Talk:Beer die

Cornell Challenge

The Zeta Psi Fraternity of Cornell challenges players from every school, particularly those schools in Maine to come to Ithaca for a challenge or perhaps a tournament. If you are interested, go to the Psi Chapter's website and e-mail the contact person there.

Challenging Colby students to a game of beer die just because your fraternity tosses a bit would be like you guys challenging a Brazilian soccer team to a match because you've been kicking the ball around the quad. Colby students were born to play the game, and we're not going to waste the time, the money, or the energy to come to Ithaca to beat you.

That sounds to me like someone who's just afraid that him and his friends in their little worthless school in the middle of nowhere, Maine, would be completely destroyed and humiliated by the great Zetes of Cornell University. We're willing to back up what we say, and you guys aren't. It seems the person at the bottom from the University of Maine, who wrote a scathing commentary on your pathetic lives, understands this as well, you guys talk a lot but run and hide when push comes to shove. And another gentleman on here also agreed that the best way to see who is the best is to play. You guys appear to be the only school that talk a big game and aren't willing to back it up. To me, it sounds like you guys are just scared of being embarassed by another school at the game you (wrongfully) claim to have "invented". Even if you guys did invent it, we know we're better at it than you, and we're willing to prove it.

Stop hiding behind wikipedia and accept the challenge. The Zetes from Cornell are.

·Shouldn´t you have learned how to write at Cornell University, which is also in the middle of nowhere. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 200.89.129.17 (talk) 15:00, 22 December 2007 (UTC)

Spitting the die

I've always seen this game played where if a plunk occurs, the victim of the plunk gets a chance to spit the die across the table at his opponents. Though no points can be earned, a plink or plunk from this spit die result in the normal drinking penalty for the other side.

Is this just a local (University of Illinois) rule, or have others heard of this? --Gunmetal 19:38, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

• In the version of the game I play, after a plunk the player who's cup was plunked must "chug" their beer and eventually spit the die onto the table. The die must come to rest on the table. If the spitted die falls off the table, then the team who spit the die must refill and chug. If the spitted die comes to rest on the table showing biz, then the team who spit the die must refill and chug. I have never seen anyone try to spit the die into the opponent's cup, but by the rules, wherein "A plunk is a plunk is a plunk", the result would be a bona fide plunk. --Laserpig

-Cornell plays the same way for a plunk. The team that was plunked gets a chance to spit out the die on the table (if the die falls out the table they have to repeat the plunk process). If it lands bizz-up, the other team acts as if they have just been plunked, complete with the die-spitting process. In theory, it could go on forever if both teams kept spitting out bizzes. If you plunk yourself, you must spit the die out to see if you have to do it again (hence the rule about spitting it off the table).

-I do recall the spitting of the die after a plunk and if it landed on either a bizz or buzz, there were ramifications. I don't recall the endless back and forth plunk, spit, chug, spit, etc. I recall it ended after the spit and the consequences of the landed die (off table, bizz, buzz, etc.). A major tenet of the game is to consume copious amounts of beer. However, much of the game's spirit and fun comes from throwing and catching...and the tipsy sorority Beer Die groupies.

-Idaho State University- In the variation we play, you don't have to spit the die at all. After a plunk (we call them sinks) both players on the side have to chug their beer. Instead of catching the die in your mouth, you drink all the beer, and then in a gentleman's way, roll the die out of the cup towards the team that just sunk it. In many cases a few tablespoons of beer will also go toward the opposite team, and this style of returning the die is what gives our beer die table a nice beer sheen to it.

At the MIT chapter of Zeta Psi, spitting the die occurs after a plunk (obviously by the team plunked), and if a bizz results, the team that has just chugged must chug again immediately. There is typically no spitting of the die at the other teams cups, as the primary purpose is to determine whether a bizz falls, though I feel certain that should a plunk occur, the opposing team would be forced to chug ("plunk is a plunk"). However, this would certainly be considered ungentlemanly. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.45.158.156 (talk) 00:20, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

The Game's Origin

Colby? Prove it.

I've heard it alleged more than once the Beer Die originated at Colby College, but I've never heard of any evidence of it being true. Considering that Beer Die brings so much happiness to so many people, I would think it proper to have a more thorough exploration of Beer Die's origins. --Laserpig

• I hadn't heard that before reading it in this very article. I have looked around, but have found no evidence to support the claim. A lot of colleges seem to claim it's invention. --Gunmetal 22:02, 27 July 2005 (UTC)

• Any school should be proud to claim their campus as the spot of the first Beer Die game. Having gone to school in New England, I've had the opportunity to play a few Colby kids at Beer Die. Most of them claim that Colby is where Beer Die was first played. To be sure, Colby does have a good Beer Die program as everyone I've ever played who went to Colby is top drawer, but just because they can toss a die doesn't mean they can claim they created it without offering up evidence. --Laserpig

• Well, regardless, its an absolute fallacy to have Colby actually NAMED in the article as a place where it was invented. At the very least, the two best claims of it appear to be UMaine AND Colby (and I submit to you - who's more likely to invent a drinking game with dice and cups, spoiled douche rich kids, or state school kids). Regardless of my jab at Colby, its absolute nonsense that they constantly edit this article to have themselves inserted - damned glory hounds. I think a statement something to the effect of, "many Maine schools claim to have invented it, but the claims of UMaine and Colby seem to have the most validity." Or shit - just take out school names all together "many universities in Maine claim to have invented it, but it is impossible to verify where it originated". We are about accuracy in this article, right? Not some glory hound preppies looking for recognition.

