X-pong

History
X-Pong was invented in 2001 at Penn State University. The first game was played with Franzia boxed wine. The second game was played with actual beer, which was much better. X-pong became a "pre-gaming" favorite of the members of the Pointe complex and its popularity slowly spread. It was decided that games would be played with water and the losing team would just do shots. However, that game has evolved since the early days. Since then it has spread to other schools including Kent State, Pittsburgh, University Of California, Santa Barbara, University of North Carolina. There is a rapidly growing facebook group focused on the sport.

Rules
Object of the Game
Being Extreme
*The object of X-Pong is, first and foremost, to be extreme.
*Being extreme involves playing each game to the greatest possible degree, extent or intensity.
*Bounce the ping-pong ball into the cup opposite on one bounce then bounce the ping-pong ball into the middle cup on two bounces before the other team.

Equipment
The Table
*The table can be any flat, rectangular surface, ideally a kitchen table.
*A standard ping-pong table is usually too big, thus lowering the extreme nature of the game. Also, the net gets in the way.
The Chairs
*X-Pong should be played with 4 chairs placed at each corner of the table.
*Each player gets a chair.
*This is to ensure everyone gets to relax during the game and allows for extreme diving for wild bounces.
The Balls
*The ball should be spherical, with a diameter of 40 millimeters.
*The ball should weigh 2.7 grams.
*The ball should be made of celluloid or similar plastics material and shall be white or orange, and matt.
*Translation: The ball should be a ping-pong ball.
The Cups, Part I
*A total of 5 cups are required for X-Pong.
*All cups must be the same.
*Each cup should be 16 oz.
*Each cup should be made of celluloid or similar plastics material and shall be red or blue.
*Translation: Each cup must be a standard Beer Pong or Beirut cup that Solo® must be making a killing on because college campuses must go through millions of them each semester.
The Beer, Part I
*More beer = More extreme.
*Any cheap, pale lager will do the trick.
*Favorites include Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Light, Milwaukee’s Best, and, of course, Natural Light.
Music
*The most extreme music known to man is techno. Therefore, as it has always been played, techno must always be playing the background.
*

Start of Play
Teams
*2 extreme teams of 2 extreme players compete against each other in this extreme battle.
*Each player on each team sits at opposite corners of the table.
*1 player on each team should have a ping-pong ball in hand.
*Both ping-pong balls should be at the same, narrow end of the table.
The Cups, Part II
*1 cup should be placed at each corner of the table.
*1 cup should be placed it the middle of the table.
The Beer, Part II
*Two beers are required for each game of X-Pong.
*Approximately 1/3 of a beer should be placed in each corner cup. The remaining 2/3 of a beer should be placed in the middle cup.

Getting Extreme
3…2…1…Extreme
*One (1) person in the room, not necessarily one of the four (4) players, must scream “3…2…1…Extreme!”
*The balls begin flying.
One Bounce
*Each player must bounce the ping-pong ball towards the cup in front of their partner in an X pattern. Hence the X in X-Pong.
*The object is to get the ping-pong ball into the cup on one bounce.
*If the ball goes into the cup on anything other one bounce the result is a loss (Except for a "hammer" shot. See Below)
*If either player on the same team notices that the ping-pong ball is not going to bounce in on one bounce, they may prematurely grab the ball and toss it to their partner.
*Each player’s partner catches the ball and tries to bounce it into the cup in front of their partner.
Drinking
*When your partner sinks their throw, you must chug the beer in front of you as quickly as possible. Upon finishing your beer, you continue to try and sink your throw into your partner’s cup.
*Your partner returns the ball to you as quickly as possible, repeat single bounce until made.
Two Bounces
*Upon both players sinking the ping-pong ball into the cup in front of their partner, the empty cups are put on the floor and the players both stand up.
*Each player attempts to bounce the ball into the middle cup on two bounces.
*If either player on the same team notices that the ping-pong ball is not going to bounce in on two bounces, they may prematurely grab the ball and toss it to their partner.
Extreme Diving
*Players are encouraged to dive on the floor or use any other extreme means to catch and return the ball to their partner as quickly as possible.
Balls Colliding
*In the event that both balls collide (whether intentionally or not), the balls become up for grabs, and the first player to grab a ball claims that ball for their team and play continues. The other ball then belongs to the other team and they are forced to get it.
*Though extremely rare, if the balls collide and one of the balls goes into a cup prematurely the game is restarted with all cups being refilled.
*Even more rare is when both balls collide on the inital toss of the game and bounce off the table. Due to the extremeness of this occurance, the amount of beer in each cup is doubled and the game is restarted.
"The Hammer"
*One of the most rare occurrences (though it does happen) is "The Hammer" shot. This is when the ball is bounced normally, either for a corner or middle cup, and the ball falls short of its target and hits the side of the cup. The ball then procedes to defy the laws of physics, ricochet off the table, and get enough spin on it to bounce into the target cup.

Interference
What is Legal?
*In the event that a ping-pong ball accidentally falls near an opponent, said opponent may not intentionally interfere with the other team’s extreme efforts to recover their ball. Such a violation results in a loss.

Losing
*A cup is knocked off the table.
*The ball bounces into a corner cup on anything other than one bounce.
*The ball bounces into the middle cup on anything other than two bounces.
*The ball bounces into the middle cup before both corner cups are eliminated.
*The ball bounces off either player and into any corner cup or middle cup.
*The Maloney - A player throws the ball into the middle cup directly, on zero bounces. This move is named in honor of the first player to accomplish this boneheaded move: Kari Maloney.

Winning
*One team successfully eliminates both corner cups on one bounce and the middle cup on two bounces before the opposing team.
*The losing team drinks all remaining cups between them. (i.e. two corner cups and the middle cup)

Controversy
The partying public's preception of X-Pong is interesting to say the least. People who have never played X-Pong before always seem very hesitant to try a new drinking game. The reason is that everyone has always played beer pong and have never seen anything else.

Variations of Gameplay
*It is also a common practice to turn the lights low and have a strobe light going. The most extreme version of gameplay is with all the lights off, glow in the dark balls and cups, a strobe light going, and the techno music playing at a very high volume.
*After each game, players rotate counter clockwise, winning team stays.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu