Civil War

Civil War is Beer Pong with the turns taken out. Three players a side, each defending their own rack of cups, three balls in play, and nobody waiting for anyone. It is the loudest of the beer games and the right one to start when the Beer Pong queue is six teams deep, because it gets 6 people playing at once and is over in about ten minutes.

What you need

• 36 plastic cups for the racks (6 per player) plus 2 water cups
• 3 ping-pong balls, and spares, because at least one ends up under the fridge
• A Beer Pong table, or two folding tables end to end; the wider the better
• Beer, around 2 cans per player to fill a 6-cup rack a third full
• 6 players in two teams of 3

Setup

1. Split into two teams of 3 and take an end each. Mix the strong shooters across both sides. Three good arms on one team ends the game in four minutes and nobody enjoys that, including them.
2. Each player builds their own 6-cup triangle in front of where they stand. Rows of 3, 2, and 1, point facing the other team, back row on the table edge. Leave a cup’s width between racks so it is obvious whose cup got hit.
3. Fill every cup about a third of the way. Use the line on the cup if it has one.
4. Put a water cup at each end for rinsing balls. It also acts as the safe zone in rule 6.
5. Flip a coin for the balls. The winning team starts with all 3 balls. The other team gets its first ball the moment one misses and comes their way.

How to play the Civil War drinking game

1. Someone says go and the team with the balls starts shooting. There are no turns and no order. If you are holding a ball, you may shoot it at any cup on the other side, including a rack that is not opposite you.
2. Any loose ball is yours if you can reach it. Balls on the floor, rolling down the table, or bouncing off a wall are live for both teams. Grab it, shoot it, chase it, repeat.
3. A cup that gets hit is drunk by its owner straight away. Pull the cup, drink it, get back to shooting. Your teammates do not stop while you drink, and neither does the other team.
4. Bounce shots count for 1 cup and can be swatted. Once a ball has touched the table, any defender can slap it away. A ball still in the air is off limits, and hitting one costs you a cup from your own rack.
5. Lose all 6 of your cups and you are out. Step back from the table. Your team plays on with one fewer shooter and one fewer pair of hands collecting balls, which is how games turn.
6. A ball in your own water cup is safe. Drop it in and the other team cannot take it. Anything else on your side of the table is fair game for a reach-across.
7. The last team with a player still standing wins. The losing team drinks whatever is left in their own racks. If the winners have a lot of cups left, splitting those is a house decision.

Civil War drinking game cup layout

The standard rack is 6 cups per player, set as a 3-2-1 triangle. One 8 ft Beer Pong table is 2 ft wide, which fits three 6-cup racks side by side with the racks almost touching, so a second table alongside helps. The table below is the layouts people actually use.

Format	Players	Cups per player	Balls	Table
2 v 2	4	6 (3-2-1)	2	One 8 ft table
3 v 3 (standard)	6	6 (3-2-1)	3	One 8 ft table, or two side by side for room
3 v 3 (short)	6	3 (2-1)	3	One 8 ft table with space between racks
4 v 4	8	3 (2-1) or 6	4	Two tables side by side
Lives version	Any	2 side by side	1 per player	Any long table

The lives version is the one the old version of this page described, with each cup acting as a life. It is a quick game and a good one for a kitchen table, but the 6-cup racks are what most people mean by Civil War.

Variations and house rules

• Three-cup racks. Each player gets a 2-1 triangle instead of 6 cups. Half the beer, half the time, and it fits on one table with gaps between racks. Good for a second game after the full one.
• Rebuttal. When the last player on a team loses their last cup, they get one rebuttal shot. Sink it and that cup goes back on the table and the game carries on. Miss and it is over. Rebuttal is one shot, not the shoot-till-you-miss redemption of Beer Pong.
• Revival shot. Eliminated players can get back in by making a trick shot: a bounce off the table, behind the back, or off a wall. One attempt per loose ball they can find, and they come back with 1 cup.
• Ball runners. Eliminated players stay on as runners. They can collect balls and hand them to teammates but never shoot. Keeps everyone involved and makes the endgame faster.
• Same cup. Two balls in the same cup before its owner has pulled it counts for 3. The owner drinks that cup and 2 more of the shooters’ choosing.
• Friendly fire. A ball that lands in a teammate’s cup counts against the teammate. Decide this before the game starts, because it happens more often than you would think with three people shooting across each other.
• Shoot-off start. Our house rule instead of the coin toss: one player from each side shoots at the same time, eye to eye. The first to sink a cup wins the balls for their team, and the cup goes back.
• Own rack only. Players may only shoot at the rack directly across from them. Slower and more orderly, and the version to use when you have a narrow table and nobody can tell whose cup was hit.

Tips

• Clear the floor before the first ball. Six people chasing 3 balls at full speed is how glasses get kicked over and shins meet table corners. A bruise from a folding table leg outlasts the hangover.
• Use the wider table if you have the option. Three racks on a narrow table means racks touching, and then the first ten seconds are an argument.
• Drink a cup the moment it is hit. Letting them pile up is how one person ends up with four cups in a row at the end while everyone else is already on the next game.
• Put the quiet shooter on an outside rack. The middle rack takes the most hits because it is where everyone aims by default.