The granddaddy of them all. Beer Pong, or “Beirut” was supposedly started in Beirut, Lebanon in the 1980s, and spread like wildfire. Now it’s played at every college campus in America, at just about every party. All you need are some plastic cups and ping pong balls. And beer. Lots and lots of beer.

Beer Pong is a diabolically simple, but also endlessly complicated game, and there are hundreds of different versions.

There are also hundreds of instruction sheets online explaining how the game is played. I see no sense in re-inventing the wheel. Here is one great explanation, and here is another. Read them.

And since this is a video site, here’s a video of some douchey guy explaining how to play beer pong as well:

Got it now? Good.

Now let’s focus on some of the interesting beer pong house rules and twists.

Beer Pong House Rules and Twists

Rebuttal: Once one team sinks the other team’s last cup, the defeated team get a chance at a “rebuttal.” Both players shoot at the remaining cups, as many times as necessary, until they miss. If they are able to clear the rest of the other team’s cups, the game goes into a 3-cup overtime (each team sets up a three cup triangle and the game continues). This has become a standard rule with the crowds I play with.

Only Bitches Blow: Only girls can blow a ball out of a cup if it is spinning around the cup before completely falling in. Guys just have to let it go in. Yeah, it’s sexist.

The Big Mac Rule: If a player is able to bounce their ball off a wall (that is distantly separated from the table) and into one of the other team’s cups, they have to go to the nearest McDonald’s and buy the team Big Macs.

Bounces Count Twice: If a player can bounce a ball on the table and get it into a cup, the other team must drink two cups.

Overthrows Count as a Cup: If a player throws a ball past the edge of the table, their team loses a cup. This helps make the games go much faster.

Naked Lap: If a team gets shut out and doesn’t make a single cup, they must strip naked and do a one lap streak around the house where the party is being held.

If you know any other cool house rules, post them in the comments!