In a nutshell: if a made cup never gets pulled and the other team hits it again, it’s death cup and the game is over.
Beware! Late in a long night, somebody always forgets to pull a cup. Nobody has to remind you, and if it gets hit again, the game is over. Pull your cups.
Beware!
How death cup works
A cup gets made but not pulled. It happens late in the night.
No warning required. The shooting team doesn’t have to point out the forgotten cup.
Hit it again and it’s over. A second make in the same cup is death cup, and the game ends.
In a nutshell: if your shot touches one cup and drops into another, you earn bonus cups. We don’t play it at Beer Pong All-Stars, but plenty of houses do.
Want a bonus cup for a lucky bounce? Some houses give you one. Ours doesn’t, and here’s why.
What do you mean “travel?”
How traveling works
The ball hits a cup and keeps going. It rolls off one cup’s rim and drops into another.
Bonus cups. Depending on the house, you pull every cup the ball touched, or the made cup plus one bonus cup.
Why we don’t play it
Traveling rewards lucky shots, so rookies collect cups they didn’t earn and games end faster. If you want a bonus rule, island and bounce shots reward skill instead.
FAQ
What if the ball bounces off one cup and into another? At our house it counts as one cup: the one it landed in. Houses that play traveling give you bonus cups for it.
Do you have to call traveling? No. It’s decided by where the ball goes, not by a call.
Is traveling the same as same cup? No. Same cup is when both teammates make the same cup.
In a nutshell: catch a shot that bounces off your cups and, in one motion, hit the shooter in the head with it. The sniped player drinks a cup.
Heads up! Add the sniper rule and your games will get rowdy fast. Catch a rebound off your cups and you get one throw at the shooter’s head. Aim for the head, not the face.
Sniped
How the sniper rule works
Catch the rebound. The shot has to bounce off the rims of your cups, and you catch it in the air.
Throw in one motion. No winding up; catch and fire.
Hit them in the head. A snipe to the head means they drink a cup from their rack.
Counter-snipe. If the target catches your throw, they can fire it right back.
Slap cup variation
Some houses play slap cup instead: when a shot bounces off a rim, a defender can open-hand slap the ball back at the shooters. A hit anywhere on the body means they drink a cup.
Keep it friendly
It’s a ping pong ball, but aim for heads, not faces, and skip it with anyone who isn’t in on the rule.
FAQ
Does a snipe remove a cup? Yes. The sniped player drinks a cup from their own rack.
Can you snipe off a bounce shot? Only off a rebound from your cups. A ball that bounces off the table is covered by defense.
The island rule in a nutshell: when a cup isn’t touching any other cup, call “island” before you shoot. Sink it and the other team pulls the island cup plus one bonus cup of your choice.
Land ho! A cup off on its own is begging to be called. The island rule rewards calling your shot, and nothing feels better than pointing at a lone cup and draining it.
Land ho!
How the island rule works
Spot the island. An island is a cup left on its own because the cups that would touch it in the rack formation have been pulled.
Check for a mainland. At least two other cups must still be touching each other. No mainland, no island.
Call it before you shoot. Say “island” out loud and point at the cup before the ball leaves your hand. Calling it after the ball goes in doesn’t count.
Make it and take a bonus cup. The island cup is pulled, and you pick one more cup for the other team to pull and drink.
Miss and the call is spent. At most houses a missed island shot uses up your call for the game. If you hit a different cup instead, it counts as a normal cup with no bonus.
How many island calls do you get?
At most houses, each player gets one island call per game, so two per team. In a one-on-one game, each player still gets one. Some houses play one call per team; agree on it before the game.
Island in redemption: if you still have your call, you can use it during redemption.
When you can’t call island
Bermuda triangle: when three cups are left and none touch, there’s no mainland, so there’s no island. See the Bermuda triangle rule.
Fewer than three cups: you need an island plus a two-cup mainland, so the island rule can’t win the game.
Island combos
Island + bounce: call island and bounce it in, and the defending team pulls the island cup plus 2 bonus cups.
Island + same cup: if both shooters call island and sink the same cup, the defending team pulls 2 bonus cups and the shooting team gets balls back.
Common island rule disputes
“That cup is just out of place!” Go by the rack formation, not a sloppy setup. If a cup would be touching its neighbors in a properly set rack and only drifted a little, it’s not an island; straighten the rack instead. When in doubt, the house decides.
“You called it late.” The call has to come before the shot. A call mid-throw is the house’s call; most say it doesn’t count.
