Category: Dice Games

Official Beer Die Rules:

Game Setup and Equipment:
1. Much Beer.
2. One rectangular table, at least 6 feet in length, 8' official.
3. Four competitors in two teams of two.
4. Four wide-mouth cups capable of holding more than 12 ounces.
5. A standard, six-sided die.
6. Four chairs or other suitable surfaces for sitting upon.

The Play
1. Each team sits at opposite ends of the table, the LONG way.
2. Each person fills their cup with one beer (if playing from a keg, approx. 12 oz.) and places it on the table.
3. The cups are to be positioned on the table in the following way:
-One forearm length in (elbow to knuckles) from the end, and
-One fist length over from the edge of the table.
You can do this by placing your elbow (right or left, depending on which side of the table you're on) on your corner of the table and laying your arm flat against the table along the edge. The beer should sit right next to your thumb if you've done it correctly. NOTE: for tables under seven feet long, place the cup one elbow to WRIST length in and one FIST length across.
4. The play begins with the oldest person at the table throwing the die in the air in an UNDERHAND fashion with one hand toward the other side. You must remain in your seat to throw.
5. From there, the die is thrown in a specific order: a "standard z" from whomever started. First, (the person who started), Second, (the person directly across from that person), Third, (the starter's partner), and Fourth, (the person across from the starter's partner). Then, back to the starter to continue that pattern for the remainder of the game. Competitors cannot, for any reason, switch seats during the game.
6. The winning team remains on the table until they lose or pass out, and the oldest person on the winning team begins the second and subsequent games.

Drinking
One Fundamental Rule of Beer Die is that
Drinking and Scoring are entirely separate.
1. You always drink with your partner!
2. The numbers FIVE and SEVEN are BIZZ and BUZZ respectively. If you say "five" or "seven" while on the table (involved in the game as a competitor) you must chug out and refill your beer. All technicalities count: the other team will definitely try to get you to say numbers if they're any good (i.e., "What time is it?" "Ten-oh-five." "HA! Drink!"). You and your partner must chug whatever is in your cup at the time. If it happened to be 10:05, and you were dumb enough to say it, your team would have to drain your cups before refilling again to resume play. Some notes: If you are playing "multiples," then the words "fifteen" and "fifty" would NOT be allowed. They are "bizzteen" and "bizzty" (as with "buzzteen" and "buzzty"). Official rules state that only the words "five" and seven," or words with "five" and/or "seven" IN them, count as penalties. For example "seventy" would cause a penalty (it has S-E-V-E-N in it), but "fifty" would not because the letters F-I-V-E do not occur in that order in the word "fifty."
3. There are bizz (5) sips in each cup. After taking bizz sips, the cup should be empty and then refilled. One option, which may be allowed depending on the opponents, is to flick the foam at the opponents in a kind of "fuck you" gesture instead of taking your drink, thereby saving the beer until later. As long as the cup is emptied on the fifth drink, and then refilled, it is legal, if playing this way, to save up your sips. You cannot, though, "flick" any more than four sips on each cup. On the fifth penalty, you chug. And, YOU ABSOLUTELY CANNOT "FLICK" A WHOLE BEER!!!! (Are you listening Stanley???)
4. When making your underhand throw, you must throw the die as high as it goes far. This is the most important rule about throwing. If your table is 7'2" long, the die must be thrown at least 7'2" high in the air if you want to hit the opposite side. Throws that are lower may be allowed if the environment dictates, such as a low ceiling. Any throw that is shorter in height than in length is called a "whip" or "lateral," and the team that threw the die must drink one of their sips. Note: the whip must be called either while the die is in the air or immediately as it bounces. And, NO Points acn be scored on a whip, because it is a drinking penalty, and DRINKING AND SCORING ARE ENTIRELY SEPARATE.
5. If the team throwing makes their toss and that throw fails to hit the table at all, this is called a "heinous," and the team must drink a sip for this as well.
6. If the team throwing makes a throw, and the die lands on the table, and then doesn't bounce or roll off, and the face of the die with five on it is showing, then the team that threw must chug out and refill (that means everything in the cup!). All technicalities count for this: regardless of what has happened as far as the play is concerned, any time the die is on the table, and five is showing, the person who last touched the die (and, of course, his/her partner, rule 1) chugs out.
7. If one team throws the die, and it in any way touches the other team's cup WITHOUT going in it, this is called a PLINK. The team that was plinked must drink one sip for each plink. This is important; double and triple plinks are common. The team that threw, if they threw a whip, must also drink for throwing that whip, or chug out if the die remains on the table with bizz showing (see rule 6). Remember, as with whips, NO points can be scored if the cups are touched by the die; drinking and scoring are separate.
One note: if a team is plinked and they catch the die after it has hit the cup, but before it has touched anything else, (i.e., the table, the floor, etc.) then the plink is negated and they don't have to drink!
8. If one team throws the die, and it lands in the opposing teams cup, and remains there, this is called a PLUNK. The team that was plunked must then chug out and refill. But, the person who had the die land in their cup must take the die into their mouth upon finishing the beer, and then spit it out onto the table. The "spit" should be more of a drop - that person's mouth may be no less than one foot from the surface of the table when they drop the die out. (You can't just place it down.) If the die lands with bizz facing up, then that team (the one that was plunked), must then chug out again and refill again to resume play. Note: if the person spitting the die spits the die off the table, then that team must chug out again and refill again, too. And, A PLUNK IS A PLUNK IS A PLUNK. Whips, overhand throws, etc. DO NOT MATTER! You must still drink, and they do not.
Furthermore, if a team throws the die and it hits one of the other team's cups and knocks it over, the team that had their cup spilled must then chug TWO beers and refill to resume play. Whether it was a plink or plunk does not matter, the other team must drink two more beers.
Also, if a team gets plunked, and does not have a high enough level of beer in their cup to completely submerge the die, then they must finish that small amount, plus another full beer (with their partner, of course.) In other words, if you have less than 5/8" of beer in your cup (a die is 5/8" high) it will not completely cover the die and you'll have to chug a full beer as a penalty.
One note here: if the die is not submerged, and 5 is showing face up, then that team (that was plunked) must chug two (2) beers in addition to the minute amount in the cups. But, remember that a nearly-empty cup is not only subject to that, but to being knocked over as well. Remember above: if the die bounces out of the cup (hits the bottom or side(s) of the cup and bounces out) this is a plink! The die must remain in there to be a plunk.
Plunks are traditionally recorded and kept as a measure of prestige. Writing on the table with an indelible marker (a plunk board) is common.
9. A team that throws out of order must also drink one sip. If you are unsure of the order, the order may be restarted from the person with the die if he/she taps the die on the table and calls out "possession." This negates any throwing out of order penalties. If the game has been delayed for some time, it is proper protocol to say "resume," or "resume possession," depending on whether or not you know the throwing order. You cannot, however, simply call "possession" randomly in order to throw the die more often. Only use this when there has been a delay in the game or when everyone has honestly forgotten the order.
10. If one team fails to throw the die in an underhand fashion or throws with more than one hand, the penalty for this is also one sip. Overhand throws, that UMaine asswipe throw, and the like are not legal throws - no points can be scored off of them, and the team that threw must take a sip. If your butt leaves the seat while throwing, the case is the same. No points, one sip penalty.
11. When throwing, that person must make sure that the die travells at least one third (1/3) of the way across the table (the long way, of course) in the air. If your team throws the die up, no matter how high, and it lands closer to your end than 1/3 of the total length, then your team must drink one sip.
Furthermore, more than one drinking penalty can apply simultaneously. For example, if someone stood up, threw overhand, and threw it too low, they would have three sips to take after that. And, as is always the case, if there happened to only be one sip left in their cups, they finish that beer, pour new beers, and take their remaining two before resuming play.

