Party game · 2 or 4 players

Beer pong rules

The official beer pong rules in plain English, from setting up the cups to the last-cup rebuttal, plus the house rules people argue about. Agree on them before the first throw.

What you need

A long table (about 2.4 metres, or 8 feet, is standard), 20 plastic cups, two ping pong balls and two teams of one or two players. Fill each cup with a little beer, or with water and keep your own drink next to you, which is more hygienic and easier on everyone.

Setting up

Each team arranges ten cups in a triangle at its end of the table: four in the back row, then three, two and one, with the point facing the other team. Decide who starts with rock paper scissors or a quick eye-to-eye throw, where one player from each team shoots at the same time while looking the other in the eye.

Shooting

Each turn, both players on a team throw once. A ball that lands in a cup counts as a hit: the defending team drinks that cup and removes it. Keep your elbows behind the edge of the table when you throw; a shot with the elbow over the edge does not count and is taken again.

Bounce shots are allowed: a ball that bounces on the table before landing in a cup counts as two cups, and the defending team chooses the second one. Because bounces are worth more, defenders may swat a bounce shot away once it has touched the table, but never a shot that is still in the air.

Balls back

If both players on a team hit in the same turn, they get both balls back and throw again. If both balls land in the same cup, that is three cups: the hit cup plus two the defending team picks.

Re-racks

Each team can ask for two re-racks per game: the other team rearranges your remaining cups into a tighter shape, such as a smaller triangle or a line. Ask for it before your turn, not in the middle of it.

Winning and the rebuttal

A team wins when the other team has no cups left. But the losing team gets a rebuttal: each player throws until they miss. If they sink all of the winners' remaining cups, the game goes to overtime with three cups each.

Common house rules

Island: once a game, call "island" on a cup with no cups touching it. Hit it and it counts as two; miss and you lose that ball.

Death cup: hitting a cup the other team is still drinking from ends the game on the spot. It is the most argued-about rule of all, so agree on it first.

Spinners: if a ball spins round the inside of your cup before it drops, some tables let the defender flick or blow it out. Allowed or not, agree before the game.

Questions

How many cups do you use in beer pong?

Ten cups per team, set up in a triangle of four, three, two and one, so twenty cups in total.

Does a bounce shot count as two cups?

Under most rules, yes: a bounce shot counts as two cups and the defending team picks the second. In return, the defenders may swat a bounce shot once it has touched the table.

How many re-racks do you get in beer pong?

Usually two per game. You ask for a re-rack before your turn and the other team rearranges your remaining cups.

What is the rebuttal in beer pong?

When a team loses its last cup, its players get to keep throwing until they miss. If they clear all of the other team's cups, the game goes to overtime with three cups each.

Play a game

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