Tailgating Ideas – Don't Just Tailgate, Tailgate Better

Most tailgating games these days are not terribly kid friendly. Tailgating games normally fall into two categories: Drinking games and tossing game. A lot of the times, kids can play neither.

Tailgating drinking games like beer pong are not for kids for obvious reason. As for the tossing games, kids can play them but normally the distance they need to throw or the weight of the object they are tossing is too great depending on their age.

What if there was a tailgating game that was created by tailgaters themselves in a parking lot that can be played with kids and adults and the adults can including drinking elements while the kids do not? That game is called Tailgate 500.

Tailgate 500 is a vinyl playing surface that looks like an oval race track commonly used in stock car racing. The game comes complete with the playing surface that fits onto a standard folding utility table you find at almost every tailgate party. Included with the game are six miniature race cars that are made in the USA, dice, lead car chip and instructions.

As you can see in the top photo, we were sent a sample of Tailgate 500 the Tailgate Beer edition. The game play is simple and quite fun.

First you can play with more players than six. Although the game comes complete with six cars included, you can add more players and just use Matchbox cars or Hot Wheels as your game markers. The number of people playing is only limited by how long people want to wait before it is their turn to roll.

Once you have determined how many players there are, you establish the starting grid. The rules define how this is done. Once the game is ready to start, the first car rolls the dice and advances that many spaces. Normally a game of Tailgate 500 is played to complete two laps but depending on how long you want to play you can increase the number of laps completed as long as all players agree on the length of the game.

Once all players have rolled and moved their car, the dice goes back to the first car to roll again. Pretty simple concept of rolling dice and moving your game piece however many spaces you rolled. This is why it is a great game for kids. Although the game officially says ages six and older, if your child can count to 12, they can play this game. There is some reading involved when it comes to bonus advancements or penalty moves backwards. But as long as someone old enough to read the game board is playing with a younger player, you should be fine.

As for the reward and penalty spaces on the board, this allows for everyone, even the last place car, to be in the game. Specially marked spaces can move your car up two spaces or back two spaces with such things as, “Get a new sponsor, move up two spaces” or “Flat tire, move back two spaces”. The big rewards come when you land on a space saying you successfully pulled off a sling shot and you now advance one space ahead of the lead car. Big penalties include going to the back of the pack or being sent to the pits.

You might be saying, “So this looks like a big game of ‘Sorry’ only on a NASCAR track and using Matchbox cars.” If you want to make that comparison you are within your rights to do that but Tailgate 500 is a bit more than that. Because this game was created by tailgaters out in the parking lot, of course there are ways to introduce drinking elements. For example:

Green spaces move up your car and a yellow space moves it back. You could easily designate these spots places where if you land on a yellow penalty space you have to shotgun a beer. Place a kamikaze shot on pit road and whomever is sent to the pits needs to do a shot. Land on a green space? Designate the person to your left to play shirtless until it is their turn to roll. The possibilities are endless as to how you can implement your own “house rules” to Tailgate 500.

After testing it out and putting it through it’s paces, we deem Tailgate 500 to be “Tailgate Approved”.

The entire game rolls up into a tube the size of a movie poster and the playing surface is designed for outdoor use. You can spill salsa or, heaven forbid, knock over your beer on the game surface and it won’t hurt it. Just wipe it up with a paper towel or make whomever spilled the beer Zamboni it right off the game surface.

Tailgate 500 and all parts and pieces are proudly made entirely in the USA. The Original Race Ready Game Kit is priced at under $50 and can be found at Tailgate500.com. If you prefer the TailGate Beer version of tailgate 500, you can purchase one from the TailGate Beer web store. Both versions of the game, the Original Race Ready Game from Tailgate 500 or the Tailgate Beer version are priced at less than $50.

I still remember the crick in my arm. Driving down to the Wells Fargo Center to tailgate before a concert, my friend and I were trying to secure a large plywood board on the roof by sticking our hands out the windows and holding it down. We weren’t all that confident with our tie-job, and as we picked up speed, the wind was threatening to blow the plywood right down the middle of Broad Street. It was a stressful drive, and we kept hoping for red lights so we could relax our arms. Eventually we made it to the parking lot, lugged a bunch of cinder blocks out of the trunk, and placed our table on top. By the time we had the cups set up, I was sweaty and ready to just relax. Beer Pong shouldn’t be this hard.