Scoring
1. Die games are played to buzz, and a team must win by two points. This is up to the players, though. Games could be played to double buzz plus one or triple bizz, etc...
2. To score a point, one team must make the opposing team drop the die. The first team must throw the die into the air, making a "legal throw," have it come off their opponent's side (either on a bounce or sliding) "in bounds", and then have those opponents fail to catch the die.
3. "Legal Throw" - the team throwing must have their butts in their seats, the throw must have been made by the proper person (no out of order), the throw must be high enough (not a whip), it must have travelled the proper distance in the air, and the throw must have been made in an underhand manner. Basically, any infraction that would cause a drinking penalty (the four cases above all do) automatically makes it so that no points can be scored on that throw. (Drinking and scoring are still separate...)
"In Bounds" is defined as the area inside a 45 degree angle from the end corners of the table. This applies on all tables longer than 7 feet. For tables under 7 feet in length, the in bounds area would stretch to include all territory inside a 45 degree angle out from each cup.
4. If you throw the die, it lands on the table, and just decides to cruise off somewhere outside the in bounds area, this is simply called "out of bounds" (duh) or "O.B." and does not cause any penalty. Play continues normally. Also, if the die just catches the edge of the long end ( the sides) of the table (just nicks it), and falls off, this is O.B. as well. However, if the die comes off the short end of the table (the edge directly in front of the players) and just nicks it, it does count as a point for the team that threw.
5. Legal Catches. When the die is thrown by your opponent, you must catch it in a "legal" way, or they score a point. If you drop the die, they score a point as well. The only legal catch is a one handed catch. It does not matter which hand is used, but only one may clasp the die for the catch. Two handed catches are points for the opponent. Your hands CANNOT be in contact with each other at all when the catch is made! Cupping them, overlapping, etc, is all illegal. It is legal to "bobble" (i.e. not being in full control of the die at first, or having it jump out of one hand and into the other) the die before finally having it in your hand. It is, however, illegal to "trap" the die.
"Traps" are just as they sound - pinning the die against any surface or object (your leg, the wall, your chest, etc...) It is also illegal to have "intercourse" on the table. This creative term occurs when both teammates try to catch the die and end up with their hands grasping each others' or both grasping the die. These two circumstances are points for the opponent as well.
As long as the die has not hit the floor or any horizontal surface, and has not stopped moving in any way, a legal catch can be made. For example: The die comes across the table at you and hits a spastic spot on the table and takes the biggest bounce you've ever seen. As it sails over your head, you barely get your hand on it, and it caroms off the wall. If you catch it off the wall you have made an amazing legal catch and deserve the accolades of your peers. But if it hits the horizontal couch cushion, the coffee table, the bed, or any other horizontal surface, then it's a point. Sorry. Also, "horizontal" should not be taken too literally here. If your couch cushion happens to be on a slight incline and not exactly on a horizontal plane, it's still considered "horizontal." Use judgement here - this rule is here to encourage people to dive for any errant die that scampers away from you.
Basically, you must have your butt in the seat to make the catch as well as the throw. The in bounds areas are small enough to ensure that any throw that you need to dive for is out of bounds. The only exception to this rule applies when you bobble the die, swat at it, or any other circumstance where the die suddenly takes off across the room. If you have made contact with the die while seated, and it goes out of your reach, by all means stand up and dive for it! Once you or your partner has touched the die while seated, it's legal to leave the seat to make a spectacular catch.

