out; this generally has to be done rapidly, as the ball quickly spirals down inside the cup. In some places, only females are allowed to blow, which is reinforced by the common derogatory euphemism, "bitches blow." In tournament play, this is generally not allowed at all. A variation of this rule is that any player may use one finger to try to pop the spinning ball out of the cup; however, this introduces the danger of knocking over one's own cups, causing a foul.
Blowing
In some games, if a thrown ball is still spinning in a cup and has not touched the beer, it is legal for defensive players to blow air into the cup in an attempt to make the ball fly out. Often, it is only legal for female players to blow.
Psychological defense
The largest element of defense is "shit talking", or psyching out the other team. One may draw parallels to the movie Baseketball in this aspect. The defending players will hurl insults, statements of reverse psychology ("you got this shot", "this should be no problem"), distracting visual cues (such as pointing to some spot on the table or the water cup). Generally any form of this is accepted, as long its not gratuitously distracting and/or annoying. Women often use their sexuality to aid in defense, through the use of provacative poses and actions. This generally only happens when a team of two males is playing a team of two females, but is not limited to this scenario.
Death Cup
One frequently used rule is the "Death Cup", which is used to negatively reinforce players to drink their unconsumed alcohol, and thus keep the game fair. The "Death Cup" is any cup that was previously scored upon but not yet had its contents consumed. This rule can be easily defended by just placing one's hand over the cup when the opposing team is shooting. If this rule is in effect, the game is over and the cup holder's team does not receive redemption/rebuttal honors.
Fouls and misconduct
If a player or players knocks over one or more of their own cups, each cup that has been knocked over is removed from the game, and for most purposes counts as a score against the team who performed the foul. If a player's elbow is deemed to be too far over the table, it can be ruled as a foul. In this situation, there are two possible remedies: a re-do of the shot, or the shot is considered taken, while not counting for scoring purposes.
Redemption/Rebuttal honors
Most places utilize the set of redemption rules, which allow a potentially losing team to allow them to come back and tie the game for an overtime round. The game would transition into redepmtion rules, as soon the final cup of one team is scored upon. At the embarkation of redemption, the winning team's offensive game is over.
Eligibility
Redemption is not possible when one team scores the last two cups consecutively within one turn. Bounce shots, which count for two cups, do not remove the eligibility of redemption for the opposing team.
Procedure
Each member of the redeeming team can shoot as many times as possible, as long as they make each cup consecutively. After each sucessful shot, the opposing cup formation must be reracked, if it is elligble to do so. As soon as one team member misses a shot, the next member must continue to attempt to score the remaining cups. If all the remaining opposing cups are scored upon, the game is considered tied and proceeds to overtime.
Overtime
Overtime is played with a subset of the original number of cups, usually three. All normal rules, including redemption and reracking, apply in overtime. ALthough, a popular overtime rule is to disallow reracking whatsoever. A game can continue onto as many overtime rounds as possible in order to conclude the game.
Hygenic practices and manners
- All participants involved in the first game of the session should help in setting up the table; splitting duties for cup arrangment, water cup filling, and beverage pouring. Correspondingly, the group playing the last game of the session should clean up the table, throw away cups, etc.
- Empty cups should always be placed individually on the outskirts of the table, away from the formations, or on another table entirely. They should never be stacked upon each other, as dirt and dust from the bottom of the cups can contaminate the cups for the next game. Newbies to beer pong are notorious for committing this act.
- If the ball falls on the floor, or merely bounces, it should always be dipped into the watercup again.
- The watercup should be refilled if it is noticebly occlusive or dirty.
- The team that is about to play next on a certain table should fetch the beer needed for the upcoming game; this may involve the re-filling of a pitcher from a nearby keg.
- Cigarettes should only be smoked if it is agreed upon by the participants or is allowed by the local rules.
- It is considered bad sportsmanship for one team to constantly badger another one in order to psyche them out. Even if the rules technically allow this to occur, constant attacks or distractions can severely reduce the quality of the gaming experience.
Shot technique
Arc Shot
The most common throwing technique is to grasp the ping pong ball with the tips of the thumb and forefinger of the player's good hand, and hold the arm at an angle with the ball upwards, then throw by using gentle elbow motion, holding the upper arm parallel with the table. Wrist movement is not usually necessary, although a good player may push off with the knees as they throw to create an upward arcing motion.
The arc motion allows one to put enough force on the ball to get it to the other side of the table, while conserving velocity and slowing it down so that it is not as likely to bounce off the rim of the cup but gently roll into the cup.
Fastball
Some players prefer or occasionally use a "fastball" style throw (named for its speed, it is not thrown like a baseball!) which uses more of a hard chopping motion to send the ball in a more direct line to the intended target cup. This can be done with the hand in the usual "pistol grip" orientation or in an overhand "slam-dunk" orientation. The fastball is especially favored by taller players, as it is easier to throw from a higher position.
