General:
The game begins with two teams of two players on opposing ends of the table. Six cups
in pyramid formation are placed on the designated circles. Each cup must be filled evenly
with water. One player from each team will shoot at the same time to determine which
team shoots first. This process will continue until one person makes the shot (also known
as “volley”). Players on each team equally take turns tossing or bouncing beer pong balls
into cups. All players must keep elbows behind their edge of the table when shooting.
Failure to comply will result in a dead ball. When shots are made into a cup of the
opposing team, players of the opposing team must drink their beer in hand and remove
the cup from formation prior to the next shot with the exception of that cup being the
single and final cup remaining in formation. If both players of a team make both shots in
one turn, both balls are returned to the shooters and they get another turn. The team that
clears all the cups of the opposing team first is the winner.
Bouncing & Tossing:
Any player has the option to either bounce or toss the beer pong ball into the opposing
team’s cups. If a player tosses the ball into an opposing team’s cup, the opposing team
must remove that cup. If a player bounces the ball into an opposing team’s cup, the
opposing team must remove two cups, this including the cup in which the shot was made.
Once the ball has bounced, the players on the opposing team are allowed to swat or block
the ball from entering their cups. The defending team can only block bounced balls once
it hits the table.
Re-Racking:
Re-racking the cups can only be done once! This can be done at the request of the
shooting team prior to the toss of their first shot. Formations for re-racking include a
four-cup diamond formation, a three-cup “I” formation, or a three-cup triangle formation.
Re-racking is not done in the event of overtime!
Rebuttal:
When the last cup is made, each player on the opposing team has one last opportunity to
shoot. If both players of a team make both shots in one turn, both balls are returned to the
shooters and they get another turn. If that team makes it in the remaining cups, overtime
is in effect. The rebuttal rule doesn’t apply when the winning team makes both shots in
that turn.
Rim Shots:
NO BLOWING OR FINGERING BALLS OUT OF CUPS.
Grabbing:
The ball in play may be grabbed, however ONLY after it has already made contact with a
cup, but not while the ball is in the cup. You may not grab before the ball has hit a cup.
In the event of player interference prior to the ball making contact with a cup, (aka
premature grabulation), a one-cup penalty will be imposed for the interference. The
thrower who had his or her shot interfered with may choose the cup to be removed.
Miracles:
If a shot happens to land and stay on top of the cups, that shot will count as a miss.
Congratulations – you are lucky, but you have not proved that you have any pong skills at
all. If you can prove to us that you can intentionally land a ball on the cups on demand,
we’ll consider changing this rule. Until then, put the ball in the cup – that is the point of
the game.
Deflections:
Once a shot is taken, it is a live ball. The defending team cannot interfere with a live ball
with the exception of a bounced shot. If a live ball bounces off of anything and goes into
the opposing team’s cup it is considered a made shot.
Cup Interference:
In the event that a player knocks over his or her own cups, those cups are to be counted as
though sunk and removed from the table. They are not to be refilled or replaced. In the
event that cups are knocked over by any non-player, those cups are not counted as sunk,
and are to be refilled and replaced in their appropriate positions on the table. In the event
that cups drift or are otherwise moved out of formation, those cups may be replaced in
their appropriate positions upon request from the opposing team.
Drifters:
In the event that a cup drifts out of its position while a ball attempting to sink those cups
is in mid-flight, the shot is to be counted as a miss, unless it is absolutely clear that the
movement of the cup was caused by the defending team, i.e. the defending team makes
contact with the table. Once a ball has touched a cup, the defending team can cause the
cups to move without penalty, but if they do knock cups over, the cups will be removed
from the game.
Cup Adjustment:
Cups may NOT be moved or adjusted while the ball is being released, or while the ball is
in mid-flight. Doing so incurs a 1-cup penalty.
Balls Knocking Over Cups:
Cups should be filled to the point where it is not possible to knock the cup over with the
ball. However, in the event that a ball does knock a cup over, the shot is counted as a hit,
UNLESS it is absolutely clear that the ball never crossed the top plane of the cup before
it was knocked over, in which case the cup is reset and the shot is considered a miss. To
clarify, if a ball enters a cup, spins, and then exits the cup, and the cup falls off of the
table as a result, the cup is counted as a hit shot, and is removed. This also applies to the
last cup.
In the event that a ball enters a cup causing the cup to move, the defending team may not
stabilize the cup. To clarify, if it appears that a cup is going to fall over, the defending
team must allow this to happen.
Overtime:
In the event of overtime, a three-cup triangle formation is formed. The team who
successfully clears the original formation goes first. Redemptions and roll backs do
apply. There is no re-rack in overtime!
Time:
Players must report to their table when called. Teams will have 5 minutes to report to
their table before they will be eliminated from the round and given a loss. Please be sure
to know where your team is in the bracket to avoid elimination. Basically, don’t get too
drunk and time your cigarette breaks!
Conduct:
All players are to conduct themselves in a matter respectful to other players, referees, and
the sport of Beer Pong. Unacceptable conduct will result in elimination of the game.
Unacceptable conduct includes, but is not limited to, fighting, abuse of staff,
unreasonably throwing balls at opponents, abuse of other players, abuse of beer
(excessive spilling), etc.