6. One last rule concerning possession of the die:
Example: You throw the die to the other team, and it plinks one of their cups. But, it plinks the side facing you, and then bounces back across the table to you. If it comes off your end in bounds, and you catch it, you can call "possession," and get to throw the die again. Now, it MUST come off in bounds, and you MUST catch it to throw again. The person who caught the die is the next thrower, and the order continues from him or her. The other team drinks for the plink normally - this rule does not interfere with the other team, other than to rob them of possession! And, if you threw a whip or out of order, it is still your die, but you must drink for any infractions that occurred.
Another Example: You throw legally to the die to the other team, it comes off their end in bounds, and in their attempt to catch it, they end up swatting it back across the table at you. Now, the same rule applies here - if it come off the table in bounds and you catch it and call "possession," it's yours. But, it's also a point, because they failed to catch a legal throw. And, actually, even if it wasn't a legal throw, as long as the die comes back to you, it can be yours. Remember, if it wasn't a legal throw, no point can be scored. From there, any penalties can be assessed and drunk for.

One last note: in the above rules, the word "surface" is used several times. This word is meant to include all surfaces of you and the environment surrounding you - except your hand! Any area beyond the wrist, on both the palm and the back side, is not considered a "surface." (The wrist and back is a surface.) This enables the players to bobble the die an unlimited amount of times.

This is the end of the official rules, for now!
Some additional info on Beer Die....

A word about GOD!
The two teams may select a spectator to serve as a "God." This person should knows the rules and serve as an impartial judge. The only function of a GOD is to rule on questionable calls. The GOD will not and should not make any calls or decisions unless the players request a decision. A word to the wise, a GOD is not necessary, or even desired in most cases. They tend to become biased as the game progresses.

Table Rules
Any of these rules may be altered, edited slightly, or added to by the specific teams playing. Table rules are generally set before the game and are the die host's responsibility. Usually, the only reasons the rules should be bent would be when one person absolutely cannot drink any more and wants to finish out the game before becoming a puddle on your floor, or when you run out of beer (God forbid!!!!)
Depending on who's playing, they may require that the spectators adhere to two of the beer die rules, even though they aren't involved in the game as competitors. The rules are, that if the die lands in your cup, you chug out. This can be a cause for some unethical behavior, though. It is not unheard of for players to occasionally slip the die into the cup of an unsuspecting spectator. That person would then chug out and return the die to the game. Also, none of the onlookers would be allowed to say bizz or buzz and would have to chug out as a penalty as well. This is, in my opinion, a really good way to anger all of the people around you. Don't try it unless you're among a few really good friends.

Plunk Boards
After one plunks his or her opponent, and the celebration has ebbed to a dull roar, the time comes for that person to record that plunk on that table. The first time you plunk the owner of the table, your friends, and the elders should conspire to give you a "die name." This can be your usual nickname (you hope) but is usually the product of the drunken imagination of your friends! From then on into eternity, this is the name you should put down above your plunks on each table you plunk upon. (Use hash marks or some other ridiculously simple form of recording the number so as to facilitate this activity when wasted.)