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.
Boat Race
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 – A boat race begins with all competitors placing their drinks on a mutual table. When a referee begins the race, the first drinker on each team is allowed to pick up their cup and begin drinking. Once a beverage is consumed, the drinker must invert the empty cup on their head. This is done to ensure no cheating occurs and all the beer has been consumed. The next teammate cannot touch his or her drink until this has occurred. Empty vessels must be kept above the competitors’ heads until the race is over. A winning team is determined when the last competitor has consumed the contents of their cup and turned it upside down on their head.
Speed Quarters
Object of the game – Don’t be caught with two coins at the same time or you will have to drink.
How to Play – Speed quarters is best played with four to six players. Any more than that and the game takes too long for someone to drink. Players are positioned around a beer pong table with two cups of equal size and two coins, usually quarters. A cup of beer is placed in the middle and filled to a pre-determined level. Game starts when players on opposite sides of each other start to bounce their coin off the table and into the cup. Once the coin lands in the cup, the cup and coin are then passed to the player on the right. This continues until one player has both coins catch up to them before making their coin in the cup in front of them. That player then needs to chug the beer in the middle. VARIATION: Some people play a rebuttal, where a player must bounce their quarter into a cup that is twice as tall as the one the game is being played with. The player has one shot to make it in. If successful, the game continues. If the one shot is missed, the player then must drink the cup in the middle.
Baseball
Object of the game – Score more points than your opponent by tossing or bouncing ping pong balls into cups in a single line formation
How to Play – This looks very similar to beer pong but instead of aligning up your cup in a triangle shape, you arrange the cups in a single line of four cups. The cups are filled 1/4 full for the cup closest to the opposing side of the table, 1/2 full for the second cup, 3/4 full for the third cup and completely full for the final cup that is on the edge of the table. The visiting team shoots first and throws or bounces the ball towards the cups. Making a ball into a cup corresponds with its placement on the table. Hitting the first cup is a single. Hitting the cup the furthest away is a home run. Whichever cup is made, the cup made and the cups in front of it are consumed by the team on that side of the table. Runs are scored based on station to station baseball. (If a “man is on second base” and a single is hit, that man moves to third base and now there are two base runners.) Outs are recorded when three misses occur in a row. Three misses = three strikes and thus one out. Three outs and the teams switch from batting to defense. When both teams have recorded three outs, that is the completion of an inning. Teams can play up to nine innings or can play shortened “Little League” games of beer baseball of three or six innings.
Anchor Man
Object of the game – Finish a pitcher of beer before the opposing team finishes theirs.
How to Play – Combining the game of quarters with boat racing, Anchor Man is a great game to play on your beer pong table. Normally teams of four players are on each team and have a quarter in their possession. Each team has a full pitcher of beer on one end. Signal the start of the game and the players with the pitcher in front of them now bounce a quarter into the pitcher. Once a quarter is made into the pitcher the next player attempts to get their quarter in the pitcher. Once all four players have made their quarter in the pitcher, the pitcher can now be consumed. In order to win, the pitcher must be drained completely by the teams without removing their lips from the pitcher. The first player drinks as much as they can and then must pass the pitcher to the next player. They now drink as much as they can without removing their lips before passing to the next player. The last player at the end of the table is the “Anchor Man” and must finish the pitcher without removing his/her lips. The team that finishes the pitcher following these rules is the declared the winner. The losing team must now fill up the winner’s pitcher and a new challenging team must bring their own beer to the next game. Much like in pick up basketball games on the neighborhood playground, the winning team controls the table and continues to play until they are beaten. If you have a strong team, this is a great way to drink for free.
Thumper
Object of the game – Remembering and repeating body gestures until someone forgets and has to drink.
How to Play – Thumper is not a game to play if you are in a place that requires quiet. Outside at a tailgate party around your beer pong table is the perfect place. Thumper can be played with any number of people as long as they all have enough room to place both hands on the table and be able to tap it. The game starts with all players coming up with some sort of body gesture or hand motion and sharing it with thew group. That will be their trademark or signature move for the game. Once a gesture is claimed, no one else at the table can use that move. Gestures should be simple and short to keep the game moving along. The game starts by everyone tapping their hands on the table. To start one person volunteers to be the starter. Once the game has been played one round, the last person to drink starts the next game. The starter begins by asking the group, “What’s the name of the game?” The group responds with an enthusiastic “THUMPER!!!”. The starter then asks, “Why do we play?”. The groups responds, “To Get F*cked UP!”. (Normally during the last response, the players tap both hands on the table at the same time while saying “to get”, then clap when saying “F*cked” and then gesture with two thumbs up when saying “UP”.)
The starter then gestures his own signature gesture and then makes the gesture of another player. Now it is that player’s turn to do their own gesture and then a different player’s gesture. The game keeps going until a player forgets to do their own gesture first or takes too long doing a different player’s gesture. If that player fails to do either one, they must drink. After they complete their drink, they now become the starter and a new game begins. It is commonly accepted that a player is not allowed to do the gesture of the player who just passed to them. That is called ping ponging and the player who repeats the gesture of the person that just did their gesture is asked to drink. There is no official end to this game until people want to mix up and create different gestures or more than likely, go into the game or concert.
Either if you already have a beer pong table or need to get one, these games will help maximize your use of your beer pong table. Don’t have a beer pong table? You can find high quality and portable Beer Pong Tables from SpringBreak247.com.