Did you know that there is a World Series of Beer Pong?
And that they have created an official set of rules and regulations for the game?
It’s true!
The game we all play to have fun while getting drunk is actually an official sport.
And that means official standards for the equipment, most notably the table.
We always just played it on a ping pong table. But it turns out that is not even close to regulation size.
Keep reading to learn the official beer pong table size, plus some of the other important official rules you need to know. We also included some instructions for a DIY beer pong table, in case you prefer not to buy one.
Beer Pong Table Size
Before we can get into what the table dimensions are, we have to first touch on why the tables need to be a specific size in the first place.
There are official beer pong rules and you can’t just use any old table you have laying around. This goes even for the most bizarre variations, like Jew vs Nazi beer pong.
Does Beer Pong Require A Specialized Table?
You can play beer pong on any surface that you want. But if you want to go by the official rulings and regulations, you should go with a specialized beer pong table.
They come with pre-measured circles on either end to ensure perfect cup placement. You’ll see the typical ten-cup setup, as well as a triangular design that shows you the range to place them in. That part isn’t necessary, but it adds to the aesthetics.
The cups will always be in the same spot, but so will your table. Regulation beer pong tables are made of metal and fold down like standard card tables, except they’re made with rubber feet.
These help maintain traction so a few bumps into the table here and there (especially when one opponent is getting a bit tipsy) won’t affect you much.
Overall, they’re built with beer pong in mind. They are sturdy, with flashy designs and cup markings, and they’ll prevent other people from claiming you had an unfair advantage when you annihilate them at beer pong.
Now let’s see exactly what size an official beer pong table should be.
Official Beer Pong Table Dimensions
There are specific dimensions that a beer pong table must have in order to be official. If these dimensions aren’t met, then the game is thrown off and it’s not technically official (unless all parties agree that they really don’t give a crap).
The dimensions of an official regulation size beer pong table is 8 by 2 feet, or 96 by 24 inches—you don’t want the table to be too wide.
If it’s too wide, you have a greater forgiveness/margin of error that eliminates skill. Not only that, but a sideways shot is still going to fall off the table regardless, so the extra space is unnecessary.
If the table is too long, the beer pong balls won’t have sufficient bounce. They’re not engineered golf balls or anything with crazy ergonomics to them; they’re cheap plastic balls.
These balls are only going to do so much. The official distance allows for a bridge between skill and making sure that your equipment is fair for everyone to use.
Naturally, many people won’t want to spend money on a beer pong table. Many will just use a ping pong table, but the dimensions are completely wrong. A better option is to simply make your own beer pong table.
DIY Beer Pong Table
It’s dead simple to make a DIY beer pong table. This is all you’re going to need.
- Tape measure
- Supply of ½” or ¾” plywood
- Carpenter’s pencil for markings
- Jigsaw or table saw
- ¾” metal screws
- Wood stain
- Polyurethane coating
- Electric sander
- Wood filler
- Putty knife
- Electric drill
- Nuts and bolts
- Wood glue
- Rubber footing for table legs
- Start out with the table top. Measure out and mark a 24″ x 96″ rectangle on one of your pieces of plywood and use the saw to cut it. If your plywood is too small, you can cut two 24″ x 48″ pieces and combine them, but this extra step requires a lot more work.
- Decide on the legs. You can use ½” plywood to make basic rectangular table legs. Cut two pieces 27″ long or 26.75″ long, depending on the thickness of the plywood you choose (regulation beer pong tables are 27.5″).
- Take two pieces of plywood for the legs and bolt them together. Use nuts on the other end (preferably the inward-facing end) to secure them. Tighten them as much as you can without snapping the wood.
- You can use wood screws to screw down through the top of the table into each leg (use two to four screws), and then apply wood filler on top. Or you can use wood glue and rely on that. Either way, wood glue should be used in conjunction with wood screws. Line up the legs on the edges of the tables, and make sure any screws are at least one inch away from the edges of the wood.
- Optional: Use wood screw to secure additional pieces of wood in between each of the table legs for added stability and aesthetics.
- One the legs are secured, use an electric sander to gently remove the sharpness to the pointy edges and edging of the table. Sand the table down and clean it so it’s primed for stain.
- Use wood stain on the table, legs, and even the underside. Stain the entire thing. The only thing you shouldn’t stain is the bottom of the four table legs.
- Use a polyurethane coating on the entire table, except for the bottom of the legs. Let it cure properly.
- To finish the table, use rubber footing on the bottom of the legs to secure it in place. You’re done.
Additional Beer Pong Rules To Follow
Table dimensions are one of the most important rule of beer pong, but they are far from the only one. Official beer pong has quite a few rules and regulations. Let’s take a look at a few more of the most important ones.
Elbow Rule
If your elbows extend over the back edge of the table (the edge where you are standing), you are breaking this rule. Your elbows must remain entirely behind the table.
This rule is meant to prevent players from leaning over the table (or leaning on the table), which would lend them an unfair advantage. The rule needs to be established at the beginning of a match or it doesn’t count.
Wrist Rule
Similar to the elbow rule, this signifies that you cannot let your wrists cross the threshold of the edge of the table. This is to prevent messing up a player’s shot before it lands in your cup.
You will see the elbow rule at the highest level of play, but the wrist rule is a hit or miss. You have to call this at the beginning of a match for it to count at all.
Fingering And Blowing Rule
Sounds like wholesome fun, right? The fingering rule states that a player can put their finger into one of their own cups to counteract a spinning beer pong ball before it hits the beer or water.
If possible, they can scoop it out (and show that it isn’t wet). If successful, the shot doesn’t count. As you can imagine, this rule is not applied at the highest level of play, because it negates the hard work of sinking your ball, and gives an easy out for players.
With blowing, the same thing applies except you literally blow air into the cup to make the ball shoot up. Anyone with a halfway-decent lung capacity can blow the ball right out of the cup, which is why you’re not going to see a lot of people use this rule at all.
Both of these rules are only seen at house parties, but that’s where the line is drawn. You won’t see them in official matches.
Cup Fixes
A player can ask for you to fix your cups in place, or ask that they be allowed to fix their own. Why is this important for beer pong tables?
There are many tables with a specialized cup marking area. These tables are very useful. The cups are going to slightly slide when a neighboring cup is hit. Fixing them in place solves this problem.
The Death Cup
If a cup has been sunk but hasn’t been completely drunk, then an opposing player can drop a ball into that cup and automatically win the game. If you have a specialized table that highlights the cups, this eventuality might be more prominent.
This rule is often used at the highest level of play, though we rarely see it actually occur in competitive playing. Professional players have a much broader knowledge of the game than amateurs, so it is not likely they will forget to drain their cup.
Read our article Beer Pong: Two Balls In One Cup for more on the death cup.
Regulation Beer Pong Table Length: Final Thoughts
If the table is too short, the game doesn’t work well. If it’s too long, your throws will be off. That’s why beer pong has regulation table sizes.
If you’re just playing for fun, you can use any surface. But the regulation size was calculated to be ideal for the game, so it makes sense to use that.
And if you’re playing an official game, you haver to use that size. The easiest way to get a regulation table is to just buy one. These are the ones we recommend. None of them are expensive, but if you prefer, you can also just build your own using the instructions above.
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