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There are very few universal or "official" beer pong rules, though the organizers of the World Series of Beer Pong have attempted to codify them for their event.<ref name="WSOBP Rules">[http://www.bpong.com/wsobp/iii/rules/wsobp3-full_rules.pdf] World Series of Beer Pong Rules </ref> Typically, players abide by a uniform set of "house rules", which are often consistent within one university or region of the country (e.g., "Ivy League rules" or "West Coast rules"), or may vary on a house-by-house basis.<ref name="com">[http://www.beerpong.com/beerpong_rules.htm Beer pong rules], Beerpong.com</ref> Number of cups, bouncing, amount of alcohol, the distance shots must be taken from, etcetera, all may vary.
There are very few universal or "official" beer pong rules, though the organizers of the World Series of Beer Pong have attempted to codify them for their event.<ref name="WSOBP Rules">[http://www.bpong.com/wsobp/iii/rules/wsobp3-full_rules.pdf] World Series of Beer Pong Rules </ref> Typically, players abide by a uniform set of "house rules", which are often consistent within one university or region of the country (e.g., "Ivy League rules" or "West Coast rules"), or may vary on a house-by-house basis.<ref name="com">[http://www.beerpong.com/beerpong_rules.htm Beer pong rules], Beerpong.com</ref> Number of cups, bouncing, amount of alcohol, the distance shots must be taken from, etcetera, all may vary.


In some house rules, players must immediately drink any cup that has been hit. Failure to do so incurs a penalty, such as drinking more beer or losing the game.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collegeotr.com/ohio_state_university/official_osu_rules_beer_pong_4071 |title=Official OSU Rules: Beer Pong |work=[[Ohio State OTR]] |year=2007 |accessdate=2007-10-12}}</ref>
In some house rules, players must immediately drink any cup that has been hit, including their own. Failure to do so incurs a penalty, such as drinking more beer or losing the game.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collegeotr.com/ohio_state_university/official_osu_rules_beer_pong_4071 |title=Official OSU Rules: Beer Pong |work=[[Ohio State OTR]] |year=2007 |accessdate=2007-10-12}}</ref>


Some rule sets allow for re-racking, which is also known as rearranging or consolidation. This is when teams rearrange their remaining cups into different formations after some have been hit. The formations, number of cups, and so on depend on the rule set.<ref name="nbpl">[http://www.nbpl.net/rulesno.html Rules without paddles - National Beer Pong League<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Some rule sets allow for re-racking, which is also known as rearranging or consolidation. This is when teams rearrange their remaining cups into different formations after some have been hit. The formations, number of cups, and so on depend on the rule set.<ref name="nbpl">[http://www.nbpl.net/rulesno.html Rules without paddles - National Beer Pong League<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Revision as of 19:48, 16 October 2008

For the similar drinking game involving table tennis paddles, see beer pong (paddles).
Beer pong
Playerstypically two teams of two
Setup time2 minutes
Playing time10-20 minutes or less
ChanceEasy
Skillsaiming, taunting, and alcohol tolerance

Beer pong (also called beirut, lob pong, etc.) is a drinking game in which players throw a table tennis 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.[1] There are no official rules, so rules may vary widely, though usually there are six or ten 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 all of the beer inside that cup. The cup is generally not completely filled. A recent Time article stated that cups were 1/4 to 1/3 full.[2] The game is won by eliminating all the other team's cups before all of one's own cups are eliminated. The losing team must then consume all the beer remaining in the winning team's cups.[1] The order of play varies – both players on one team shoot followed by both players on the other team, or players on opposite teams can alternate back and forth.[3]

Today, beer pong is played at parties, North American colleges and universities[4][5] and elsewhere, such as tailgating or other sporting events.[6][7] The game is also played by high school students, despite the fact that furnishing alcohol to persons under the age of 21 is illegal in the United States.[8][9]

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.

Origin

The game is a spin-off of a similar game, also called pong, played at Dartmouth College[10]

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 or Lehigh University.[11] Some students at Lafayette College, rivals of Lehigh, insist modern, paddle-less beer pong was invented at their school, but The Lafayette, the college's student newspaper, says there is no proof to back up the assertion.[12]

Nomenclature

The meaning of the terms Beer pong and Beirut may vary depending on where the game is played. Beer pong is the more common name of the game, with a CollegeHumor survey showing that 77% of respondents called it "Beer pong," versus 23% for "Beirut".[13]

The naming of "Beirut" is disputed. The Daily Princetonian suggests that the name was coined at Bucknell or Lehigh around the time of the Lebanese Civil War, Beirut being the capital of Lebanon and scene of much fighting.[11]

Setup

This diagram illustrates a standard set up for a game of beer pong, with either 6 or 10 cups being used.

