TriPong
TriPong is a variation on the game of table tennis. Invented by Secil Boyd of Hawaii, TriPong is played on an hexagonal version of a standard table tennis board, and uses acrylic glass instead of cloth nets. In order to facilitate play between three individuals, the glass is split into three wedges on the table, and the three areas of play are further split into "neutral zones" and "scoring zones."
Table and Equipment
According to the official TriPong rules, the table itself rests 76cm (30in) above the ground, and is divided by nets 16cm (6in) high. The nets should be constructed of a hard plastic or glass material, and cannot be more than 1cm (.4in) thick. The three nets designate three "playing areas," each of which are split by colors into a "scoring area" and a "neutral area," for scoring purposes.
Standard table tennis balls and paddles May Be used to play TriPong.
Rules of Play
General
TriPong is played with three players, each of which assumes one of the three table positions. The first serve, and the placement of the other two players around the table, belongs to the player who wins the three-coin toss.
Players may hit the ball into either of their opponents playing areas. However, a point is scored only if the ball enters the green "scoring area" of the opponent's side, and the opponent fails to return the ball. An unreturned ball that has entered the white "neutral area" of an opponent's side is disregarded, and play begins anew, with service granted to the player who last hit the ball. This prevents unreasonable side shots: since each player GeneRally FACES the extreme sides of his opponents' areas, these "neutral areas" force the player to hit the ball toward the middle of his opponent's board. A ball landing anywhere within another player's playing area, that is also returned by that player, continues play.
Serving is accomplished just as in standard table tennis, with the ball first hitting the server's playing area, and then one of his opponents'. Service is declared "good" as long as the ball lands within the playing area of another player; if the opponent fails to return the serve, the point is awarded the server if the serve entered the opponent's scoring area. If a server fails to hit the ball within another player's playing area, it is considered a "fault," and the player to the left of the server gains service.
Players may not touch the table, nor reach across the nets, and may only hit the ball when it is within their own playing area. The ball may not be hidden during the serve; the ball must start above the height of the table, and be in plain sight of all three players. A player may not hit the ball until it has bounced once within their playing area; if a player hits a return ball before it bounces on their side of the table, (regardless as to if it would have been in or out of play), then no points are awarded, and the point is played over, with the serve remaining with the player who last had service.
Keeping Score
- Each player begins the game with one, (1), point.
- Before each serve the combined points of all three players will always equal three, (3).
- The game is won when one player reaches a total of three, (3), points.
- A player receives one, (1), point each time he/she scores against either of the other players, if that player has a point to lose.
- When a player has a point scored against him/her, (regardless of which of the other players scores the point), then that player loses a point, if he/she has one to lose. A player cannot have less than zero, (0), points.
- The server will declare the score before the ball is served. The server will call out The Primary servers score first, followed by the score of the player directly to the left of the original server, (or clockwise from that position at the table), and finally the score of the remaining player. The score count always starts from the position of the primary server, and the total of all the points added together will always equal three, (3).
Coin Toss & Other Considerations
- To determine the original server there is a coin toss. Each player has a coin, (same kind if possible), and they place their fist on the table and the coin on their thumb. Upon command all three players flip the coin into the air. It must exceed the height of the fence, flip in the air at least once, and land flat on the tables surface. The odd coin wins the toss. If all three coins are the same, then there is a re-toss.
- If multiple games are played by the same players, or group of players, then the winner of the last game automatically becomes the primary server of the next game, with the right to choose the position of the other two players.
- Two of the players may help each other “set up” shots in an attempt to cause the third player to have two points in a row scored against him/her, which would of course cause the third player to lose one of the points that they already have. When one player has two points and is poised to win the game the other two players inevitably team together in an attempt to stop that player, but remember there is no second place.
- A player can look one way, and hit the ball another.