Beer Pong: How to Master the Ultimate Drinking Game

Few party games are as well-known and well-liked as beer pong. While technically a drinking game, beer pong requires a great deal of skill and a little bit of luck. And it can be enjoyed by just about anybody of legal age (or younger, if you fill the cups with root beer)! This article will go over the basic rules of beer pong and fun rule variations that you can add to spice up your game play. Happy pong-ing!

Beer Pong Set Up and Rules

The objective of beer pong is to eliminate all your opponents’ cups first. Toss ping pong balls into their cups directly or by bouncing the balls on the table.
Each team is given ten 16 oz (450 g) plastic cups. When your opponent makes a ball into your cup, drink the beer in that cup.
Beer pong can be played 1-on-1 or in teams of 2. In teams of 2, both players take turns shooting the ball (or, in some variations, each are given their own ball).

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Setting Up the Beer Pong Tables

Download Article

1
Play 1-on-1 or with teams of 2. Gather the players for your beer pong game and separate to opposite sides of your beer pong table. Sides can include 1 or 2 players each. If you’re playing in teams of 2, take turns throwing the ball each time you get a turn.^{[1]
X
Research source}
- Beer pong can be played on a table of any size, but if you want to make your own, tables are traditionally 8 feet (2.4 m) long x 4 feet (1.2 m) wide.
Place ten 16 oz (450 g) cups on each side of the table. Then, pour beer into the cups until each one has been filled about halfway. To drink more responsibly and avoid spreading germs, consider filling each cup up with water instead. Then, take a drink from your own beer can each time a shot is made.^{[2]
X
Research source}
3
Fill a bucket with clean water to rinse balls before throwing. While sanitation isn't exactly the cornerstone of beer pong, nobody wants to drink a tainted cup of beer. Have a bucket of clean water handy so players can rinse their balls before throwing and keep paper towels nearby to soak up spills.^{[3]
X
Research source}
- You can also designate 2 additional 16 oz (450 g) cups as “water cups” and keep one on either side of the table. But label the water cups clearly so players don’t accidentally sip them after they’ve had a bit to drink.
4
Arrange the plastic cups into a 10-cup triangle at each end of the table. Assemble the triangles so each top point is facing the opposing team. There will be 1 cup in the first row, 2 in the second row, 3 in the third row, and the base of the triangle will have 4 cups. Pack the cups cups closely together so they’re all touching. Do not tilt the cups.^{[4]
X
Research source}
- The base of each triangle should start about 1 in (2.5 cm) from each edge of the table.
- You can play with 6 cups or 15 cups instead, depending on how long you want the game to last.
Many games are started by a member of each team playing rock, paper, scissors. Winners go first. Another variation to choose who goes first is playing “eye-to-eye.” To do this, try to make a cup while maintaining eye contact with your opponent. The first player to land a cup goes first. You can also flip a coin.^{[5]
X
Research source}

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Playing Beer Pong

Download Article

1
Take turns throwing the balls into cups. Each team gets to throw one ball per turn. The goal is to throw the ball into a cup of the opposing team. Throw the ball directly into a cup or bounce a ball off of the table into a cup. Just keep your elbows behind the table when you throw, otherwise the point won’t count!^{[6]
X
Research source}
- Try to arc the ball when you throw. It is more likely to land in a cup.
- Aim for a cluster of cups as opposed to the edges of the triangle.
- Try throwing underhand or overhand and see which works best for you.
2
Drink according to where the ball lands. When the ball lands in a cup, drink the beer in that cup. If you’re playing in teams of two, alternate the drinking between you and your partner—if you drink the first cup, let your partner drink the second. Set the cup aside once you drink it.^{[7]
X
Research source}
- Do not throw again until a player has finished all the beer in their cup and removed it from play.
3
"Re-rack” the cups into a diamond when 4 only cups remain. Once 6 cups of beer have been drunk on your side of the table, restack the remaining 4 into a diamond shape. This process, called “re-racking,” will make shooting easier for everyone.
- Only re-rack if your side has lost the appropriate amount of cups. Re-racks often occur at different turns for each side, depending on how many balls have been sunk by each player.
- Some players include an additional re-rack each game. The re-rack may be when there are 6 cups remaining (with a triangle in a 3-2-1 formation) or in whatever shape the player requests. Check with your game’s players beforehand to determine what works for you.^{[8]
  X
  Research source}
4
Re-rack the last 2 cups into a single file line. Once 8 cups have been drunk on either side, arrange the last 2 cups into a vertical line, with the back cup approximately 1 in (2.5 cm) from the edge of the table.
- This re-racking style is sometimes referred to as “Gentlemen’s” or “Power Eye.”^{[9]
  X
  Research source}
5
Keep playing until one team has no cups remaining. Continue tossing the ball, one side at a time, until one player or team has sunk a ball into all of their opponent’s cups. The first player or side to do this wins the game.^{[10]
X
Research source}
- Sometimes, players will offer a “redemption” after a team makes a winning shot. In “redemption,” the losing team is allowed to toss once more. If they land the ball into a cup, the winning team’s toss is canceled and the game resumes. A redemption is different from a “rebuttal,” which is another rule variation.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Additional Rules

