Beer Pong, also occasionally called 'Beirut', is an extremely popular drinking game among American college students. For those looking to get into the fun and action of Beer Pong, but don't know how to play, read on for this simple over-view of Beer Pong that will get you and your friends playing in no time.

Beer Pong is played on a flat surface among two teams of players. Official Beer Pong tables are 8 feet long and 2 feet wide, but for casual play, any flat surface will do.

At each end of the table, form a pyramid of drinking glasses or plastic cups. Most beer pong matches are played with 6 or 8 cups per side, but you can play beer pong with any amount of cups as long as it is equal for both teams.

Each cup is filled with beer. Players use a ping pong ball to try and land the ball in cups of beer on the opposite side of the beer pong table. When a ball lands in a cup of beer, the opposing team must consume the contents of that cup. The object of the game is to force your competition to drink all the cups of beer in front of them before your team is forced to drink theirs. The losing team then has to consume all the beer left in the cups of the winning team, too.

While the casual game of beer pong has many impromptu rules, common rules include the use of a 'courtesy cup'. This extra cup at the beer pong table is usually filled with water and is used to rinse beer pong balls that fall on the floor or are otherwise contaminated.

Beer Pong has been frowned upon, and sometimes even banned, by many colleges and universities. Regardless of the negative connotations of this drinking game, Beer Pong continues to be a popular drinking game with competitive leagues forming all over the country.

According to law, Beer Pong competitors must be 21 years of age or older (legal drinking age). Beer Pong is an easy game to play and easy for anyone to set up. The only required equipment to play a friendly game of Beer Pong are a flat surface to use as your beer pong table, a ping pong ball, some friends, and of course...beer.