Beerpong Essay, Research Paper

Beer pong is one of the most popular drinking games known to collegiate students across the country. This game is so often played in college life that most of the time, rules cannot be agreed upon because there are so many different versions. Everyone who plays the game knows a different set of rules, based upon what they had previously been taught. This paper will discuss not only how to play the game, but popular variations that I have come across while doing extensive and grueling research for this paper as well.

In order to play beer pong, there are essential items you must have. First, you will need a Ping-Pong table, but any table around the same length will do. Then you will need twelve, sixteen-ounce cups, preferably the red ones that are frequently used at parties, as well as two Ping-Pong balls. Two additional cups filled with water will be useful to clean the balls after they hit the floor. However, this is an optional hygienic step not necessary to play the game, but one that is recommended. Oh, not to mention, the beer. I would suggest that there is a lot readily available, because it is common to go through it quickly in this game.

After all of the necessary items are gathered, it is time to set up the game. First, pick two teams, made up of either one or two people. There should be even teams, but Canadian doubles are acceptable. A Canadian double is a team of two, verses a team of one. Then each team should take six cups and set them up in pyramid form on the far ends of the table making sure that the rims of the cups are touching each other. Once the cups are set, they should be filled with beer. A lite, cheap beer is probably the best due to the fact that it is economical and it will go down easier. In the version that I’m most familiar with, there are two full beers in each set of six cups, and you can fill these cups however you want. For example, if you wanted, you could put all the beer in the back three cups and very little in the front three. The front three are easier to hit, because they are closer to the person shooting, so if you put less beer in them, it would make the game harder for your opponent. Even though this is the way that I was taught the game, most people play where you put enough beer in the cup so that it reaches the first line. In the red cups mentioned previously, there are a series of lines inside, the closest to the bottom being the first line. After setting up the cups, each team goes to opposite ends of the table, with one ball each. This only happens in the first game though, because the teams will shoot to see who goes first; no drinking is done yet. In up and coming games the team who shoots first will be the winner of the previous game.

After all of the discrepancies have been worked out and all of the preparations have been made, it is time to start the game. Whoever won the first shot starts off with both balls. The object of beer pong is to try and eliminate all of your opponent’s cups by throwing the balls into them. Once a ball goes into your cup, you have to drink the beer inside. “The ball must land in the cup either on a fly, or on one bounce.”(BPA rules and regulations) If in a round, both balls go into cups, than the balls will be returned to the team that made the shots. The game is played this way until one team is out of cups. Then that team has to finish the cups that are left on the winner’s side. As cups are eliminated there are different formations. When there are six cups there is a pyramid. When there are five, then it is two cups in the front and three in the back. When there are four, the cups are put into a diamond formation. When there are three cups there is one cup in front and two in the back. When there are two cups left they are placed in an “I” formation, with one cup behind the other. When there is one-cup left, it is centered at your end of the table. These rules are almost always agreed upon.

Now comes the controversy in the game. There are many rules that can be used but most times are not. These are known as “house rules”. Basically, these rules are most often used when you are at a party and start playing with people you do not really know. Some people play where you have to drink one of your own cups if you miss the table with a shot. Also, “Knocking a cup over is grounds for a penalty chug.”(Webtender) These are just a few of the rules that I have encountered while playing beer pong. I don’t mind playing with these rules from time to time, but overall I like the rules that I have been taught and am used to playing

In conclusion, there are many variations of this game. Hopefully I have explained the inner workings of the game of beer pong to you so you can play countless hours of this fun-filled drinking game.