Beer Pong rules & How to play

Learn all about beer pong rules & how to play, right here:

Beer pong, aka Beirut, is about throwing a ball into the opponent’s cups, which are positioned on the other side of the table. You are also allowed to bounce the ball off the table then into the cups. The game is often played in teams, with each team consisting of at least two people. Ten cups, sometimes six, are placed on each team’s side of the table. The cups should be positioned in a triangular formation – this means that there will be one cup in the first row, two in the second, three in the third, and so on, until you have a triangle that points at the opposition.

In turns, every player aims to score the ball in the opposing team’s cups. Each team can only throw once per turn. When the ball does go into a cup, the opposition will have to drink the beer – or whatever is in the cup. That cup is then eliminated from the game. You do not have to fill the cups with beer. You could put between ¼ and ½ cup of beer, depending on your preference. Each cup should have a equal amount. To win the game, you have to eliminate all the cups on your opposition’s side. However, the game can go into overtime if the other team can manage a rebuttal or redemption. This is when the other team immediately responds by making all of their remaining shots. In overtime, three cups are used, and not ten.

A shutout occurs when one team makes all their shots, and the other fails to make even one. In that case, it is usually the case that the losing team accept the challenge/dare that the two teams agree on. Another way to win the game is to make a death/kill cup. This occurs when you shoot into a cup that was accidentally left on the table after already being made. If you make one of these again, the game is over.

Sanitation is often neglected in beer pong, so make sure to have some clean water in a bucket in which the ball can be cleaned before resuming play. Then use paper towels to soak the spill. To decide which team goes first, you could either play rock-paper-scissors, flip a coin, or play eye-to-eye. Eye-to-eye is when two of the players maintain eye contact while trying to make a shot into one of the cups. The one who makes the shot starts the game off.

Beer Pong Tips

You increase the probability of scoring the ball in a cup if you throw it in an arc, as opposed to at a more flat angle
When aiming, try to throw it in the middle of a bunch of cups, instead of specific cups, or instead of cups on the edges
When throwing the ball, you can either throw overhand or underhand. Experiment to see which one suits you best
One person in the team should not drink all the cups! Split drinking among your teammates evenly
Do not forget to remove cups that have been eliminated. This way you prevent losing the game by death/kill cups
When four cups remain, reposition them into a diamond formation. Then arrange the cups in a line when two cups remain