Due to the straighter path the ball will follow, the player may feel more confident in hitting using the fastball. However, caution must however be used if a "no elbows over the table" rule is in use, as it is much easier to violate that guideline with a less controlled throw. Fastballs are also much more likely to knock down a cup, which may have positive or negative consequences depending on house rules. As noted above, the higher velocity of the ball will also cause less-precise shots to bounce off the rim rather than gently bounce into a cup.
Finger Roll
Other players prefer to grasp the ball with the thumb, index and middle-finger and release the ball in a somewhat "finger-roll" fashion. Throwing in this manner is very accurate once mastered but it is difficult to use on relatively large table. It also takes time to perfect so it is not recommended for beginners. Therefore, this form is most oftened employed by veteran players playing on normal to relatively short tables.
Bounce Shot
Bounce shots are much harder to accurately throw. The best time to use a bounce is when the opposing team is not paying attention to the game, as the risk of deflection is zero. Since the bounce shot is easier to make, the other team is allowed to swat the ball out of the court. The current rack must be taken into consideration as well — there is obviously a much higher chance of sinking a bounce on an unspoiled ten cup rack than on an inconsistent rack which has floated all over the table by "Act of God". Serious defenders should also always keep one player on alert for bounce shots to their cups.
Game variations
Due to the immense popularity of the game, it is impossible to list all the possible variations of beer pong. The following are some major versions:
- Gentlemen's Beirut –Every cup must be called by the shooting team in order to count, similar to calling a shot in billiards.
- Hawaiian Rules –The throwing team must continue to throw as long as the other team is still drinking. In this variation all spectators are required to assist in returning the balls to the thrower so that he or she can throw as quickly as possible.
- Pyramid Pong –A variation developed at the University of Iowa used a literal pyramid, involving twenty cups in four levels. The base is a triangle of ten cups; the second level is a triangle of six cups; the third level is a triangle of three cups; and one cup rests on the top. Players sinking the ball in a lower cup forces not only the contents of that cup to be drunk, but also all cups resting on top.
- A variation on the game that requires additional skill involves leaving emptied cups in the pyramid. If a team throws a ball into an empty cup, they must drink one of their own.
- 21-Cup Beirut –In this variation, 21 cups are used on each side of the table. The teams are 3 versus 3, with altered rules on shooting. Players must shoot simultaneously with their "partner" on the other side of the table. This eliminates the turn-based style of typical games, making for a much faster paced match.
- Fun-cup – Often, one cup is filled with a shot of hard alcohol instead of beer. This is referred to as either the "fun cup" or the "power cup." This cup is either the middle cup or the "ten cup" at the tip of the pyramid.
Beer pong in American culture
Bud Pong
Bud Pong is branded version of Beer Pong that promoters 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.
The 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."[2].
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,"[3] 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."[4].
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. Francine I. 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."[5]
Highschools
Colleges
Tv and Film
Proffessional tournaments and leagues
Tournaments
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. However, tournaments with other liquids legal to minors, such as milk or water, are also held.
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. After a regular season and playoffs, one team will win a championship and usually some prize, purchased using member dues. Sometimes player statistics are recorded much like in a professional sports setting, and there have even been software products developed specifically for leagues to keep detailed statistics easily.
Glossary of terms
- Rerack – Rearranging the cups to the next smaller formation, or correctly aligning the cups in their current formation. Also known as consolidation.
- Redemption – the chance for a team who just had all their cups scored upon, to tie up the game and bring it into overtime.
Related games
Beer Pong with paddles
This variation is quite popular amongst colleges and universities and is also the source of some contention regarding the associated game with the term Beer Pong.
Slam Pong
Slam Pong is a form of beer pong that has been popular at colleges and universities in the northeastern United States. Unlike many other variants of beer pong, slam pong is a fast-moving game that retains some of the rules of ping pong but borrows many of its rules and game play from volleyball. The name "slam pong" refers to the action of slamming a ping pong ball into a plastic cup with a paddle, the fundamental way of scoring points in this game.
Dartmouth Pong
Dartmouth Pong is a variation of the common paddle version, played with paddles that have the handles removed. The game puts much more emphasis on lobs, rather than the slams of Slam Pong. The table is 5'x9' (some houses have smaller tables). Each team has a predetermined amount of cups completely filled with beer and arranged in a predetermined shape, which may include "shrub", "tree", and "ship" formations. The game is played by serving the ball as in normal beer pong, but the ball is not allowed to hit an opponents cup. If a serve strikes an opponents cup, the serving team must drink half a beer. If a serve lands into an opponent's cup, the serving team must drink a full beer (or only a half, depending on the house). If a serve does not land on the opponents side and does not strike a cup, it is considered "out" and the server receives a second serve. If the second serve is out (some frats allow three serves), the serving team must drink and then keep serving until a valid serve is made.
References
- ^ As Young Adults Drink to Win, Marketers Join In New York Times, October 16, 2005; Similar UPI story
- ^ ibid.
- ^ Beer Pong promotions not so good, Adjab story
- ^ Brewer to End Sound-Alike Game, New York Times, October 19, 2005; Similar Bloomberg story