BattlePong!

Introduction:

Growing up we all played Battleship, but now that we’re older, the once cherished game of our childhood has lost its luster. We asked ourselves, how could we morph this game into something bigger, better, and more exciting? The answer: Bring the game to life size. BattlePong has many variations, but our variation is easy to setup and easy to clean up, making it a great game to have at parties. Up to six people can play at once! This game requires great skill and will test your accuracy. Do you have what it takes to sink all of your opponent’s ships in this real life rendition of Battleship? Find out, and let the battle commence!

Safety Concerns:

• If you choose to use alcohol:
  
  • Drink Responsibly & Do Not Drink and Drive
• Be respectful to opponents and teammates
  
  • No Cheating//Play by the Rules//Be Honest

Please read through the all of the instructions before setting up!

Ship Names:

1 Cup: Scout Plane

2 Cups: Patrol Boat

3 Cups: Submarine

4 Cups: Battleship

Step 1: Gather Your Equipment

Equipment Needed:

1. 72 cups (36 cups per team)
   
   • It would be best to use either red cups or dark colored cups, especially if you’re filling it with a dark liquid
2. A table or flat surface
   
   • If table is short in length, get tape and make a line on the floor on both sides of the table to indicate where players should stand to throw
3. 2-3 ping pong balls
4. Water - enough to fill at least 72 cups
   • We recommend using a pitcher to distribute the water- this will make the process of filling the cups go much quicker
5. A beverage other than water - enough to fill at least 20 cups
   • Note: if the two teams choose to have different beverages, then each side would only need enough of the drink to fill 10 cups

Step 2: Choose Teams

1. Choose teams – Team 1 vs. Team 2
   
   • one-vs-one –- two-vs-two --- three-vs-three

Step 3: Who Sets Up Ships First

Have one team (team 2) leave the room

• Rock, Paper, Scissors
• Best 2 out of 3 wins - they can choose to leave first or fill their cups first

Step 4: Set Up Battle Zone

• Set up a grid of six cups by six cups (cups should be touching) = Each side should have a 36-cup square

Step 5: Fill the Cups to Create the 'Battle Ships'

Have the team that did not leave (Team 1) fill the cups with juice (or beverage of choice) and water

• Juice/other beverage filled with cups = 'ships'
  • Fill juice cups 1/4 of the way
• The rest should be filled with water
  • Fill water cups 1/4 of the way up

Step 6: Total Number of Ships in Play

Have four "ships" playing at a time:

• 1 cup = ‘Scout Plane’

• 2 cups = ‘Patrol Boat’

• 3 cups = ‘Submarine’

• 4 cups = ‘Battleship’

Step 7: "Ship" Placement

Set up cups side-by-side and touching to create 'ships'

• Place cups in horizontal and/or vertical lines
• No diagonal ships permitted

Note:

Cups from different ships can be placed next to one another BUT...

• Remember which cups are for which ships
• Look at 'Legal vs. Illegal Placement' image above

Step 8: Other Team Returns

Have Team 2 enter back into the room, once Team 1 has set up their ships (i.e., filled their cups)

Team 2 follows steps 5 to 7

• No peeking at other team's ship placement - That's called cheating!
• Have someone who's not playing watch for cheating

Step 9: Preparing for First Throw

Each team gets one ball for the number of players they have (max 3 players = max 3 balls)

• Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine which team shoots first.
  • Best 2 out of 3 wins

Step 10: Shooting Rules

1. Each player on the team shoots once during their teams turn
   • One after another

   • However, if two players on the same team make it in the same kind of cup during one turn (they both hit a water cup, OR they both hit a ship), then they will get their balls back to shoot again.

2. Throw or Toss ball - No Bouncing
3. Players must keep their elbow behind the edge of the table
   • Break this rule - player must take one step back and throw again
   • If you feel that your table is too small, you may put a tape line on both sides of the table- players must shoot behind this line every time if this is added
     
     • This is represented in image above

Step 11: Hit or Miss

• If the ball lands in a water cup:
  • The cup remains in the game in its original place -- this is a miss
    • Do not drink the water, just remove the ball and continue the game
• If the ball lands in a juice cup:
  • The opposingteam must drink the cup -- this is a hit
  • Turn the empty cup upside down in its original place
• If the ball gets stuck in between cups (pictured above) or does not land in any cup-- this is a miss
  • Remove the ball and continue the game
• A ship is sunk when all of the cups are flipped over
• The first team to sink all of the opposing team's ships wins the game
  • Rebuttal is optional - see 'Optional Rules' for more details

Step 12: Main Rules

1. If a team, at any point, knocks a cup off the table accidentally - the opposing team receive the benefits:
   • If it is a water cup, then it is just refilled and the play continues.
   • If it is a ship cup, then the opposing team is informed, that cup is flipped over (showing that they were rewarded with a hit on that ship) and the play continues.
2. If the ball is circling the rim of the cupand the opposing team is able to knock it out without spilling any water, then it is considered a miss.
   
   • If any water is spilled during this attempt, then play continues as if the turn-playing team made the cup.
3. If one person hits a ship back-to-back (they hit a ship on one turn, and then they hit another ship on the turn immediately following), then that person will get to shoot again (or shoot until they stop hitting ships)
   • This is similar to getting "fire" in Beer Pong.

Step 13: Additional Rule: SCOUT PLANES

1. The purpose of a Scout Plane is to give a team the chance to see the contents of one cup
   • If the cup is filled with water -- nothing happens
   • If the cup is filled with the other liquid -- that cup is now considered a hit
2. If at one point during the game you still have to sink your Scout Plane (the 1 cup ship), then your team has a chance to pick any cup on the board to sink
   • You do not have to shoot to sink this one.
   • Before you throw, you must announce that you want to use your Scout Plane to guess a spot.
     • If the cup that you chose is filled with water, then it is the other team's turn
     • If you hit a ship, then you get to continue with your turn and throw for your team
     • Your Scout Plane remains in play until you throw the ball into it (thus, sinking the ship)
3. You cannotutilize your Scout Plane until after your third turn
   • If the first 5 turns go by without anyone hitting part of a ship, then both teams get an extra Scout Plane that they must use for that turn only.
     • Both teams get to choose one cup to uncover and then play continues as normal.
     • However, if one team hits any part of a ship before the 5th turn is over, then neither team receives an additional Scout Plane

Step 14: Optional Rule: REBUTTAL & OVERTIME

Rebuttal: after one team sinks all of their opponent's ships, the other team has a chance to hit their remaining ships. Each player will continue to shoot only as long as they continue to hit ships (if they hit a water cup, they are done).

• Scout Planes cannot be used during this time
• If the losing teams ends up making the rest of their cups during the rebuttal, then overtimewill occur.

Overtime: Each team will set up only 2 cups

• One in front of the other, placed at the edge of their side of the table (pictured above)
  • The first team to sink both cups wins.

The decision to include a rebuttal at the end of the game or not must be decided before the game begins.