The National Beer Pong League has accepted my rules as an official variant. There are no official rules, only reflections of the platonic form. My rules are available here: http://www.nbpl.net/rulesno6.html#bb


Semantics

First of all we do not consider this to be beer pong because no paddles are used, we prefer to distinguish the game from its paddle wielding cousin with the name Beer Bowling, because the cups resemble pins in a bowling alley. If you use a baseball to smash open a coconut, you don’t say that you are playing baseball. Lastly, correct usage would be to say, “let’s Beer Bowl.” We do not say, “let’s go Beer Bowling.”

Table

Any freestanding table or tables will do as long as the aggregate length is nine feet long. As long as both sides agree on the height of the table, then even dead llama carcasses could be used.

Cup Setup

10 cups on either sides, set up as a triangle. There should be some space between the back of the table and the cups, as agreeable to the players. Once the game begins, players are not to touch the cups. We have no quarrel with those who choose, for whatever reason, to consolidate their pins mid-game, however know that when we meet in your home our skills will be all the more honed. Use plastic cups of uniform manufacture. Because there is no I in team, the concept of having multiple triangles on a single end of the table is completely foreign and even repulsive to Beer Bowlers.

 ______________________
|                      |  9 ft
|       o o o o        |
|        o o o         |
|         o o          |
|          o           |
|                      |
|                      |
|                      |
|                      |
|                      |
|----------------------|
|                      |
|                      |
|                      |
|                      |
|                      |
|          o           |
|         o o          |
|        o o o         |
|       o o o o        |
|______________________|

Beer

Natural Light is preferred, as are any of the meeker and unassuming brands. Play with what you like. Play with what you have. Just please use beer.

Sides

Player who won the last game selects which side he wishes to use. If this is the first time you play, then use the latent hierarchy assumed by your social group to delegate throw order.

Teams

Play with as many people as you want per side. If playing more than one per side, a separate throw order and drink order are kept from the start of the game. Teams take turn shooting, one player per side per turn.

The game begins...

  • If a ball lands in a cup, then the team who absorbed the hit plucks the cup from the table. The player who is up in the drink order must drink the beer before he throws. If a player other than him is up in the throw order, then there is no lapse in play.
  • If a ball hits the side or top of a cup and knocks it over, whether on its side or on to the floor, the cup is said to have been hit. Any beer is salvaged from inside the fallen cup by the player who is up in the drink order. If a beer falls off the table and is caught in tact before spilling, then the throwing team must drink the beer, although the cup is still considered to be hit.  Multiple cups can be knocked over. Note that players who throw line drives or are otherwise attempting to purposely knock over cups should be punished by the opposing team.
  • If a ball bounces off of a wall or ceiling, it is considered to still be live.
  • Players will use an overhand style of throw.
  • Players may not wave their hands or use other gestures to distract the opponent, however verbal taunting is not only allowed but encouraged. Anyone can wave their hands like a monkey, but it takes skill to upset the arc and aim of your opponent via the manipulation of his psyche.
  • Players may not blow into the cups in an effort to oust a recently fallen ball.
  • Players may not move or replace cups that move due to the natural course of the game.
  • If a player knocks over or drops a ball into one of his own team’s cups then that cup is said to have been hit. A game may be won in this manner.
  • Players may swat away or catch a ball that has hit their team’s cups in an effort to end the play.

The game ends...

The game ends when one team exhausts all of the other team’s cups. The losing team then drinks the remainder of the cups on the winning team’s side. However, the losing team has one last courtesy throw to try and lose on a good foot. If both sides agree, the remaing cups may be "recycled" and used for the next game.

Rinse and repeat.