Learn the ins and outs of beer pong from Wikipedia.

Beer Pong without paddles (which in some regions is called Beirut) is a drinking game in which players throw a ping-pong ball across a table with the intent of landing the ball in one of 10 or 6 cups of beer on the other end. The game typically consists of two two-player teams, one on each side of a table, and a number of cups set up on each side set up in triangle formation.^[1] There are no official rules, so rules may vary widely, though usually there are six or ten plastic cups arranged in a triangle on each side. The number of players on a team can vary as well, from one to three or more.

When a ball lands in a cup, the defending team must consume all of the beer inside that cup. The cup isn't generally completely filled. It is also common to have a glass of water with the purpose of cleaning the ball between throws. An August 2008 Time article stated that cups were 1/4 to 1/3 full.^[2] The game is won by eliminating all the other team's cups before all of one's own cups are eliminated. The losing team must then consume all the beer remaining in the winning team's cups.^[1] The order of play varies – both players on one team shoot followed by both players on the other team, or players on opposite teams can alternate back and forth.^[3]

Today, beer pong is played at parties, North American colleges and universities^[4][5] and elsewhere, such as tailgating or other sporting events.^[6][7] The game is also played by high school students, despite the fact that supplying alcohol to persons under the age of 21 in the United States, or the age of 18 (Quebec, Alberta and Manitoba) and 19 (Ontario) in Canadian provinces, is nominally illegal.^[8][9]

This game may have several health issues associated with it. Besides the alcohol consumption which occurs during a game, there is the possibility of germs spread from the table and floor through the "cleaning" water, as well as the transmission of diseases spread through the sharing and reuse of cups. After a false press release in 2008 alleging the Center for Disease Control found a link between an explosive spread of herpes among 17-21 year olds and drinking from shared beer pong cups, many players of the game responded by replacing the beer in cups with water, instead drinking from a cup of their own whenever a shot was successfully made.

Although the preceding guidelines are common, the rules may be subject to a wide variety of modifications and additions that often vary based on the area of the country, the state, or even the house in which a particular game of beer pong is played.

[edit] Origin

Paddle-less beer pong evolved from the original beer pong^[10], which had its origins within the drinking culture of the Dartmouth College fraternities in the 1950s and '60s. The original version resembled an actual ping pong game with one or more cups of beer on each side of the table.^[11] Eventually, a version without paddles was created, and later the name "Beirut" was adopted in some areas sometime in the 1980s.^[12][13]

[edit] Nomenclature

The meaning of the terms beer pong and Beirut may vary depending on where the game is played. According to a CollegeHumor survey, beer pong is a more common term than Beirut for the paddle-less game.^[14] The origin of the name "Beirut" is disputed. A 2004 op-ed in the Daily Princetonian suggested that the name was coined at Bucknell University or Lehigh University around the time of the Lebanese Civil War, Beirut being the capital of Lebanon and scene of much fighting.^[15] Some students at Lafayette College, rivals of Lehigh, insist modern, paddle-less beer pong was invented at their school, but The Lafayette, the college's student newspaper, says there is no proof to back up the assertion.^[16] Some argue that the game was invented by the worst beirut player in the history of the world, Matt Libel. However, this theory is disputed on the grounds of their comparatively young age.

[edit] Setup

This diagram illustrates a standard set up for a game of beirut, with either 6 or 10 cups being used.

[edit] Teams

Beer pong is usually played with two teams of two players each, though it can be played with two teams of one person each, or other numbers of players. Each team begins the game standing at either end of the table behind their rack of cups.^[1]

[edit] Playing field

Although the game is typically played on either a ping pong table or a folding banquet table, enthusiasts may create a personalized table for use by friends and visitors. In general, this will be a plywood board cut to proper size, sometimes painted with sports, school, or fraternity symbols and given a liquid-proof coating.^[17]

[edit] Equipment

The most common cups used are 16 ounce disposable plastic cups with ridge-lines which can be used precisely to measure the amount of beer to be poured into the cup.^[18] On each side of the table, teams assemble equilateral triangles, with a convergence point focusing on the other team.^[1] 38 mm or 40 mm table tennis (ping pong) balls are typically used for game play.^[19]

[edit] Alcohol

An inexpensive pale lager or light beer of 3.2-5% ABV is sometimes preferred because of the large quantities of beer which may be consumed during the course of several games.^[5] The game may be played without beer, as is done at Utah State University, a dry campus, where root beer is used instead.^[20]

The game may also be played with water instead of beer. This version may include a "money cup" (one cup filled with an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink). This game has been banned at Dartmouth due to a possibility of water intoxication.^[21]

[edit] Game play

Teams have many possibilities for reracks.

