Outdoor & pub games
Beer pong
- players
- 2–4
- minutes
- 20
- years
- 18+
In the box
20 cups, ten per side · Ping-pong balls
Box details
- Origin
- Traditional game, with no specific designer or publisher
- Mechanics
- DexterityTeam-Based
Where to buy it
Near you
In a shop
Within 50 km.
The basics
Each team wants to knock out the ten cups on the other side by landing a ball in them, before losing its own. Each turn, the team shoots two balls, one per player (only one on the very first turn): a ball in a cup takes it out, and a successful bounce shot takes out two. The team that loses its last cup gets a redemption: missed, the game is over; made, the game goes to overtime with three cups.
Checked against the official rules · October 2026
The rules, step by step
Setup
10 cups in a triangle, 2 balls, 2 teams of 2
- A long table (2.44 m by 0.61 m at official tournaments). At each end, ten cups packed tight in a triangle, centred and lined up with the edge, the point facing the other team.
- Under the official rules the cups hold water, filled between a third and a half, and nobody drinks.
- Two ping-pong balls. Two teams of two players; it is also played one against one.
- Heads or tails, or rock-paper-scissors: the winner chooses between shooting first and picking a side of the table.
How to play
2 shots per turn, Bounce = 2 cups
- The team that opens the game shoots only one ball on its first turn. After that, every turn has two shots, one per player.
- A ball that lands in a cup takes that cup out of play straight away. A ball left balanced on top of the cups counts as a miss.
- If both players score in the same turn, their team shoots one more ball, just one.
- Bounce shots off the table are allowed: if one goes in, it takes out two cups, the second chosen by the defenders. In return, the defenders may swat or catch the ball once it has touched the table.
- Without a bounce, nobody may touch the ball before it has touched a cup: the foul costs a cup, picked by the shooter.
- The cups are automatically regrouped into a tight triangle when six are left, then three; the last one is moved back to the centre, against the edge.
Scoring
1 point per cup, Successful bounce 2 pts
- One point per cup taken out, two for a successful bounce. Ten points clear the triangle.
- The score sheet moves forward one round of shots at a time: enter, for each team, the number of cups it knocked out during its turn.
End of the game
Redemption shot allowed, Missed: game over, Overtime with 3 cups
- When a team loses its last cup, it gets a redemption. If at least two cups are left on the other side, it shoots one ball at a time, the players taking turns, and must sink them all without a single miss.
- If only one cup is left on the other side, it gets as many attempts as it still has balls on its side, one or two.
- Failed redemption: the game is over. Successful redemption: overtime with three cups per team, in a triangle at the back of the table; the team that cleared the triangle first shoots its two balls first, and redemption applies in overtime too.
House rules and pitfalls
At parties, many people play with beer, and the team whose cup goes down drinks it.
- At parties, many people play with beer, and the team whose cup goes down drinks it. That is not the official rule, which makes nobody drink: water in the cups is all you need.
- Other party customs, to announce before you play: both balls come back when both players score, each team may ask for two re-racks per game, and a bounce only takes out one cup when two are left.
- A cup knocked over by the team defending it counts as sunk.
- An exception in the rules: a player who announces before the game that they will always bounce can no longer be swatted, but every bounce is then worth only one cup, for everyone.
Going further
Variants · Frequently asked questions · In the same family
Variants
Format
One on one
Two on two
The official rules format: one column per team.
choose them when you start a game: the scorer adapts
Frequently asked questions
Does a bounce count double in beer pong?
Yes, under the official rules of the World Series of Beer Pong: a successful bounce takes out two cups, the second chosen by the defending team. In return, that team may swat or catch the ball after it has touched the table.
What happens when both players score in the same turn?
Under the official rules, the team shoots just one more ball. Many tables give both balls back: that is a party custom, to agree on before you start.