With the announcement that beer pong will be coming to Hotel Sunnyside in 2015, we thought we ought to give everyone a heads up on how to play beer pong.

How To Play Beer Pong

Equipment

To play beer pong, you’ll need 20 large plastic cups, 2 small buckets or large glasses half-full of water, 2 ping pong balls, an 8ft table or official beer pong table and plenty of beer!

The Setup

At either end of the table, arrange 10 plastic cups into a pyramid (see picture). Fill each of the cups to between a quarter and half full with beer. Place the buckets/glasses of water to one side of the table, so that they can be used to wash the balls once they’ve hit the floor.

Choosing Teams/Types Of Beer Pong

Beer pong can be played with teams of 1-10. The number of people that want to play, will determine which type of beer pong you play.

Teams of 1-2: Traditional Beer Pong

If you have either 1 or 2 people on either team, you can play traditional beer pong. In traditional beer pong, each team takes it in turns to throw 2 balls at the opposing teams cups. If your team lands one ball in a cup, the opposing team must consume that beer and remove the cup from the table. If your team lands both balls into different cups, the opposing team must consume the beer in both of those cups, and remove both cups. If your team lands both balls into the same cup, the opposing team must consume three cups of beer and remove them from the table. The winning team is the team that has taken out all of the other teams cups. As a forfeit, the losing team must then consume all the remaining cups of the winning team.

Teams of 3-10: Alternative Beer Pong

If you have between 6-20 people wanting to play, there is a version of the game that allows everyone to play. In this version of the game, you set up the same as above, however you only require one ping pong ball. You must then decide on who is going to go first and then an order for the rest of the team. One member of each team must then step up to the table, and each team will take it in turns to throw one ball at the opposing teams cups. If you land the ball in one of the opposing teams cups, the player on the opposing team who was facing you must consume that cup and remove it from the table. That player then get an opportunity to throw the ball at your cups. If he gets it in, you must consume the cup it landed in and remove it from the table. The next player on each team then steps up to the table and it is their turn to repeat the process. Regardless of whether you get a cup or not, you only get one shot and then you must make way for the next player on your team. The winning team is the team that has taken out all of the other teams cups. As a forfeit, the losing team must then consume all the remaining cups of the winning team.

Generic Beer Pong Rules (applies to both forms of the game)

Deciding who goes first

To decide who gets the first shot in the first game between two teams, you must play ‘eyes’. This is when two players from opposing teams both simultaneously shoot at the opposing teams cups whilst maintaining contestant eye contact with each other. If both players miss, another team mate then does the same, and so it continues until someone gets the ball in. After the first game, the winning team maintains possession and shoots first.

Where To Shoot From

One of the most troublesome, hard to judge and argued over rule in beer pong has to be the elbow rule. When a player shoots, their elbow must remain behind the edge of the table. If someone breaches this rule, the shot is void and they forfeit their shot.

Re-Racks

Once per game, you are allowed to request a re-rack. This can be used tactically to reposition the cups into a formation of your choosing.

Bouncing Or Swatting The Ball Away

If the ball is bounced into a cup, intentionally or otherwise, both that cup and a another cup (of the defending teams choosing) must be consumed and removed from the table. It does however pay to stay alert, because if an opposing team player attempts to bounce the ball into one of your cups, you are allowed to swat the ball away. Just be careful not to swat the ball away before it bounces, or you’ll have to concede one of your cups and consume/remove it.

Knocking A Cup Over/Spilling A Beer

With the excitement and commotion of beer pong, as well as panicked attempts to swat bouncing balls away, spilling the odd beer or knocking cups over it inevitable. If you or one of your team does spill a beer or knock a cup over, that cup must be conceding, the remains must be consumed and the cup removed from the game.

Optional Beer Pong Rules

These beer pong rules are optional and should be confirmed with both teams prior to starting the game.

Fingering/Blowing

No, it’s not what you think. The fingering/blowing technique can be used when a ball has entered a cup, but is spinning around the edge and has not yet settled in the beer. When this happens, any member of the defending team may used their fingers AND/OR a blowing technique to remove the ball from the cup before it touches the beer. This controversial one require a lot of technique, which is why it remains optional.

Trick Shots

If a player shoots and the ball rebounds off something and returns to their side of the table without hitting the floor, the attacking team may grab the ball and retain possession. The following shot must however then be a trick shot. Trick shots can include bouncing the ball off a nearby wall or chair, throwing with the left hand, between the legs, over your head, with your eyes closed and many many more. There is however one condition, your team cannot use the same trick shot twice within the same game.

Retribution

If both teams only have one cup left on the table, and one team then gets the ball into the opposing teams cup, the defending team gets one chance at retribution. They get one shot to hit the opposing teams last remaining cup. If they get it, both balls are removed and the game continues.

Death Cup

Not for the faint hearted, the death cup rule can be used to up the game by replacing the beer in one of the cups with a shot of your chosen spirit. Both teams must have the same spirit, the same quantity of that spirit and the death cup must be placed in the same position within their respective pyramids (usually the centre).

Beer pong tips and tricks

Flight Of The Ball

For newbies or regular darts players, your first instinct is to shot directly at the cups, however it’ll soon become apparent that nine times out of ten, this will result in the ball hitting the rim of a cup and bouncing out. The trick is to throw the ball in an arc motion and get plenty of flight/height on the ball. This allows the ball to enter the cup and hit the beer without hitting a rim and usually results in a much higher strike rate.

Catch The Other Team Off Guard

As the game progresses, both teams will be bouncing with nervous energy and celebrations result in a lack of focus. Take advantage of this by attempting to bounce the ball into the opposing teams cups whilst they are rueing over how close their last shot was. This should give you a clear go at a bounce shot without the other team being alert enough to swat it away.

Focus On One Cup

Lots of people look at a group of cups and think that if they aim for the middle, it’s bound to go in one of them. Avoid this scatter-gun approach and aim for one specific cup. When it comes down to the last couple of cups, being able to hit a specific cup is a skill you’ll need.