Slap Cup: Rules, How to Play and Win

Last Updated on April 4, 2020 by Jake

Are you sick and tired of playing the same old drinking games? If your answer is “Yes!”, it is time to try a new drinking game called slap cup. Slap cup has many different names depending on your locale such as Boom, Stack Cup, Kings Cup and many more.

This fast-paced game can be played simultaneously by up to 20 people. Optimally, I recommend playing with less than 10 players since it can get difficult keeping track of so many people sinking shots. The objective of the game is to be the last person standing.

Slap cup is excellent for college parties, house parties, and really any fun gathering. It’s a great way to loosen partygoers up and get people socializing. Having a slow party? I recommend a game of slap cup. It is sure to get the party started.

What You Need to Play Slap Cup

• A table. I recommend a circular table as it makes passing a cup to the next player simple. However, any large table will do such as a ping pong table – but only use a cheap ping pong table that you are ok with spillage happening on.
• Plastic cups. You need about 10 to 20 of them to play the game but I usually buy in . The more cups you have, the longer the game will last.
• Two ping pong balls.
• Beer, and lots of it.

Getting Started

• Place all but two cups in the middle of the table. The more cups you have in the middle, the longer it would take for the game to be over. Have at least 10 cups or as many cups as there are players if there are more than 10 players. You can have up to as many as 18 cups.
• Fill the cups with beer; the cups should be about 1/3 full. These automatically become the drinking cups. Players who get their ‘cup slapped’ must drink from the cups with beer. In the middle of the drinking cups, you should have a cup filled to the brim with beer. This is called the ‘kill cup’. Once a player drinks from the kill cup, the game is over. A player can only drink from the ‘kill cup’ if all the other cups are empty.
• Place two cups in front of the players who start the game. We’ll call these two cups the ‘game cups’.
• Place the ping pong balls by the two game cups.

Now, let the game begin.

How to Play Slap Cup

1. First, put on some good party music playlist.
2. Next, all the players have to gather around the table.
3. Two players have to start off the game. It is best if these two players are directly opposite each other. As a general rule of thumb, two starting players must have at least another player between them.
4. Each of the two starting players has an empty cup in front of them which we are referring to as the game cups.
5. On “GO!”, the two players must try to bounce ping pong balls off the table into the each of the game cups. This will lead to two outcomes – either the player bounces the ball into the cup on the first try, or takes two or more tries to bounces the ball into the cup.
   1. If the player makes the shot on the first try, he/she can pass the cup to any other player (except the other player trying to make the shot).
   2. If the players take two or more tries to make the shot, then he/she must pass the cup to the player on the immediate right and no one else.
6. Let’s call the players trying to make the shots ‘active players’.
7. Now for the fun part. When two active players are next to each other, if the player on the left makes the shot before the player on the right, the player on the left yells “BOOM!”, slap the player on the right’s game cup off the table, and passes it on (as per the rules of 5a & 5b). The player on the right then has to drink from one of the drinking cups (let’s call this player the “drinker”). Once the drinking cup is empty, the drinker must then try to bounce the ball into his/her game cup and pass the cup on when successful. Once a player drinks three times, the player is out of the game. This is called ‘mercy’.
8. The best way to get a drinker out of the game is to quickly pass the cup to the player on the immediate right of the drinker, that way the drinker’s cup gets slapped repeatedly.
9. A tip for drinkers – if your cup gets slapped along with your ball, you can call out “BALL HELP”. That way, people not engaged in the game (such as players that are already out or spectators) can find, retrieve and hand you the ball.
10. The game ends when all the cups are empty. The last person to get their cup slapped gets to chug the full cup (if it’s the last cup remaining). If only a few people are the game, then the game will likely end as a standoff between two players.

Here’s a video demonstrating this if you’re more of a visual learner:

Tips to Win Slap Cup

With any drinking game, the most serious dilemma involves deciding if the loser who gets to drink beer is actually the loser or not. Beer is fun and winning the game means drinking no beer. Ha-ha. Also, since you can drink just 3 times before you are out, the likelihood of becoming drunk enough to not make a shot is low.

• The first tip involves targeting one player – the current drinker. Try to pass the ball and cup directly to the player in front of the drinker, that way they get kicked out of the game quicker. Similarly, you can use that strategy to target your least favorite player.
• A fun way to get an introverted member (or a new member of the group) to feel more involved and open up is to pass them the cup as much as possible without targeting them. That involves ensuring they are always the player on the left.
• If you know you have a slap cup game in the near future, practice bouncing a ping pong ball off a table into the cup. The better you are at making the shot on the first try, the better you can target other players and avoid losing.

Terms Used in Slap Cup

• Starting players – These are the two players that start the game.
• Active players – These are the two players currently trying to bounce the balls into their respective cups.
• BOOM – This is what you shout before slapping an opponent’s cup off the table.
• Mercy – This means to get kicked out. It happens when you take three drinks.
• Drinker – The drinker is the player whose cup has been slapped and need to take a drink.
• BALL HELP – The drinker shout out ‘Ball Help’ if you need help finding and retrieving a ball.
• Game cups – These are the two cups into which players try to bounce the balls into.

Wrap Up

As with any drinking game, remember to drink responsibly. If you know you are drunk. It is best not to drink. With the help of ride apps such as Lyft and Uber, you need not drink when buzzed. Simply call an Uber or a Lyft. You can also have a designated driver who doesn’t drink or play any drinking game.

While having fun, remember to stay safe. Slap cup is a great alternative to beer pong. Best of all, you can play it with as many as 10 players at the same time. It is fast-paced, fun, and very sociable. Slap cup is the ultimate game to get the party started.

Looking for more game room ideas and content?  Check out our game room posts archives next!

Last update on 2022-06-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API