I kept having flashbacks to that day the first time I broke out MegaPongo, the portable beer pong set. With a last minute ticket offer to the Phillies game, I headed straight to the stadium without the normal planning that goes into a tailgate. But with MegaPongo, that didn’t matter. The entire kit fits in your trunk as easily as a set of washers or bocce balls, so I had the set all ready to go. I ended up parking a few lots away from my friends, but the design is so light, there was no issue carrying it around with me. The portability of MegaPongo makes it worth the money alone, but there are some really great features in addition to its convenient packaging. (Click images for larger view)

As I made my way through the parking lot full of cornhole and ladder golf set-ups, I was enjoying the quizzical looks I was getting. What is that? I heard a few people ask. By the time my friends and I had set it up (which is an extremely easy process), we were getting a lot more than just curious glances. “That is the greatest thing I have ever seen,” proclaimed one enthusiastic Phillies fan. Many stopped for an admiring glance or to ask me where I got this sweet game from. And a few took pictures of the game, along with a few shots of us in action (I hope my form was okay!).
MegaPongo makes bringing beer pong to the party extremely easy. No more tying down plywood or storing cinder blocks in your trunk. You can have a game going minutes after arriving at the beach or barbecue. But other than the convenience of transporting it, MegaPongo has some other great features that any beer pong fan will enjoy. The carrying case doubles as the “table,” and the holes for the cups make sure that the wind will not blow them away. If you have ever chased a red cup down a parking lot aisle or tried to wipe off all the grains of sand when it falls at the beach, you will appreciate this feature. Also, since there is no actual table, you don’t have to worry about the playing surface being covered in beer after a few rounds.

The funnel system is also pretty fantastic. Most shots that do not end up in a cup will bounce around, Plinko-style, until they fall down one of the holes, through a mesh net, and into a large cup just waiting for it. This is true even for shots a little off-the-mark, as the backboard is able to corral a lot of the wayward shots. At one point, my partner and I moved away from the game to catch the last of the remaining sunlight. We casually sipped our beers and watched our opponents shoot – and miss. Instead of chasing the balls around the parking lot, we simply walked back to the game and collected them from the cup underneath the board, actions that would be unheard of in any normal outdoor beer pong game.

When playing MegaPongo, you can tell its inventors are fans of beer pong. The playing surface is large enough to allow for multiple types of racks and re-racks, there is a place for your water cup, and the instructions come with tons of fantastic twists to traditional beer pong. I have to say, I was very impressed with MegaPongo and did not find many negatives. The backboard and funnel system do prevent a majority of the balls from bouncing away, but there are still going to be shots that get away from you. I found it to be much less than in a normal game. While the lack of a table does prevent bouncing, there are plenty of other ways to add variety and individuality to the game. Some unique games, like “Around the World” are possible, and it will be up to you to decide if bank shots are allowed. The price is a little on the high end for portable beer pong, but in my opinion it is definitely worth it. The playing surface is very stable, the game is extremely lightweight and easy to set up and break down, and you will feel very good about yourself knowing you have a game of beer pong ready to go at anytime. Just add beer!

MegaPongo costs $135.00 plus $15 shipping and to learn more or buy a game set for yourself, click: HERE.

As the years go by, it seems as though the game of beer pong is evolving and is changing quite rapidly to meet the insatiable demand for new ways to play the game. Other tailgating games like cornhole and washers have remained pretty stagnant in developing new ways to play those games but beer pong is changing constantly. When we discovered Pong Islands we were intrigued and knew we needed to test them out for ourselves.

As you can see in the above photo, Pong Islands are free standing beer pong platforms that can be set up on any flat surface. You can also see in the photo that Pong Islands take up about 10% of the space a traditional 8′ x 2′ beer pong table requires. And as you can imagine, once Pong Islands are broken down, they take up 10% of the space in your tailgating vehicle on the way to the venue or after the tailgate is over. Take a look at the gallery below to see more examples of Pong Islands in use.