Having grown up in Maine, 20 minutes from the UMO and an hour from Colby, I have played die my whole life and long before ever going to college. The school i currently attend is not in New England, however when I began playing in the late 90s in Maine, before anyone had head of Wikipedia, it was always said that Colby kids invented dice in the late 80's. I do not have any proof that this is the case, however having been exposed to this story of origin my whole life I tend to believe it. Also for any other non-maine college, whether it be those in NY or somewhere in the Midwest, I highly doubt these school can claim any credit in starting this game. In Maine people play beer die... thats it. Sure we all know what beruit or flip cup is, but those are considered girls games (no offense to any of the ladies out there who play dice). If you were to walk into a high school or college party in Maine and request a game like beruit you would probably be laughed at and kindly pointed in the direction of the closest stag bar.

I went to Colby starting in 1989, and not only had they invented beer die, but they had already been playing it for YEARS. The guy from Cornell is correct - EVERYONE at Colby knows what beer die is.... whether they are a drinker or not.

SO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHO INVENTED NEER DIE? I DID (Gary McCarthy '79)....along with a handful of my friends at COLBY COLLEGE (Andy Huber '79, Bill O'Donnell '79 and a handful of others) in the Winter of 1978 in the fraternity- DU. We were fired up to play some beer pong...not Beirut mind you but the REAL Beer Pong- with paddles....lobs only...no driving the ball like they do at Dartmouth. Well, we went into the basement of DU...the floors sticky with last night's spilled beer...but all the paddles were broken and the balls were smashed....well anyway we were bent on playing some kind of drinking game.

We went upstairs to the DU Library (on the first floor of our fraternity), pulled out a board game and found a some dice. the Library table was about 8 or 9 feet long. We designed the game with the following rules: (*) 2 players on each end of the table (*) 2 Judges are in charge to imposing the rules- (1) God and (2) Jesus Christ (*) Beer cups are placed about one hand in from the end and from the side of the table....filled with beer (*) The die is lobbed towards the other player's cups....a hit is a drink UNLESS the die is caught before it hits the ground (by the team hit) (*) The receiving player's butts must stay on the chair (or take a penalty drink) (*) In the case of a plunk God steps in to determine the number on the die in the bottom of the cup...if a 3 comes up the plunking team chugs, and if a 6 comes up everyone in the room chugs...if any other number comes up the plunked team chugs.

So there you go. That was the origin of Beer Die....1978- COLBY COLLEGE.

University of Maine

It wasn't Colby - don't let those elitist pricks tell you any different. Yes, it did originate in New England. Yes, it did originate in the state of Maine - but every peice of evidence proves to the original game coming from the University of Maine (Orono, ME). Specifically it appears to have been played in the student apartments in Old Town and Orono, and especially at the fraternity houses.

I don't even go to UMaine, so I don't even care who really invented it. I do know one thing, the Colby people always claim to have invented it, and never back it up. If you go to the microfilm at the University of Maine library, you will find The Maine Campus articles mentioning "a new drinking game taking campus by storm" and specifically stating that it hasn't been seen at other campuses.

Add to that the fact that while the Colby kids are respectable at die, the kids from Orono, Farmington, UMPI and Fort Kent can easily embarrass them. The students at the Zeta Psi fraternity at Cornell would be more than happy to play (and of course beat) any students from any other college, Colby, Maine, or any other institution.

No my friends, Colby most certainly did NOT invent the game - until I see anything resembling recorded evidence placing the game at Colby before what I saw in the records of Maine, you should stop talking about how impressive it is that Colby invented the game. You didn't do it, you just want to take credit for it (which is basically what the BBC schools (Bowdoin, Bates, Colby) are good for - elitism, and taking credit for stuff the kids at the public universities do.

What we need is a beer die tournament to be held somewhere neutral. Just a suggestion from a Cornell graduate.

I actually attended UMaine and was the originator of the Huff Gambit. I vaguely recall playing Beer Die not only at UMaine but also earlier on in high school. This game carries a lot of significance in Maine and I'd be lying if I told you I knew where it originated. I do know that Mainers take their Beer Die and baseball, especially Red Sox baseball, very very seriously. I agree with the Cornell graduate. Let's be true gentlemen about this and have a tournament in a neutral venue and with a neutral "God", and the winners get to claim origination rights or some other type of booty. Or maybe have a playoff type of tournament as they do in baseball, with x games at home and x games away. That's the Beer Die way of settling scores...sit your @ss down and play (-er drink). At least that's how old schoolers like me settled things.

