Get To Know ‘Mountain Pong,’ The Beer Pong Expansion Set We All Need

It’s called Mountain Pong, a Kickstarter-backed beer pong expansion set that just smashed through its $30,000 goal.

With a tagline of “Aim Higher,” (not to be confused with a tagline often seen in men’s bathrooms) Mountain Pong creator Mike Rockwell created a carry-able, patent-pending multilevel cup holder that gives added depth to the Beer Pong game we all know and love.

Rockwell considers his invention functional and practical – giving a solid base to the game, which prevents cups from being spilled or knocked over (less clean up time!), while also adding six more cups and three additional height levels for added game dynamics.

Now that the unofficial expansion pack of beer pong has reached its funding goals, we’re bound to start seeing it at parties and it’s time to familiarize ourselves with a few new gameplay styles that have opened up to us:

Standard: (Make it, Take it)

Played with two teams, each team takes a turn (both partners shoot once) throwing a Ping-Pong ball into the other team’s cups. Once a ball lands in a cup, the cup is taken away. If both teammates make a cup, the balls are rolled back and the shooting team shoots again. The team that successfully makes all of the opponent’s cups wins the game. The winner of the game typically stays on the tables and awaits the next challenger.

Advanced: (Climbing the Mountain)

Pull this game mode out when you have a bunch of players with some advanced skill. This set of rules forces each team to “climb the mountain.” Each team must make the bottom six cups at the first level before advancing to the next three cups, then up to the next level with two cups, then finishing it off the with the cup sitting at the top of the mountain. Pretty good mode to try with hard alcohol, if you’re trying to get crazy.

Expedited: (Quick Version)

In this version, the shooter is rewarded when an upper-level cup is made. If the shooter makes the top cup, then he/she is rewarded with the top cup as well as three of the base six cups.

If the shooter makes a cup from the two-cup level, that cup is removed and the two cups are removed from the base 6 cups.

If the shooter makes a cup from the three-cup level, then that cup is removed and one cup is removed from the base camp (the bottom six cups). If the shooter makes a cup from the base camp, then only that cup is removed.

While Mountain Pong will certainly elevate your beer pong experience, monumental questions remain: Will this be recognized by BPONG, the international leaders of professional beer pong, and will the standard rules of fingering and blowing apply?