Pong Islands consist of two tripod stands and two bi-level trays. The bottom tray attaches to the clear acrylic using spacers, long screws and wingnuts. The trays are very easy to assemble and do not require any tools. You could use a phillips screwdriver to hold the screw steady while you hand tighten the wing nut but it is not necessary. The acrylic top has holes perfectly sized for beer pong cups and hold them in place and steady, avoiding the dreaded “sloppy rack”. Also by keeping the cups tightly racked and held tightly, this completely eliminates the tips, spills and sliding of cups that occurs on a traditional beer pong table that gets wet. A metal piece attaches to the underside of the bottom tray via those long screws and wingnuts to allow the fully assembled trays to screw onto the tops of the tripods stands. Also included are hooks with clips that clamp onto the rim of an extra party cup for the wash cup that hangs on one of the tightening screws of the stand.

The versatility of Pong Islands allows you to raise or lower the cups as high or low as you like. I would suggest raising the Pong Islands side by side to compare the level that all players can agree on. It is not imperative to have the height be the standard 27.5″ off the ground. If you are a stickler for playing on “official” playing dimensions, (27.5″ is the height the World Series of Beer Pong has agreed upon for their annual competition.) the first time you assemble Pong Islands, use a white or silver Sharpie or Magic marker to mark points on the black stands where the exact level is to achieve the desired height. That way you won’t have to measure each time you play.

While testing and reviewing Pong islands, we fell in love with a few features right away. We loved how Pong Islands take up minimal space when set up and when packed away, take up even less space in your tailgating vehicle. We also loved the aspect of the tight rack and the elimination of tips and spills. Another feature we liked was the fact that the clear acrylic top that holds the cups allows for you to see the whole cup. For some players that is a huge deal and only seeing the top of the cup of the rim throws off their aim. A comparable product we reviewed back during football season, Point Pong, is similar but the cups are recessed and the shooter can not see the entire cup.

Some people may argue that the rigid racking system make it difficult for unique re-rack configuration, notably the straight line re-rack. If that is your preferred configuration, simply turn the Pong Island slightly until the cups line up in a straight line. Another argument against using Pong Islands is that you can not use other beer pong accessories like the N-Ice Rack to keep the cups cold or Spin Pong that rotates the cups to add an element of challenge to the game. The counter argument would be these are accessories and you could modify the Pong Islands by simply unscrewing the top tray and placing these accessories directly on the bottom tray.

We mentioned earlier how we reviewed Point Pong back in September 2012. It received a positive review from us but unfortunately the price of Point Pong was a bit higher than what some tailgaters were willing to pay. We liked the fact that Pong Islands are affordably priced at $80 for a set of two. That is cheaper than most standard, portable beer pong tables.

After thoroughly testing and reviewing Pong Islands, we are going to deem Pong Islands “Tailgate Approved”. It is lightweight yet sturdy enough to handle the rigors of a tailgating parking lot game of beer pong. The ability to transport it to the parking lot with minimal space required in your vehicle leaves room for a bigger cooler or more chairs. The space it requires when fully set up in your parking space is also minimal and you could even get a game of beer pong going between two parked cars. On top of all those attractive features, we liked the fact that it costs less than most beer pong tables.

In review, Pong Islands are lightweight yet sturdy and durable, take up less space during transport and require less space during game play, eliminates tips and spills and is highly affordable. Sounds like a winner to us.

As you can tell, we thought so highly of Pong Islands we believe it would be a great product to add to our online Tailgating Gear store. Pong Islands are priced at $80 for the set and can be purchased HERE.

You may be the best beer pong player in the parking lot. You may dominate every game and be the king of “bring backs”. So it stands to reason you may need a little more of a challenge while playing beer pong. If your opponent can’t challenge you, why not make the game itself a little more challenging and a little more fun at the same time?

We recently discovered Spin Pong and thought we would test it out and see if it could stand up to the rigors of a tailgate party.

First of all, an explanation: Spin Pong is a motorized beer pong rack that rotates clockwise in a steady and even motion. It takes two AA batteries and will spin the cups for about four to five hours. The rack itself has small depressions so the cups fit snugly into the rack so they do not fall out while the rack is rotating or when a ball hits the cups. Take a look at this video we found on YouTube of someone who has a Spin Pong rack and filmed it doing it’s thing.

