Tailgating Ideas

It looks like a washers toss box but has “cups” in the shape of a beer pong rack. Instead of pong balls or washers, it has MashBalls that look a lot like those “foot bags” that hippies on college campuses kick around in a circle. No matter what similarities you may draw, it’s called MashBall and it may become the next big thing in tailgating games.

Todd Mashburn and John Michael Domingo created MashBall while in college at LSU. (LSU, huh? I think these guys have been to a tailgate maybe a few millions times.) Mashburn and Domingo still love beer pong, washers and cornhole, mainstays at any tailgate, yet they wanted to improve upon those standard tailgating games. They were set on creating a highly portable game that would be wind resistant for outdoor play at a tailgate and was not just one game with one set of rules. An added bonus was that the game they created alleviated having to buy cups ever again since the “cups” are already built in. Another bonus? They designed it to play on any surface: grass, sand, asphalt, concrete and MashBall even floats in water. Don’t try that with your old washers or cornhole boards.

So how do you play MashBall? Actually there are six ways to play MashBall but the most popular is to combine the game play of washers with the rules of beer pong.

Start by separating the two halves of the MashBall set at the distance measured by the measuring cord and clip provided. When play begins, both teams stand behind the separate halves of the MashBall set much like in beer pong, teammates stand on the same side. Each player on each team gets one toss per turn. If playing one-on-one, each player tosses two MashBalls much like each player would throw two pong balls in beer pong.

When a ball is made in a hole, the opposing team should remove the ball and plug the hole with one of the provided MashBall plugs. Much like removing the cup from the table in beer pong when a shot is made, in MashBall you cover the hole, thus eliminating that hole. The first team to plug all of the holes wins the game.

In addition, beer pong rules  at at work including make two in a row and get balls back and you are also allowed to rerack to form a closer pattern of holes. If you want to incorporate drinking into the game when a shot is made, that is your choice. (We did…)

Those are the basic rules of classic MashBall but there are other variations and rules you can play. The other games are Fast Mash, 21, Masher Toss, Baseball and Mash the Stack. The rules for these different variations of MashBall are included with each game set.

We took MashBall to a backyard BBQ party a few weeks ago and just the other day, along to the final pre-season tailgate when the Chargers played the San Francisco 49ers. While at the tailgate and the BBQ, MashBall was a big conversation starter. Numerous people came over to our parking space and asked about MashBall and even asked if they could play it. The kids at the BBQ loved Mashball because the distance was not so far as cornhole and they felt they could have a better chance of making a shot.

MashBall comes complete with everything you will need to play right out of the box. The MashBall Lifestyle Edition consists of two sides of the playing boxes, two balls, 22 plugs, one measuring cord and The Ultimate MashBall Guide.

After thoroughly testing MashBall, this game is going to be a big hit in the parking lot. We deem it “Tailgate Approved” and are happy to offer it for sale in our our online tailgating gear store.

The MashBall Lifestyle edition is $64.99 and you can buy it HERE.

When you combine two good things you create something great. Like chocolate and peanut. Ribs and BBQ sauce. Or beer and just about anything. Do you remember back in the early 1990’s when Miller Lite had commericals that combined two things to make it very fun and interesting? Like this commercial:

Now what if two of the most popular tailgating games in the parking lots, cornhole and beer pong, had a baby? That’s what you get with Bru-Bag.

Bru-Bag is so simple it makes me wonder why nobody came up with this idea sooner. It takes the game play of cornhole and combines it with the rules of beer pong. Even down to the smaller rules like “bring backs”, reracks and even encourages distracting your opponent just like in beer pong, Bru-Bag combines the best of both games. Take a look at the video instruction on how to play Bru-Bag.

Now that you have seen how the game is played, you want to know is it fun and how will is hold up while tailgating? Fortunately we were sent a sample of the classic version of Bru-Bag and recently tested it out while tailgating.

(Disclaimer: We received a sample of Bru-Bag free of charge. The fact this sample was provided to us for free in no way influenced our opinion of the product nor did it impact our ability to test and review the product fairly and objectively.)

We took Bru-Bag to the Chargers vs. Cardinals pre-season game and set up the game boards. They fit easily in our vehicle because the legs are removable and installed quickly once you are ready to play. For this game we had to be especially space conscience because we had four people traveling to the game in one car and could not fold down the seats on our Honda Pilot to accommodate bulky tailgating gear.