Download Article

1
Throw 2 balls per round if you’re playing in teams. Beer pong can be played with many rule variations. In this version, throw 2 balls per round per team until there is a miss. After the turn is completed, the opposite team throws at the first team's cups, and the process repeats.^{[11]
X
Research source}
- If both your team’s balls land in the same cup, remove an extra cup from your opponent’s side.
2
Call out which cup you are going to hit before you throw. This is one of the most common variations on beer pong. If you hit the cup you called, your opponent drinks that cup. If you miss your target and it goes in the wrong cup, it counts as a miss, and that cup remains on the table.^{[12]
X
Research source}
- Another variation on this style, called “Island,” allows players to call 1 cup per game. If you make the cup you call, remove 1 extra cup from your opponent’s side. If you miss, do nothing. ^{[13]
  X
  Research source}
3
Give the losing team 1 last turn after a team has won. In this variation, give the opposing team 1 last turn; this turn is called a “rebuttal.” The opposing team keeps shooting until they miss, at which time the game is over. If the opposing team makes the ball into all of the winning teams’ cups in their last turn, then a 3-cup overtime is played. Now, the teams compete in sudden death to figure out the final winner.^{[14]
X
Research source}
- In a 3-cup overtime, arrange your 3 cups into a triangle shape with 2 cups at the base and 1 cup at the point.
4
Make a bounce shot count for 2 cups. In this variation, a bounce shot counts as 2 cups. If you land your beer pong ball into a cup by bouncing it, choose which additional cup you would like to be removed.^{[15]
X
Research source}
- A lot of players use this rule variation, with the additional rule that players are allowed to swat the ball away after it has bounced on the table.
- Some rule variations count each bounce as an additional cup to be removed. Therefore, if your ball bounced twice before landing in a cup, you would select 2 cups to be removed. If it bounced 3 times, you would select 3, and so on.

Community Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Question

Do both teams drink, regardless of who sinks the shot?

Community Answer

The only one to drink is the person whose cup has been shot into by the opposing player.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 13 Helpful 43
Question

What is the distance between the 2 sets of cups?

Tom De Backer

Top Answerer

It depends on the table. However, feel free to experiment. You can set up each triangle on a different table across the room, or move each triangle as close together as you like. This will increase and decrease the level of difficulty, respectively.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 5 Helpful 11
Question

Do I have to use beer or can I use cider or some other drink?

Community Answer

You can use whatever drink you want, just make sure to change the name according to the drink, for example "milk pong."

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 24 Helpful 47

See more answers

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Video

Read Video Transcript

Tips

For all-ages fun or to avoid drinking too much alcohol, replace the beer with a non-alcoholic beverage. Apple cider is a good alternative, as its taste is somewhat similar to wine.

Thanks
Helpful 3 Not Helpful 0
Your hand should not just release the ball into the air, but follow it through all the way into the cup that you're aiming at.

Thanks
Helpful 2 Not Helpful 1
Always aim for a specific cup.

Thanks
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 6

Show More Tips

Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

You can also play beer pong with 3 people (or any uneven number) if you modify your setup slightly. Just use a round table or set up another table next to the first one and lay out another set of cups.

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Name

Please provide your name and last initial

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

Warnings

To reduce the risk of germ infection and "pong flu" from contaminated beer, use water instead of beer in the game cups, and drink clean beer stored separately when you lose points.

Thanks
Helpful 15 Not Helpful 7
Do not drink if you plan to drive.

Thanks
Helpful 15 Not Helpful 8
Always drink responsibly.

Thanks
Helpful 2 Not Helpful 7