# Beruit or beer pong? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 27, 2006, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408 "2006-05-27T03:09:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/1 "2006-05-27T03:09:16Z")
You know the game. Two teams (ranging anywhere from one to…well, the most I’ve seen is five, though the average is two) stand at opposite ends of a table. In front of each team is an arrangement of cups filled to a pre-set amount with beer. There are also a set nubmer of ping pong balls floating around the table. The goal is, of course, to throw the ping pong balls into the other teams cups. When a ball goes into a cup, that team has to drink that beer. The team that loses all their cups first is…well…the loser. Many rules exist for this game, but that is the underlying premise behind every set of rules. Eliminate the opposing teams cups of beer by sinking the ping pong balls into them. However, while many people accept the variances in rules from one college or fraternity to the next, they still get in heated arguments over the name. Is it beruit? Or is it beer pong? Where I went to school(RPI), _most_ people called it beuit, but some people and fraternities called it beer pong. They were wrong. It is, and always shall be, beruit. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/2 "2006-05-27T19:59:54Z")
It’s beer pong as far as I know. I’ve never heard of it referred to as “Beirut”. ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/3 "2006-05-27T20:46:42Z")
Oh, for God-sakes! I live in Boulder, I’m an undergrad, I’ll answer this one (definitively, nobody can question me, period). Beer pong is played with actual paddles as ping-pong. Beiruit is played when the ball is tossed into the opponents cups. 85% of “beer-pong” is actaully Beirut. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/4 "2006-05-27T20:58:17Z")
> [@threemae](#): > > Beer pong is played with actual paddles as ping-pong. Beiruit is played when the ball is tossed into the opponents cups. 85% of “beer-pong” is actaully Beirut. Yes! Thank you! The proof is found [here](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=beruit) > [@](#): > > Beruit is the drinking game where you thrown the ping-pong ball into the cup and the opposing team must drink that cup. beer pong is played with actual ping pong balls and paddles. HOWEVER, the name beer pong has been widely taking over as the game in which the ball is thrown into the cup, i.e. Beruit. The interesting thing is a) why it’s called beruit (beirut) and b) why the two spelling variations. Odds are, the original was beirut, like the city, but morphed into beruit because that’s how it sounds like it’s spelled. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/5 "2006-05-27T21:09:45Z")
At Gettysburg College, it’s called Beiruit. I’d have originally called it “What the Hell?” as that was my thought upon entering apartments where the game had been played within the previous 12 hours. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/6 "2006-05-27T23:21:21Z")
Wow. Then ALL of Western New York calls beer pong/beirut by the improper name. No paddles are used (or harmed) in the playing of that game. The combatants, however, are very harmed. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2006, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/7 "2006-05-28T04:05:28Z")
It’s called beer pong at the University of Illinois. What I think would be more interesting is the differences in the rules. If you don’t mind a hijack, what rules do you use and where do you usually play? University of Illinois: [ul] [li]10 cups a side[/li][li]2 beers a side[/li][li]Current champions shoot first, if there is no champion, there is a shoot-off to determine which team goes first.[/li][li]When a cup is empty, it it placed back into the pyramid. If a ball is tossed into an empty cup, the thrower drinks a cup of the other teams choosing.[/li][li]If a team makes both shots they get the balls back.[/li][li]A ball can be bounced. If it is bounced in, 2 cups are consumed.[/li][li]If the ball is bounced, the other team can swat it away.[/li][li]The cups are reracked at 6, 3, and 2 cups. all empty cups are removed at those times. [/li][li]After the last cup is made the other team gets a “redemption” shot. If the last cup is made on the first toss, 1 redemption is given, if it’s made on the second toss, 2 are given. If both balls are made, there is no redemption.[/li][li]If the redemption is made the game continues as normal.[/li][li]The game cannot end by a team making their shot into an empty cup.[/li][/ul] Those are the rules I’ve seen most often. There are some variations, but this is pretty much the U of I way. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/8 "2006-05-29T03:55:06Z")
Wow, what a coincidence, I was just introduced to this game last night, as beer pong. So how does one pronounce beruit anyway? Bee-roo-it? Bare-weet? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/9 "2006-05-29T10:04:39Z")
> [@Least Original User Name Ever](#): > > It’s beer pong as far as I know. I’ve never heard of it referred to as “Beirut”. Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/10 "2006-05-29T11:44:09Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > The interesting thing is a) why it’s called beruit (beirut) 'Cuz everybody gets bombed? ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/11 "2006-05-29T13:46:14Z")
I’ve heard it called both, but Beer Pong seems to be the prefered term. Screw it, dude. Let’s just get drunk. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/12 "2006-05-29T19:56:08Z")
