The One True Drinking Game. Pong is played by two people, or two pairs, on a standard ping-pong table with no net. At the start of the game, each player or team has a set of cups of beer (or punch) (the arrangement and number depend on how much you're drinking - anywhere from 2-cup to "ship" (11 cups)). The objective is to lob the ball into the other team's cups of beer. If you sink the ball in the opponent's cup, they must drink the contents of said cup. If you hit the side or rim of the cup on the fly, they must drink half the cup. This is the best drinking game ever invented, for reasons that are obvious to anyone who's ever played. Popular at Dartmouth.

Maybe it's just that California has its own way of doing things in the beer pong realm as in others, but the game is played totally differently than the above description. Beer pong very closely resembles doubles' Ping Pong. There are only a few subtle differences:

Equipment and Setup

Each player is armed with a standard ping pong paddle, and lines up as in standard doubles' ping pong: two players on a team, one team on either side of the table. The only new equipment required is 4 standard red 16oz dixie party cups and 64oz of beer. The cups are placed in each corner of the table, one paddle-length in from the back and one paddle-length in from the side edges of the table and filled to the brim.

Technique

The goal is to lob the ball into either of the cups of beer on the opponents' side of the table. All shots must be lobs. Any shot that could reasonably be considered more like a smash than a lob is automatically the other team's point. No goaltending is allowed: all shots must be allowed to bounce once on the table before being returned.

Scoring

A cup consists of 5 sips, each of which is a point. When either team's cups are empty, the game is over and that team has lost. A point is scored if a ball in play comes in contact with any cup on the table. Each member of the team whose cup the ball hits must take one sip (1/5 of the cup). If the ball lands in a cup, both members of that team must pound the entire remaining contents of their cups. If any cups are emptied, either by losing 5 points or by a direct hit, the game is over. The losers must refill the winners (if they've taken any sips) for the next challenger and await their next turn in the rotation.