A Beginners Guide To 21-Cup Beer Pong
7 years ago

Comparing three vs. three 21-cup beer pong to regular 10-cup beer pong is like comparing chess to checkers. Texas hold ‘em and Go Fish might both be card games, but one of them is for children. 21-cup is like season 1 of True Detective and regular beer pong is season 2. Mentioning the two of them in the same sentence is almost insulting.

There are certain institutions of higher learning at which 21-cup pong is a culture unto itself. It is undoubtedly more complicated than regular pong, but that’s part of the fun. It’s kind of like watching the show Westworld — half of the enjoyment comes from just understanding what the fuck is happening. I can assure you, once you’re over the game’s relatively flat learning curve, you will understand why 21-cup pong is loved so much by so many.

Especially at schools located in the American Northeast, this fast-paced multifaceted drinking game is a staple of any worthwhile house party, pregame, or casual kickback. 21-cup (or “blackjack,” as I like to call it) functions a lot like regular beer pong, that is, if regular beer pong took a shit ton of speed and Mexican HGH.

It’s a total sensory overload, but in the best kind of way. The game involves more cups, more people, more rules, more beer, and more energy. Three vs. three 21-cup beer pong is very tight.

Ready to play? Hell yeah you are. Here’s what you’re going to need to get started.

The Setup:

1. A big table. Preferably 4’ x 8’. Enough to comfortably fit 42 cups.
2. 6 people (including yourself), who enjoy things that are both fun and appealing.
3. 3 ping pong balls.
4. 42 solo cups
5. 12 beers. Or whatever, a more responsible quantity. As long as it fits in the cups.

The Gameplay:

This game is played with two teams of three players per side. However, you are really only playing against the person directly across the table from you. Because, every time you sink a ball into the other team’s cups, the person across from your drinks it, and vice versa. This is a major rule. Which means that players must remain in the same spot, relative to their side of the table, throughout the entirety of the game. One player on the right side of the table, one player in the middle, and one on the left side of the table. It’s important that teammates stay in their respective positions except to chase down loose balls.

A team’s turn lasts until all three of their players have shot their balls. At which point it is the other teams turn to shoot. In this sense, the game functions like regular beer pong. There are a few exceptions, though. The first key difference are the rules regarding re-racks. A team is only allowed to call for a re-rack if the opposing team has 21 (starting formation), 15, 10, 6, or 3 cups (perfect triangles) left. If a team happens to request a re-rack, and the number of cups does not add up to a perfect triangle, the opposing team is allowed to scatter their remaining cups across their side of the table. These cups remain scattered until the other team can re-rack again. The second major difference between 21-cup and regular beer pong is that there are no two-cup shots. This means no island-cup shots, no bounce shots, and no balls back (heating up/fire included). It’s just six people having a good time throwing balls at cups until there are no more cups at which to throw balls.

I realize that this game may be a bit more mentally and physically involved and high-energy than regular beer pong. But, once you get into it, it’s pretty fucking amazing. Plus, it gets a greater number of people off their asses and involved in the action, which is never a bad thing. So do yourself a favor, and at the very least give the game a chance. It just might change the way that you think about beer pong.