> [@Yumblie](#): > > Wow, what a coincidence, I was just introduced to this game last night, as beer pong. So how does one pronounce beruit anyway? Bee-roo-it? Bare-weet? Bay-root. I couldn’t list the rules for our school, because every fraternity and apartment had their own sets. But my fraternities rules (which, of course, were the best. Because who else actually had a beruit committe and a constitution) are: [ul] [li]Teams of 2 or 3, normally.[/li][li]A pyramid of 10 of 15 cups, respectively (10 for 2, 15 for 3.)[/li][li]On average, three beers a side for a team for two, and five beers a side for a team for 3.[/li][li]The winners of the last game start with the balls (one ball per person). If there was no winner, each team gets half the balls and one team will just shoot their one ball to start it.[/li][li]If you get the ball in the cup, the cup is removed and the beer drank.[/li][li]Bouncing is not prohibited, _per se_ but it is frowned upon and after it bounces the ball can be swatted away.[/li][li]If a ball enters a cup but has not yet touched the durface of the beer, it can be blown out (ie, the ball is spinning around the inside of the cup.) However, if the ball is blown out but lands in another cup, that new cup is drank.[/li][li]Touching a ball in play is a penalty of drinking one cup.[/li][li]The pyramid is reracked (well called it a reform) at 6 cups only. However, the opposing team must ask for this to happen. If another ball is sank, reducing the cups to 5 or less, the pyramid can no longer be reformed.[/li][li]If two balls go into one cup, that cup, and two more of the receiving team’s choosing, must be drank.[/li][li]If a ball manges to land on top of the rims of multiple cups and remains there, every cup that it is resting on must be drank (I have seen this happen jsut a couple times. Once was after the ball bounced up there, once was after someone tried to blow a ball out of a cup and it flew out.)[/li][li]The team can get a ball back after it is shot if it manages to roll or bouce back across the center line of the table. That ball can then be reshot, but only once. If it rolls back over again, it cannot be shot again.[/li][li]If one player manges to sink a ball two turns in a row, someone else on the team can say “he/she’s heating up.” If a third ball is then sank on that player’s next turn, a team mate can then say “he/she’s on fire.” That player then gets the ball back to reshoot it, and can continue to shoot that ball until he misses a cup (this is known as the NBA Jam rule.)[/li][li]Knocking over a cup (either with the ball, or with your body) is a penalty of two cups. Even if it is your own cup. So if you knock over your own cup, you then drink two more, for a total penalty of three cups.[/li][/ul] That last rule more than any other has ellicted an angry response from visiters not used to our rules. Most people play by a rule that knocking over a cup of the oppossing team counts as a sink, and knocking over your own is its own penalty. But the reason for this rule lies in the constitution, which states that the purpose of the game is to promore a friendly, fun, and competetive way to drink beer. Since spilling beer goes against the purpose of drinking beer, it is a penalty to anyone who does so. And it is a two cup penalty, because the idea is that if you knock over another team’s cup, you need to drink one of your own to “even the score,” and then one more as a penalty of spilling beer. So if you have two cups or less on your side, the other team has one cup, and you shoot and spill that cup…you lose. Harsh, yes, but within the spirit of the game, in our opinion. ---
**Author:** ![some\_white\_dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b487fb/32.png) [@some\_white\_dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/some_white_dude)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/13 "2006-05-29T20:27:09Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > If one player manges to sink a ball two turns in a row, someone else on the team can say “he/she’s heating up.” If a third ball is then sank on that player’s next turn, a team mate can then say “he/she’s on fire.” That player then gets the ball back to reshoot it, and can continue to shoot that ball until he misses a cup (this is known as the NBA Jam rule.) This is interesting. My housemates and I devised this exact rule this year, entirely on our own here at U of Michigan. We even recalled NBA Jam in the rule’s inception. I doubt our idea travelled down to the neighboring houses, let alone to your campus, bouv. Funny, the way the college mind works. ---
**Author:** ![some\_white\_dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b487fb/32.png) [@some\_white\_dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/some_white_dude)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/14 "2006-05-29T20:28:58Z")
Oh, and it’s Beer Pong. Who plays with paddles? Crazies. That’s who. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/15 "2006-05-29T21:08:19Z")
> [@Team of Scientists](#): > > Oh, and it’s Beer Pong. Who plays with paddles? Crazies. That’s who. People who play BOTH Beruit and Beer Pong at their school. It’s Beruit (or 'Ruit for short). Our particular variation included rules like: -Drink on an airball (completely missing the table) -No collapsing the pyramid -Drink on an empty (but can’t lose on empty or airball) -Defense - can knock the ball away on a bounce or blow it out of a cup until it settles -Other team drinks extra if both players hit same cup Ten years or so ago my fraternity devised 100 cup beruit - 2 teams, 4 on a team, a case each side and 100 cups. Don’t get to play too much anymore. Mostly only at fraternity gettogethers or at the occassional house party thrown by a twenty-somthing year old coworker. There’s also a bar in Manhattan that actually has a beruit table set up. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/16 "2006-05-30T00:31:42Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Ten years or so ago my fraternity devised 100 cup beruit - 2 teams, 4 on a team, a case each side and 100 cups. I can beat that. I once saw a game that was base 18. In our ligno, that meant the base of the cup pyramid was 18 cups, so there was 171 cups total for each side. I forget how much beer they used, but I suspect it was probably two 30-racks for each side. I think the teams were six or seven people a piece. The game took a few hours to finish. ---
**Author:** ![Fat\_Chance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8baadc/32.png) [@Fat\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fat_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/17 "2006-05-30T17:59:28Z")
Where I went to school (way upstate NY) beruit was the game being described above, but played with a quarter, not a ping pong ball. Cups are only filled about 1/3 way Quarter in the cup, the cup is drank and removed. Losers must also drink all the winners remaining beer. Stay at the table until you lose Common variation was “Flagship” where the front cup of the triangle was filled to the top and was replaced after a hit. Seen games where a team will hit 3-4 flagships and depending on the drinking order one unlucky player drank all of them. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beruit-or-beer-pong/358408/18 "2006-05-30T18:46:32Z")
Pong is fun… I painted [this](http://img186.echo.cx/img186/2297/mvc001s9rj.jpg), took a while (used spray paint to keep ridges down… bad idea). I’ll paint the labatt logo on the other side when I get around to it.