There are very few universal or "official" rules. Typically, players abide by a uniform set of "house rules", which are often consistent within one university or region of the country (e.g., "Ivy League rules" or "West Coast rules"), or may vary on a "house-by-house" basis.^[22] Number of cups, bouncing, amount of alcohol, the distance shots must be taken from, etcetera, may all vary.

In some house rules, players must immediately drink any cup that has been hit. Failure to do so incurs a penalty, such as drinking more beer or losing the game.^[23] Some rule sets allow for "re-racking" (also known as "rearranging", "reset", "consolidation", or "restructuring"), which is a rearrangement of a team's remaining cups after some have been removed. The formations, number of cups, and so on depend on the rule set. For example, a team with three remaining cups may ask the other team to "re-rack" their multiple targets into a single triangle formation.^[24] Some other house rules include swatting the ball away if it bounces and if the ball spins around the cup.

After shooting, teams may dunk the ping pong balls into cups of water in order to wash the balls off. However, research showed that the wash cups still hold bacteria, such as E. coli.^[25][26]

[edit] Shot techniques

The typical path for the different kinds of shots.

There are three key ways to shoot in beirut: the arc, the fastball (or "Toby"), and the bounce shot. The most common throwing technique is the "arc" shot, where one grasps the ping pong ball with the tips of the thumb and forefinger, holds the arm at an angle with the ball upwards, then throw by using gentle elbow motion, holding the upper arm parallel with the table. ^[22]

Some players throw "fastball" style, which uses more of a hard chopping motion to send the ball in a more direct line to the intended target cup.^[22] Also, a fastball shot may be favorable if house rules dictate a cup that is knocked over is taken off the table, in which case a fastball can eliminate multiple cups if thrown hard enough.

A "bounce" shot is performed by bouncing the ball toward the cups. Since (depending on house rules) the other team may have the opportunity to swat away a bounced ball, a bounce may be worth more than one cup.^[22]

[edit] Winning the game

If the opposing team makes the last cup, the other team must usually make either all remaining cups or simply one cup, depending on "house rules", or the opposing team wins - this is called a rebuttal or redemption. There is also a rule variation on redemption in some games. If the opposing team hits the last cup with both of their balls, no redemption is given to the losing team. Some areas also play a "Double Ball" (also known as Angel Cup) win, where an opposing team hits the same cup before it's removed from the table. The "Double Ball" cup win can happen with any of the cups on the table or unfinished cups in the opposing players hand. ^[24][22]

A shutout rule is a house rule usually stated before a game or during the game in the midst of a shutout. If the shutout does occur the losing team must do whatever the two teams decided on, such as going streaking or drinking a large quantity of beer.^[24]

[edit] Health effects

Beer pong, as with any activity involving alcohol, may cause players to become intoxicated or even drink enough to get alcohol poisoning. Also, the supposed cleaning effects of the water "dunk" cup may be offset by bacteria in the cups.^[27][28]

Some writers have mentioned beer pong as contributing to "out of control" college drinking.^[29][30]

In early 2009, news sources claimed a recent study by the U.S. Center of Disease Control (CDC) stated that beer pong was contributing to the spread of Herpes, Mono, and other diseases through shared cups. The CDC quickly responded as the CDC had not done such research,^[31][32] however the U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH) does suggest avoiding the sharing of eating utensils to prevent the transmission of certain contagious viruses such as herpes.^[33]

[edit] Legal restrictions

Former Steeler and 2006 candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania Lynn Swann plays beer pong with and courts voters before a football game.^[34]

