Splash Pong is NOT a drinking game.
At no point during gameplay is alcohol consumption mandatory, enforced as a penalty, or required. This is a game of skill and fun, not a drinking game.
Starting
Teams are comprised of 2 players each.
Each team plays a series against another team. A series is a best of 3, where the first team to win 2 games wins the series.
To determine which team shoots first, players flip a coin. The team winning the coin flip throws first.
The team with first possession will get 2 shots, 1 shot per team member. The turn ends if no bonuses are earned or all bonuses are completed for the turn. Once the team’s turn is completed, the opposing team throws 2 balls in the manner specified before.
Shooting
Under no circumstances may a player shoot with any part of his or her body on or against the table.
A player must shoot his/her shot with both feet on the ground.
A player may not bounce or touch the ball to the table after their foot has left the ground. If a player releases a shot with such leverage or touches the table in any manner throughout the motion of their shot and/or after their shot is released, that shot will be forfeited. (This means NO jump shots. It will not count if it goes in.)
Scoring
When a thrown ball lands into the defending team’s cup, that cup is considered eliminated. The cup is not removed until the offensive team’s turn is considered over. When the offensive team’s turn is over, all eliminated cups are removed.
Bonuses
Bonuses can be earned if the following are completed on a single turn:
- If both teammates score in different cups, they are awarded the balls back and may throw both balls again
- If both teammates score in the same cup, this is considered a “splash shot”. They are awarded the balls back and may throw both balls again, and also are awarded a “Splash” card.
Splash Cards
Splash cards are randomly drawn from the deck when earned during a team’s turn. As long as there is more than 1 cup remaining for the opposing team, the splash card may be played.
Splash cards cannot be played if the opposing team has only 1 cup remaining. It also cannot be played if it is not your turn.
If a team has unplayed Splash cards by the game’s end, nothing happens and these are returned to the deck.
Defense
So, there really isn’t any defense.
There is no swatted balls, no fingering/blowing on the balls, no distractions etc.