• This Colby kid would like to submit that Beer Die was indeed invented at Colby, specifically in the 1950s in what was then the Lamda Chi fraternity (now Treworgy Hall). The Dartmouth did a report a few years ago that suggested this as well. A comprehensive history of beer die is indeed necessary and should certainly attempt to trace its roots at Colby, Maine and Dartmouth, among other places. If anyone knows any more specifics (especially dates), those would be helpful. It appears, though, that Beer Die is most commonly a Maine thing, like Moxie and Marden's. --WhiteMule, 25 May 2006

• See - AGAIN, you have no proof to back that up. I have seen newspaper articles of the Maine Campus dating back to the late 40s mentioning it while I was in the archives writing a paper. You probably are a Lamda Chi kid FROM Colby who just wants to claim credit for something you didn't actually invent. Quit trying to give yourself credit for something you didn't do.

-Even if it started at a school in Maine, be it Colby, or U of M, or Bates or wherever, doesn't change the fact that Cornell University is still waiting for someone to respond to our challenge. The guy above agreed, but someone should contact us (visit the website link above) and some sort of "National Beer Die Tournament" should be arranged.

Looking for sources for UMAINE

Hey I doubt anyone will see this but im looking for a source to narrow this done once and for all. For the guy who said that there is an article from the Maine Campus in the late 1940s, try to figure out when exactly that was. I just looked through them and couldn't find anything but I mightve missed it. If anyone else has any info about that source or any other let me know.

Dartmouth

I played a Colby kid in Beer Die back in 1998. He agreed the game did not orginate at Colby or even in Maine. He said the game came from Dartmouth college about 30 - 40 years ago. I also have played the game on the Hamilton campus, there are some avid players there. Hamilton College is in Central New York. None of the players knew where it came from, but they played a great game.

- The Mullins brothers brought it to Hamilton in 2000. One brother went to Colby, and one went to Hamilton. When the elder visited for a weekend or two, the game caught on and had been played there ever since.

Colby

The game was invented at Colby, and that is also where the game is played the most. I do not go to Colby, in fact I go to Cornell (which is in the Ivy League. Ever heard of it?), but I know for a fact that at Colby Beer Die is played by nearly every student on Campus, as my brother goes there. They also invented the system of the die name. Every student there has one. Ask a random student who does not party at any school mentioned, be it Cornell, Yale, Dartmouth, or UMaine, and you will see that only a small percentage knows the game. But at Colby every student knows the game and has tossed some die.

I went to UMaine for 4 years Captain, and I can't name one single person who didn't know how to play beer die, and who couldn't skunk the shit out of a Colby student. 69.137.233.3 (talk) 09:15, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

KEENE STATE COLLEGE

Birthplace of Beer Die!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.147.168.255 (talk) 14:42, 15 January 2011 (UTC)

This article is awful

This may be one of the worst articles on Wikipedia. Complete lack of sources for over a year and a half? OR? Assertions with no claims? It has it all. AnyPerson (talk) 03:16, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

This article is not awful at all. Yes, some of the back-and-forth rants should be cleaned out, but otherwise it is no different than many other research ventures on Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a venue by which those involved are (or at least should be) trying to get to the bottom of a problem, using facts and references as much as possible in order to do so. However, many notable items in history, such as those for Atlantis, for example, just don't have the typical references that might accompany a discussion...and this on Beer Die is yet another example.

Realistically, how many newspaper articles, pictures, or references do you expect to see about a drinking game played in the basement of a frat house back in the 1950s? Answer: none. What we are left with, therefore, are historical accounts from those who actually participated in the event, or at least we hope.

I ask that the Wikipedia "gatekeepers" not raise their noses at the game of Beer Die or other similar cultural idiosyncrasies that don't quite fit the "mold of science" or "actual fact". I am saddened that the article about Beer Die has been removed from Wikipedia and am having second thoughts about it being one of my main sources of information on the Internets besides the Google. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.176.27.31 (talk) 07:45, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

PLEASE do something with this article

This article is a disgrace, full of unsourced frat-boy rubbish and unverifiable rules that only pertain to one or two small colleges, if any. It has been so for years. It should be reduced to a stub with only the verifiable information. 82.113.133.21 (talk) 09:25, 11 October 2011 (UTC)

Beer Die League on 1st of April

Hi there, After following the link to the official beer die league, which was supposed to start on april first (instant red flags), it showed me that there had been no league at all. The daily updates and postings aren't there, the site seems like a thoroughly failed project. Since I'm no experienced user, I don't quite know how to go from here, but I suggest removing the entire paragraph, or at least making it factual, since right now the information provided here is false. I think the entire page deserves a banner, stating it's a work in progress and some serious changes need to be made, since right now no one should trust it as being factual or in any way flawless. I'll see if there's a place these concerns are heard, since it seems no one checks this Talk-page. 83.83.88.133 (talk) 13:07, 12 July 2014 (UTC)