Notre Dame has has its own set of common games when heading off campus. The basic games range from beer pong, civil war, flip cup, and quarters. For the most part no matter where you go all the games will have the exact same rules with a few tweaks.
Beer Pong:
re-racking diagram
A table roughly the size of a ping pong table is needed, however, smaller surfaces that meet or exceed the previously mentioned dimensions will work fine.
Each team places 6 or 10 cups (depending on preferred rules) in a pyramid on their side of the table. 12 or 16 ounce Dixie or Solo plastic cups are the best option. Typically each of these cups is filled to the first ridge line, however, you may fill the cups to levels based on rules that you set. 1 cup filled with warm water is placed on each side for the purpose of cleaning the ball.
Goal:
The goal of the game is to eliminate the other teams' cups before one's own cups are eliminated. When a ball lands in a cup, which are generally 1/3 full, that cup is eliminated and the defending team must consume all of the beer inside that cup and any other cups knocked over.
Shooting Techniques: There are 2 key ways to shoot at Notre Dame when playing beer pong: the arc, and the bounce shot. The most common throwing technique is the "arc" shot, where one grasps the ping pong ball with the tips of the thumb and forefinger, holds the arm at an angle with the ball upwards, then throw by using gentle elbow motion, holding the upper arm parallel with the table. The bounce shot is much tougher to hit since once the ball bounces on the the other team has the opportunity to swat it out of the air before it goes into any cups. The catch is though if this shot is successful the the opposing team must take out 2 cups instead of 1.
Re-racking:
Most houses off campus allow 1 re-rack per beer pong game which is a rearrangement of a team's remaining cups after some have been removed. There are common formations that most people use depending on the amount of cups left over. (see diagram).
Winning the Game:
If the opposing team makes the last cup, the other loses unless they can make either all remaining cups or simply one cup
Civil War
Basic Rules:
Have 2 teams of 4 players each side at a beer pong table, preferably a wide one. Each player has 4 beer-pong cups in front of them in a diamond Use one beer in the four cups or more if prefered. Throw the ping pong balls at the opposing team's cups. Use 4 balls in the game and fire at will when you can get your hand on a ball. If a ball is made into one of your cups, drink its contents. Once all of the cups in front of you have been made, you are out. The team with a player remaining at the end wins
Goal: The object to civil war is very similar to beer pong, eliminate the other teams cups before they eliminate you.
Shooting Technique: See Beer Pong's above
* Note bouncing in civil war doesn't result in removing 2 cups
Re-racking: There are no re-racks because of the way the table is already set up with the small triangles or diamond depending on the amount of players.
Heres a short video in how the game is played. Note the arrangement of cups is slightly different than used at Notre Dame, but the game play is similar.
Flip Cup
General Rules:
Two teams of an equal number of players stand on opposite sides of a table, facing one another. The players directly facing are opponents. In front of each teammate is a solo cup filled with a set amount of beer. Normally, the first line inside a Solo cup is used as a marker.
At the start, the first member of each team drinks their cup. When finished, the cup is placed face up at the edge of the table, and the player who drank it attempts to flip the cup, by flicking or lifting the bottom until it flips and lands face down on the table, sitting on its mouth. The player may not use two hands to "guide" the cup to flip over. If player is unsuccessful on the first try, the cup is reset and re-flipped. Only after the first teammate is done flipping successfully can the next person proceed. Whichever team finishes drinking and flipping all its cups first wins.
here is a very easy to follow step by step instructional video
Two teams of an equal number of players stand on opposite sides of a table, facing one another. The players directly facing are opponents. In front of each teammate is a solo cup filled with a set amount of beer. Normally, the first line inside a Solo cup is used as a marker.
At the start, the first member of each team drinks their cup. When finished, the cup is placed face up at the edge of the table, and the player who drank it attempts to flip the cup, by flicking or lifting the bottom until it flips and lands face down on the table, sitting on its mouth. The player may not use two hands to "guide" the cup to flip over. If player is unsuccessful on the first try, the cup is reset and re-flipped. Only after the first teammate is done flipping successfully can the next person proceed. Whichever team finishes drinking and flipping all its cups first wins.
here is a very easy to follow step by step instructional video