Pretty simple to understand but as you can imagine, makes the game of beer pong just a little more challenging. If you are playing with people who are not great beer pong players, this could extend the game a bit longer so make sure you have a chill cup on the side to keep yourself hydrated.

After testing out the Spin Pong racks, we will deem them “Tailgate Approved”. They are easy to transport with each rack coming in it’s own box. They are durable in that after one set of batteries run out, just replace them with fresh ones and start playing some more. We would suggest not throwing the Spin Pong racks around because they are made of plastic and do have an electric motor inside but they will fit nicely in your vehicle’s cargo space. Priced at around $30 for the pair, we definitely like that aspect that it won’t break the bank.

We thought so highly of the Spin Pong that we have chosen to carry it in our online tailgating gear store. You can buy just one Spin Pong rack for $17 or two, one Spin Pong for each end of the table, for $30. To get one or a pair of Spin Pong racks, click HERE.

Tailgating games have come a long way since the tailgate party lifestyle really starting to gain popularity. It seems as though many tailgating games were originally backyard, lawn games brought to the parking lots. But all of that has changed in that people are inventing new tailgating games and combining elements of already established games with the new one. We recently discovered Pong-O and it certainly appears to be a nice combination of two different tailgating games.

Back when we started this tailgating blog in 2007, we discovered the first “hybrid” tailgating game, Sholf. Sholf took elements of shuffleboard and golf and combined them. Shuffleboard + Golf = Sholf. Although Pong-O doesn’t combine the names of the two games it has combined, it certainly melds the two together in a fun and exciting new tailgating game. Take a look at their intro video for an explanation and display of how Pong-O is played.

As you can see from the video, the tossing elements of Pong-O are identical with beer pong (although the configuration of the cups is not in a traditional triangle) and the defensive element is a lot like Polish Horseshoes. Most everyone knows beer pong and how it is played so no need to explain that. Not everyone is familiar with Polish Horseshoes. In Polish Horseshoes, if the flying disc knocks off the can or bottle, the defending team can catch it to score defensive points. Much like in Pong-O, if you catch a missed ping pong ball, that team earns points. So for all means and purposes, this is a lot like beer pong but with defensive scoring much like Polish Horseshoes.

As you can see in the above photos, I took Pong-O to the parking lot and set it up while tailgating. A lot of people saw it and commented that they liked it and how it was a new twist on the game of beer pong. It wasn’t until I started explaining the defensive rules to the game that they realized it was not just a free-standing beer pong stand that eliminated the need for a table. Many people remarked that it was similar to Point Pong in that the cups have their own stand and can be placed at varying distances. Most people also like the fact that Pong-O eliminated the opportunity to bounce the ball into the cups.

Although it was not created or invented to be a free-standing beer pong game, you can certainly use it that way. Get two of the Pong-O stands, set them up at your next tailgate party and you are playing beer pong without the table and without the bounces. (If you really like to bounce, you can easily insert a card table in the middle to still allow for bouncing.)

The craftsmanship of the Pong-O game is top notch. After all, the same guys that created Bog Toss and make those cornhole boards are also the same guys who came up with Pong-O. It comes smartly packaged and there is some assembly required once it arrives. Not to worry. This isn’t “some assembly required” like you are putting together a kid’s toy on Christmas Eve until dawn. If you can hand tighten a few wing nuts and follow a few instructions, you will be playing Pong-O in minutes.

Because Pong-O is brand new, because it is truly a unique game that combines two different tailgating games and because of the high quality of the game, we are definitely going to deem it “Tailgate Approved”. We liked this product so much that we decided to offer it for sale in our own online tailgating gear store, shop.tailgatingideas.com.

Pong-O normally sells for $49.99 per unit but we are offering a limited sale price of $44.99 for one + $9.99 shipping. If you want to buy two units and play Pong-O like beer pong, we’ll ship the second one for free. We are not sure how long the guys at Pong-O will allow us to offer these sale prices so if you think this would be a great game to play at your next tailgate, we would suggest picking up one or two because we don’t know when the sale prices will no longer be valid. You can buy Pong-O by clicking HERE.