Teams

Beer pong is usually played with two teams of two persons each, though it can be played with two teams of one person each, or other numbers of players. Each team begins the game standing at either end of the table behind their rack of cakecups.[1]

Playing field

According to the World Series of Beer Pong, the regulation table size is 8 × 2 feet (2.44 × 0.61 meters), and it stands 27.5 inches (69.8 centimeters) above the ground.[14] Although the game is typically played on either a ping pong table or a folding banquet table, 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, sometimes painted with sports, school, or fraternity symbols and given a liquid-proof coating.[15]

Equipment

The most common cups used are Solo or Dixie 16 ounce cups. These cups have ridge-lines which can be used precisely to measure the amount of beer to be poured into the cup.[16] On each side of the table, teams assemble equilateral triangles, with the convergence point focusing on the other team.[1] Games typically use either six, ten, or fifteen cups.[1]

38 mm or 40 mm table tennis (ping pong) balls are typically used for game play.[17]

Alcohol

Usually an inexpensive pale lager or light beer of 3.2-5% abv (for example, Bud Light, Keystone Light, Coors Light) is used since large quantities may be consumed during the course of several games.[5] The game may be played without beer, as is done at Utah State University, a dry campus, where root beer is used instead.[18]

The game may also be played with water instead of beer. This version may include a "money cup" is added to the mix filled with alcohol, or something non-alcoholic. However, this game has been banned at Dartmouth as well due to a possibility of water intoxication.[19]

Game play

Teams have many possibilities for reracks.

There are very few universal or "official" beer pong rules, though the organizers of the World Series of Beer Pong have attempted to codify them for their event.[20] Typically, players abide by a uniform set of "house rules", which are often consistent within one university or region of the country (e.g., "Ivy League rules" or "West Coast rules"), or may vary on a house-by-house basis.[21] Number of cups, bouncing, amount of alcohol, the distance shots must be taken from, etcetera, all may vary.

In some house rules, players must immediately drink any cup that has been hit, including their own. Failure to do so incurs a penalty, such as drinking more beer or losing the game.[22]

Some rule sets allow for re-racking, which is also known as rearranging or consolidation. This is when teams rearrange their remaining cups into different formations after some have been hit. The formations, number of cups, and so on depend on the rule set.[23] For example, a team with three remaining cups may ask the other team to "re-rack" their multiple targets into a single triangle formation.

After shooting, teams may dunk the ping pong balls into cups of water in order to wash the balls off. However, research showed that the wash cups still hold bacteria, such as E. coli.[24][25]

Some other house rules include swatting the ball away if it bounces and if the ball spins around the cup, male players may finger the ball out and females may blow the ball out.

Shot techniques

The typical path for the different kinds of shots.

There are three key ways to shoot in beer pong: the arc, the fastball, and the bounce. The most common throwing technique is the "arc", where one grasps the ping pong ball with the tips of the thumb and forefinger, holds the arm at an angle with the ball upwards, then throw by using gentle elbow motion, holding the upper arm parallel with the table.[21]

Some players throw "fastball" style, which uses more of a hard chopping motion to send the ball in a more direct line to the intended target cup.[21] Also, a fastball shot may be favorable if house rules dictate a cup that is knocked over is taken off the table, in which case a fastball can eliminate multiple cups if thrown hard enough.

A "bounce" is performed by bouncing the ball toward the cups. Since (depending on house rules) the other team may have the opportunity to swat away a bounced ball, a bounce may be worth more than one cup.[21]

Winning the game

If the opposing team makes the last cup, the other team must usually make either all remaining cups or simply one cup, depending on "house rules", or the opposing team wins - this is called a rebuttal or redemption. There is also a rule variation on redemption in some games. If the opposing team hits the last cup with both of their balls, no redemption is given to the losing team. Some areas also play a "Double Ball" win, where an opposing team hits the same cup before it's removed from the table. The "Double Ball" cup win can happen with any of the cups on the table. [23][21]

A shutout rule is a house rule usually stated before a game or during the game in the midst of a shutout. If the shutout does occur the losing team must do whatever the two teams decided on, such as going streaking or drinking a large quantity of beer.[23]

Legal restrictions

Former Steeler and 2006 candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania Lynn Swann plays beer pong with and courts voters before a football game.[26]

Some municipalities and 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,[27] and in Arlington, Virginia, bar owners were told to stop allowing the game to be played in their establishments.[1] In the fall of 2007, Georgetown University officially banned all beer pong paraphernalia, such as custom-built tables and the possession of many ping-pong balls.[28] Some writers have mentioned beer pong as contributing to "out of control" college drinking.[29][30]

Time magazine had an article in July called "The War Against Beer Pong," noting legal restrictions and bans on the game in college and elsewhere.[19]