Some municipalities and states have attempted to ban beer pong, either from bars or in general. In Oxford, Ohio, where Miami University is located, the city council tried to ban the game from being played outdoors,^[35] and in Arlington, Virginia, bar owners were told to stop allowing the game to be played in their establishments.^[1] In the fall of 2007, Georgetown University officially banned all beer pong paraphernalia, such as custom-built tables and the possession of many ping-pong balls.^[36]

Time magazine ran an article on July 31, 2008 called "The War Against Beer Pong," noting legal restrictions and bans on the game in college and elsewhere.^[21]

[edit] Tournaments and leagues

Beirut tournaments are held in the United States at both the local, regional, and national levels.

The World Series of Beer Pong (WSOBP), hosted by bpong.com, is the largest beer pong tournament in the world. WSOBP IV, held in January 2009 at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, had a $50,000 grand prize and attracted over 800 participants from the US and Canada. ^[37]

Several local and regional tournaments are hosted regularly by organizations such as The World Beer Pong Tour in the North East, and Clutchpong in Michigan. The World Beer Pong Tour is the country's largest beer pong touring organization, currently hosting tournaments in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey^[38]; it has awarded over $150,000 in cash and prizes since its inception in Fall 2006^[39].

A more common organization of beer pong games are leagues which operate on a local or regional level. Ordinarily, a group of pong enthusiasts will create teams (partnerships) and play weekly against each other. MDBeerPong in Maryland, SoCal Beer Pong in California^[40], and the College House Beer Pong League in Milwaukee are some leagues in the US, each with their own websites, rankings and team/player statistics. Several other leagues have been started by college students with the goal of intramural competition such as at University of California, Santa Barbara with the "Isla Vista Beer Pong League",^[41] and at New York University.^[42]

[edit] Beer pong in the media

The Wall Street Journal, Time and other media outlets have reported on the increase in businesses selling beer pong paraphernalia, such as tables, mats, cups, or clothes.^[43][2]

Last Cup: Road to the World Series of Beer Pong^[44] is a documentary which follows some competitive players as they prepare for the WSOBP II and ultimately compete against one another for the $20,000 grand prize. This documentary, directed by Dan Lindsay, recently premiered at the CineVegas film festival on June 13, 2008.

The AP cited the game and other drinking games as a factor in deaths of college students.^[45]

Time magazine recently had an article on the popularity of beer pong^[2] and posted a video on their website.^[46] In both, players claimed beer pong was a sport, rather than a game — similar to billiards and darts.

Rick Reilly wrote an entire column about The World Series of Beer Pong IV for ESPN the Magazine.^[47]

The Colbert Report featured a segment on the CDC study hoax. ^[48]

Asher Roth also refers to beer pong in this debut single from his 2009 album "i love college"

[edit] Bud pong

Bud pong was the branded version of beer pong that brewer Anheuser-Busch said involved the drinking of water, not Budweiser or any other beer. In the summer of 2005, the company began marketing "bud pong" kits to its distributors. Francine I. Katz, vice president for communications and consumer affairs, was reported in The New York Times as saying that bud pong was not intended for underage drinkers because promotions were held in bars, not on campuses. And it did not promote binge drinking, she said, because official rules call for water to be used, not beer.^[49]

The New York Times quoted a bartender at a club near Clemson University as saying she had worked at several bud pong events and had "never seen anyone playing with water. It's always beer. It's just like any other beer pong."^[49]

Some expressed incredulity at Anheuser-Busch's public statements. Henry Wechsler, director of the College Alcohol Study at the Harvard School of Public Health, said: "Why would alcohol companies promote games that involve drinking water? It's preposterous,"^[49] while advertising news site Adjab opined that "someone playing bud pong with water is about as likely as a teenage kid using the rolling paper he bought at the convenience store to smoke tobacco."^[50]

[edit] Video games

In July 2008, JV Games Inc. released a downloadable video game for the Wii console called Frat Party Games: Beer Pong. After much outrage by parent and university groups, the game was renamed Frat Party Games: Pong Toss and all references to alcohol were removed.^[51][21]

[edit] References