Re-racking away an island. The defending team can use a re-rack before your turn to pull the lone cup back into the group.
Island rule FAQ
Can you call island with 2 cups left? No. You need at least three cups on the table: the island plus a two-cup mainland.
How many times can you call island? Once per player per game at most houses, so two per team. A missed island shot uses up your call.
Can you win beer pong with an island? No. The rule needs at least three cups on the table, so it can’t take the last cup.
Do you have to call island? Yes. Making a lone cup without calling it counts as one normal cup, with no bonus.
Who picks the bonus cup? The shooting team picks the bonus cup, unless your house says otherwise.
In a nutshell: make two in a row and call “heating up.” Make the third and you’re on fire: keep shooting until you miss.
He’s heating up! Make two in a row, call it, and drain the third, and you’re on fire until you miss. It’s the rule that turns one hot shooter into a highlight reel.
“He’s on fire!”
How heating up and on fire work
Make two straight shots. Your own shots, back to back.
Call “heating up.” You have to say it after the second make; no call, no fire.
Make the third to go on fire. You keep shooting until you miss.
Fire ends on a miss. Then the turn continues as normal.
On fire and balls back
If your team earns balls back during a fire streak, you get the balls back once the fire goes out. That starts a new turn with a chance at a second balls-back run.
Why it’s called NBA Jam
The rule comes from Midway’s classic arcade game, where a player who hit three in a row was “on fire” until the other team scored.
FAQ
Do bounce shots count toward heating up? Yes at most houses. A make is a make.
Does the streak carry over to the next turn? Usually yes, as long as you haven’t missed. Agree on it before the game.
In a nutshell: lose a game without making a single cup and you sit under the table, drink in hand, for the entire next game.
Suck at beer pong? You’ve probably heard of the troll rule. Go a whole game without a cup and you’re spending the next one under the table, grabbing ankles.
Beer Pong Troll
How the troll rule works
It applies to the losing team. Only players on the losing side can be trolled.
Zero cups means troll. Any player who didn’t make a cup all game goes under the table.
Stay down for a full game. The troll stays under the table until the next game ends.
Trolls make noise. Grabbing ankles and heckling the next game is part of the tradition.
Troll rule vs. naked lap
The troll rule is for a single player who gets shut out. If the whole team gets skunked, meaning neither player makes a cup, it’s a naked lap instead.
Troll rule variations
Some houses let the troll swat at shooters’ legs; others say hands off.
Some houses only troll if the team also loses by a lot.
FAQ
What if my partner made cups and I didn’t? You’re the troll; your partner stays up.
Does a cup made in redemption save you? It does at most houses. A made cup is a made cup.
Beer pong rules change from house to house, but the core game is the same everywhere: two teams of two, 10 cups each, and the first team to sink all of the other side’s cups wins. Everything else, from bounce shots to re-racks to whether you’re running a naked lap, is up to the house.
We’ve been playing (and arguing about) these rules since 2014. This guide covers the standard game first, then all 25 house rules you’ll run into at parties, bars and tournaments, with how we play each one. Pick yours before the first shot and you’ll skip the fight halfway through game three.
Each turn, both players on a team shoot once. Shots are thrown on the fly from behind the table edge, with elbows behind the edge (see the elbow rule).
A made cup is pulled from the table, and the defending team drinks it.
Both players make it? You get the balls back and shoot again.
Bounce shots count for two cups, but the defense can swat a ball once it hits the table. See bounce shot and defense.
No defense on a ball in the air. Blocking a shot before it bounces counts as a made cup.
Knock over your own cup and it counts as made (see spilled cup).
Who shoots first
For the first game, settle it with eye to eye: one player from each team shoots while keeping eye contact with the other. The first team to make it while the other misses shoots first. After that, the team holding the table shoots first.
Re-racks
Most houses allow two re-racks per game, called before your turn starts. One-on-one players get one each. The last cup can always be pulled back to the center. No re-racks during redemption or overtime, and none when the last three cups form a Bermuda triangle. See the rack formations below for the common shapes.
How a game ends
Redemption: when a team sinks the last cup, the other team gets a rebuttal. Each player shoots until they miss. Clear every remaining cup and the game goes to overtime.
Overtime: each side sets up 3 cups in a triangle for a sudden-death overtime. No re-racks.