Tournaments and leagues

National Beer pong tournaments are held in the United States. Some of the larger tournaments held in the United States are the World Series of Beer Pong and those hosted by the World Pong Tour. The World Series of Beer Pong (WSOBP), hosted by bpong.com, is the largest beer pong tournament in the world. WSOBP III, held in January 2008 in Las Vegas, NV, had a $50,000 grand prize and attracted 600 participants nationwide. WSOBP IV is currently scheduled for January 1st through 5th at the Flamingo Hotel in Casino in Las Vegas.[31] 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",[32] and at New York University.[33]

In May 2008, a high school basketball coach from Mason, Ohio was charged with allowing underage students to play beer pong at his house. He was fired and given community service.[34]

Beer pong in the media

The Wall Street Journal, Time and other media outlets have reported on the increase in businesses selling beer pong paraphernalia, such as tables, mats, cups, or clothes.[35][2]

Last Cup: Road to the World Series of Beer Pong[36] is a documentary which follows some competitive players as they prepare for the WSOBP II and ultimately compete against one another for the $20,000 grand prize. This documentary, directed by Dan Lindsay, recently premiered at the CineVegas film festival on June 13, 2008.

The AP cited the game and other drinking games as a factor in deaths of college students.[37]

The game also appears in the Wii games Game Party[38] and Frat Party Games: Pong Toss. Pong Toss was originally called Beer Pong until angry letters from parents and the attorney general of Connecticut spurred the company to rename it.[19]

Time magazine recently had an article on the popularity of beer pong[2] and posted a video on their website.[39] In both, players claimed beer pong was a sport, rather than a game - similar to billiards and darts.

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.[40]

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."[40]

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,"[40] 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."[41]

External links

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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)
  2. ^ a b c Haire, Meghan. "Beer Pong's Big Splash", Time, August 7, 2008
  3. ^ Bpong.com
  4. ^ Rolph, Amy (2007). "Harried students walk a tightrope". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
  5. ^ a b Corbett, Jill (2005). "Beer Pong!". UWeekly. Retrieved 2007-07-27. Cite error: The named reference "Corbett" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ Peter Fimrite, Hordes run, walk or stumble at Bay to Breakers, San Francisco Chronicle
  7. ^ Eisenberg, Jeff. "Festive, friendly atmosphere at Coliseum", Press-Enterprise, Sept. 13, 2008.
  8. ^ Flynn, Courtney (2007-07-22). "Parents guilty of permitting underage drinking". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2007-07-27. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Larkin, Daphne (2007-12-14). "Facebook party photos result in sanctions, discussions at U-32 High School". Montpelier Barre Times-Argus. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
  10. ^ Template:Cite web last=Berner
  11. ^ a b Berner, Laura (2004). "On language, Princeton style: The history of 'Beirut'". Daily Princetonian. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
  12. ^ Shoemaker, Jeff (2006). "Lafayette: The Birthplace of Beer Pong". The Lafayette. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
  13. ^ "Beer Pong vs. Beirut: What is the game called?". CollegeHumor. 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  14. ^ Beer pong rules, World Series of Beer Pong
  15. ^ "Advice on building Beer Pong Tables". Terrapin Tables. 2005. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
  16. ^ Non-alcoholic beer-pong game system - Patent 20040188942
  17. ^ Portable cooler and table - Patent 20060065665
  18. ^ "Students At Utah State Play 'Drinking Game' With Root Beer Instead", KUTV-TV
  19. ^ a b c Haire, Meghan. "The War Against Beer Pong", Time, July 31, 2008
  20. ^ [1] World Series of Beer Pong Rules
  21. ^ a b c d e Beer pong rules, Beerpong.com
  22. ^ "Official OSU Rules: Beer Pong". Ohio State OTR. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
  23. ^ a b c Rules without paddles - National Beer Pong League
  24. ^ Clay Travis, "The essence of beer pong bacteria" CBS Sportsline
  25. ^ Nour Hammour, "Beer pong bacteria", The GW Hatchet
  26. ^ Pussy, John Castellano (2006-08). "Ex-Steeler looks to sway support of Eagles' fans". Philadelphia Inquirer. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  27. ^ 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)
  28. ^ News | The Hoya
  29. ^ Granwehr, Meredith Austin (December 1, 2007). "College Drinking: Out of Control". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2007-12-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ Minnesota Public Radio
  31. ^ Solnik, Ben (July 25,2008). "World Series of Beer Pong IV". BPONG.COM. Retrieved 2008-07-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ 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)
  33. ^ 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)
  34. ^ Clark, Michael D. "Beer pong coach gets diversion", Cincinnati Enquirer
  35. ^ Shelly Banjo, Wall Street Journal, "Thwock, Gulp, Kaching! Beer Pong Inspires Inventors"
  36. ^ CineVegas description
  37. ^ " Drinking games pose serious threat", Associated Press
  38. ^ Okeefe, Billy (December 21, 2007). "Want to party alone? Wii game isn't for you". The Olympian. Retrieved 2007-07-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  39. ^ VIDEO, Time
  40. ^ 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)
  41. ^ 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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