Once at the tailgate we set it up and played a couple of games. Passers by immediately recognized the hole pattern to be similar to the pattern of a six-cup beer pong game. It was definitely a conversation starter and everyone that encountered it thought it was a great idea to combine cornhole with beer pong.

We found Bru-Bag to be fun, innovative and improved the game of cornhole dramatically. Sure you will have your cornhole purists out there that may turn their nose up at this game, but normally even the hardest core cornhole snobs will relax that attitude once they hit the tailgate lot. And to be honest, if your hard core cornhole purist can’t let it go for an afternoon of tailgating, do you really want him/her at your tailgate party anyway?

After testing out Bru-Bag at home in the backyard and while tailgating, it is definitely “Tailgate Approved”. High quality craftsmanship and a fair price makes this a great new tailgating game that will help set your tailgate apart from everyone else. Now you can stop the arguing between the cornhole and the beer pong crowd on which game to take tailgating.

Bru-Bag includes Two (2) game boards, four (4) legs, two (2) bean bags, 12 disc covers, a carrying bag and instructions. It is made and assembled in the U.S.A. Cost of a Bru-Bag complete set is $79.99 with $18 shipping and handling.

You can get your own set of Bru-Bag from our online tailgating gear store, Shop.TailgatingIdeas.com.

Beer pong. Not quite as popular in the tailgating lots at cornhole but it still remains a strong No. 2 in the rankings. From Freezable Beer Pong Racks to Spinning Beer Pong Racks to Naked Pong to Floating Beer Pong Tables, there is a wealth of beer pong accessories on the market. Despite all of this innovation for the game of beer pong, for the longest time the cups used to play beer pong have remained the same. Until now.

As you can seen in the above photos, Hexa Beer Pong Cups have taken the traditional round cup opening and made a hexagon out of it. This way the flat edges can line up against each other and form a honeycomb. By reducing the gaps between traditional round cups, the playing surface is larger and increases the chances of making shots. Successful shots make for a faster game allowing more people to play in the same amount of time. Also, a faster game is preferable while tailgating based on the limited amount of time you have in the tailgating parking lot.

We had a chance to test out the Hexa Beer Pong Cups for ourselves and found them to be a great improvement on the game of beer pong. The photo gallery also shows that the Hexa Beer Pong Cups round bottoms allows for use with other existing beer pong accessories like the N-Ice Rack Freezable Beer Pong Rack and Spin Pong.

After putting the Hexa Beer Pong Cups to the test, they are definitely “Tailgate Approved”. Hexa Beer Pong Cups come in a sleeve of 50 that also includes five (5) pong balls.

Hexa Beer Pong Cups are available from Amazon.com for $9.99.

We’ve all seen the movie Baseketball. The made up sport where distractions (referred to as psych outs in the movie) are an integral part of the game in order to induce the opponent to miss. The same thing goes when it comes to beer pong. Distractions are not only allowed in beer pong but are highly encouraged. The Book of Beer Pong: The Official Guide to the Sport of Champions says so, so it has to be true, right?

Football season is coming and that means tailgating and of course beer pong. Here is the definitive list of beer pong distractions for the unique environment that is tailgating.

1) Sexy Time – Nothing distracts a red blooded American male (or any straight male for that matter) more than boobs and butts. Apologies to the male players playing against female teams but this distraction only works one way. Guys, please keep your shirts on… please. Beer pong players can be Superman but a nice rack (in an over matched tank top not on the other side of the beer pong table) is Kryptonite. Men can not look away and resist much like a moth can not resist flying into a 100 watt bulb. It’s nature and there is nothing you can do about it. Ladies, wiggle, jiggle and even take it off to distract your male opponents. Just try not to lose your balance when twerking because that’s just embarrassing.

2) Creepy 1000 Yard Stare – If the previous beer pong distraction was specifically for the girls, this one is for the guys. Women are accustomed to being looked at and checked out while tailgating but not to the point it makes them uncomfortable. If men get “busted” checking out a girl’s attributes, he will look away in embarrassment once she catches him. As a beer pong distraction, use this to your advantage and make your female opponent uncomfortable by staring at her most attractive features. Try not to blink while doing it. It will not be overtly noticeable but just like in the movie The Silence of the Lambs, you subconsciously see Hannibal Lecter never blinks. To make it even more unnerving, finger your belly button through your shirt or move your hand in your pocket near your junk right next to the beer pong rack so there is no escaping the creepyness.

