How many cups do you need for beer pong?

The standard is 10 cups per team, 20 in total, set up in a 4-3-2-1 triangle. Shorter games are often played with 6 cups per side.

Does a bounce shot count as two cups?

In most rule sets yes: the hit cup plus a second cup chosen by the shooting team. In return, the defending team may swat a bounce shot away.

How many re-racks do you get in beer pong?

One or two re-racks per game are common, usually at 6, 4 or 3 cups left. It is a typical house rule, so agree on it before you start.

What happens if both players make their shot?

If both players on a team hit in the same turn, the team gets both balls back and shoots again.

Can you play beer pong without alcohol?

Yes. Fill the cups with water and drink from a separate cup, or simply remove the cups that get hit. The rules stay the same.

Beer Pong Rules: Official Basics & Popular House Rules

Setup: table, cups, balls

Play on a long table, ideally about 8 ft × 2 ft (2.4 m × 0.6 m). Each end holds 10 cups in a triangle (4-3-2-1) with the point facing the opponent. Fill the cups about a third with beer or water. You also need two ping-pong balls (40 mm) and a cup of water to rinse them.

2 teams of 2 players (1 vs 1 works too)
10 cups per side in a triangle
2 balls plus a rinse cup

Turns and shooting order

The first turn is usually decided by an eye-to-eye shot: one player per team shoots at the same time while looking the opponent in the eye — whoever sinks it starts. After that, each player on a team shoots one ball per turn, then the other team goes.

A hit cup is drunk (or simply removed) and taken off the table. If both players on a team hit in the same turn, they get the balls back and shoot again ("balls back").

The elbow rule

Your elbow must stay behind the edge of the table when you release the ball. Lean too far and the shot is retaken — a hit does not count. Leaning is fine as long as the elbow stays behind the edge.

Bounce shots

A ball that bounces on the table before landing in a cup is a bounce shot. It usually counts double: the hit cup plus a second one chosen by the shooting team. In exchange, defenders may swat a bouncing ball away once it has touched the table.

Re-racks

When only a few cups are left, a team can ask for the remaining cups to be re-formed — for example 6 cups into a small triangle, 3 cups into a mini triangle or 2 cups in a line. One or two re-racks per game are common, requested before your own turn.

Island, rebuttal and the death cup

A few extra rules make the game more exciting. They are not universal, so settle them before the tournament starts:

Island: when a cup stands alone (touching no other cup), you can call it. Sink exactly that cup and a second cup is removed.
Rebuttal (redemption): after a team sinks the last cup, the other team keeps shooting until they miss. If they clear their remaining cups, the game goes to overtime.
Overtime: both teams set up 3 cups and play on.
Death cup: a ball lands in a cup the opponent is holding — that game is lost on the spot.
Fingering / blowing: a ball spinning on the rim may be blown or fingered out, depending on your house rules.

Agreeing on house rules for a tournament

Beer pong rules vary from house to house. What makes a tournament fair is that everyone knows the same rules up front: number of cups, how many re-racks, whether bounces can be swatted and whether there is a rebuttal.

In Rackd you set exactly these rules per tournament — cups, bounce, island, re-rack steps, rebuttal, death cup and your own house rules. Every player sees them on the tournament page before they play.

Unsaved changes

Beer Pong Rules