Party games and tournaments play noticeably differently. The left column is how we play at Beer Pong All-Stars (and how most houses do). The right column is the official World Series of Beer Pong rule set (version v2018-03-001), which most organized tournaments follow. Tell everyone which one you’re playing before the first shot.
Rule
House rules (Beer Pong All-Stars)
Tournament rules (World Series of Beer Pong)
Cups and fill
10 cups in a 4-3-2-1 triangle. Beer, any drink or water.
10 cups in a tight triangle held by a rack. Water only, ⅓ to ½ full; nobody has to drink.
Who shoots first
Eye to eye; after that, the team holding the table.
Decided by an agreed method like a coin flip or rock-paper-scissors. The first team takes only one shot on its first turn.
Leaning is allowed within limits: no body part on the table, feet stay planted, no hand on the table after release. Break it and the shot doesn’t count.
The house makes the rules. Agree on these before the game starts and post them where everyone can see. Trust us, it’s easier than settling a bounce-shot argument after a few rounds.
Bonus shots and extra cups
#16 Balls Back: both teammates hit, both get to shoot again.
Twenty in total: 10 per side in a 4-3-2-1 triangle. A quick game uses six cups per side in a 3-2-1 triangle.
Do bounce shots count for two cups?
Under most house rules, yes, but the defending team can swat a bounced ball away. Agree on it before the game.
How many re-racks do you get?
Two per team per game is the most common rule, called before your turn starts. One-on-one games usually allow one per player.
Can you win on the first turn?
Only with an instant-win house rule like ring of fire. Otherwise the other team always gets a turn, and after the last cup, a redemption shot.
Can your elbow go past the table?
Not under the elbow rule, which most houses play. If your elbow crosses the edge, the shot doesn’t count.
Do you have to play with beer?
No. Plenty of players and most tournaments fill the game cups with water and drink from their own cup, which keeps the game cleaner and lets everyone pace themselves. Play responsibly, 21+ only.
Looking for the party game? The full cup in the middle of a Rage Cage table is also called the bitch cup: see Rage Cage rules. This page covers the beer pong rule.
2. Bitch Cup
In a nutshell: the bitch cup is the center cup of the starting rack. At our house, if a guy hits it as his first cup, it doesn’t count at all: no drink, and the cup stays on the table.
Every house has an opinion on the center cup. Here’s how ours plays it, and what other houses do instead.
Bitch cup is the center cup in the rack.
How the bitch cup rule works
Find the center cup. In a full 10-cup rack, it’s the cup in the dead center of the triangle.
It only matters as the first cup made. The rule applies when the center cup is hit before any other cup.
Guys: it doesn’t count. Nobody drinks, the cup stays on the table, and the shot is wasted. Better luck next time.
Girls: it counts. If a girl hits it as the first cup, it’s a normal made cup. That’s where the name comes from.
No streak credit. A guy’s bitch cup doesn’t count toward heating up or on fire either. It never happened.
Bitch cup variations
Some houses call it the center cup or freshman cup and skip the guys/girls split.
Some houses count it and make the defending team drink it but leave the cup on the table. Others (like ours) don’t count it at all.
The center cup is also part of the ring of fire, so hitting it early can set up an instant win.
FAQ
Does the bitch cup count as a made cup? Not if a guy hits it first. Under our rule it doesn’t count at all: no drink, and the cup stays. If a girl hits it first, it counts.
What happens if the bitch cup is hit later in the game? Nothing special. The rule only applies when it’s the first cup made.
In a nutshell: hit the front cup, the center cup and both back corner cups, without hitting any other cup first, and you win the game on the spot.
Our favorite beer pong rule, and the most satisfying way to win a game. Hit the four ring cups before anything else and the game ends on the spot, no redemption.
Ring of fire beer pong rule
How ring of fire works
Know the four cups. The front (head) cup, the center cup, and the two back corner cups of the full rack. See the diagram above.
Hit only those cups. If any other cup is made before all four are down, the ring is broken.
Make all four and the game is over. No redemption, no comeback.
Winning before the other team shoots
With balls back, ring of fire can end the game on the first turn: both players make one of the ring cups, get the balls back, and make the remaining two before the other team ever shoots.
When ring of fire doesn’t apply
You can’t win with ring of fire during redemption.
A re-rack changes the formation, so once the cups are re-racked the ring is gone.
FAQ
Is ring of fire the same as ring of death? Yes. Different houses use different names for the same rule.
Can you win with ring of fire during redemption? No. Ring of fire can’t win the game in redemption.
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