3) Waving Hands – We’ve all seen during a basketball game, the student section behind the backboard waving their hands or sweeping their arms in one direction as soon as the shooter releases the ball. Same concept applies to beer pong. Wave your hands over the tops of the cups (without touching the cups) and remove them after the ball leaves your opponent’s hand. Waving your hands behind the beer pong table is a good one too. Just be cognitive of when the shooter is about to throw so you can sweep your hands to one direction rapidly in order to induce the shooter to throw off target.

4) Shooting out of turn – Nothing unnerves a beer pong player more than when they think the other player is gaining an advantage. Keep a beer pong ball in your hand and when your opponent is about to throw, fake like it is your turn and you are about to throw. People tend to focus on items they think are being thrown at them so they can block the projectile. More than likely, they will see your throwing motion and focus more on if the ball will hit their cups or possibly hit them in the eye than hitting the Bitch Cup.

5) But first, let me take a selfie – Selfies. We all hate them. When you see some self-absorbed woman taking a selfie, you get that sick feeling in your stomach when you see some pathetic fan trying to get his section to start “The Wave“. When your opponent is about to shoot their ball, pull out your mobile phone and pose for a selfie right behind the targeted cups. Bonus distraction points if you pull a duck face and a fake gang sign. Guys you can do this too and this might be even more distracting based on how ridiculous you look.

6) Say CHEESE! – Keep your camera phone out and this time turn it on your opponent. Many people are camera shy and do not like getting their picture taken. (Take note of the people always taking selfies of themselves while tailgating. This technique will not work on them.) Ask them to smile or exclaim, “I am so tagging you on Instagram” while they shoot. Their nervousness of looking bad on social media will only be matched by their errant shot looking worse.

7) The Two Girls Kissing – Much like distraction No. 1, this one can only be pulled off by two female teammates. Guys will stop anything they are doing if they think two girls will start making out. Even if you don’t want to kiss your girl friend, fake like you will (the Fake Out) and that will make your opponent pause before shooting. Even after the real or fake kiss, do you really think your opponent is thinking about making the next shot?

8) The Slam Dunk – This isn’t really a distraction but more of a last resort. If you are losing and none of your distractions have worked, taking a running flying leap across the table and slam dunking your ball into one of the cups is a sure fire way to end the game in a blaze of glory. Sure, you will lose the game but make sure a friend has their camera phone rolling to catch this epic end. What’s more important? Winning a game of beer pong before getting frisked by security at the stadium gates? Or having a classic video and stories to tell for the next 10 years at future tailgates? We thought so.

If you have a go-to beer pong distraction that works like a charm, feel free to share it in the comments below.

Regulation beer pong tables are eight feet long, two feet wide and 27 1/2 inches off the ground. Those are the dimensions of beer pong tables used in the World Series of Beer Pong so those are the dimensions that have been adopted and accepted as regulation. Based on those dimensions, there are plenty of beer pong table manufacturers that make beer pong tables in those dimensions and some even fold up and are easily portable to take to a tailgate party, frat party, backyard BBQ or anywhere else you want to play beer pong.

Beer pong is great but what if you want to get your money’s worth out of your beer pong table and play more games on it, not just beer pong? Have no fear because we have this quick and easy guide to follow to maximize your use and enjoyment of your beer pong table. These six games are sure to liven up any tailgate party. (Why did we chose six? 6-Pack of beer… Duh!)

Flip Cup

Object of the game – A relay race in which one team must finish all the beer in their cups before the other team finished theirs.
How to Play – Flip Cup involves drinking, hand-eye coordination, competitiveness and team play. Normally played with minimum teams of four but you can have larger teams if you place multiple beer pong tables end-to-end. Place plastic party cups with a pre-agreed upon volume of beer in each cup along the along side of the table in front of each competitor. To start the game, pick an end of the table to start. Those players start the game by picking up their cup, toasting the other player’s cup, touching their cup to the table again (down-up-down) and drinking all the contents in the cup. Once finished, the player places the cup on the side edge of the table on it’s base. Using their fingers, the players then must flip the cup over so that it lands with the open end face down on the table. Once the cup has been properly flipped, that signals that the next team member can start to drink their cup and proceed to flip it over once finished. The game continues until one team has consumed all the beer in their cups and successfully flipped all of their cups onto their open sides.

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