Do you remember your college partying days? It has to be the craziest memory you have, right? Getting to know the people inside your dorm, your department, and your campus. You have snacks, catchy music, and, of course, booze, and sometimes a little too much booze. Plus, to keep things more interesting, hosts and guests alike have developed more than one way to get your beer buzz on. Not only is there a social drinking session, but one that even has games for it. Like the beer pong, keg stand, and our star for today, the beer dies.
The Origins of the Legend
Some of you might be thinking, “Great, another silly way to drink beer, just drink it straight-up, and that’s that.” Indeed, it is once again one of the many, perhaps deemed useless ways to enjoy a beer; however, one must also remember that drinking beer is a social event as well, and if everyone sticks to their beer alone and occasionally talks with one another what difference would it have with snobby white coat tail gatherings. These silly games were invented for the sake of keeping the lovely spirit of the joy one feels when one drinks beer or the beer buzz takes effect.
Beer Die is no different from all these well-meaning and well-intentioned beer socialization games. It takes its roots from the University of Maine right around 1972 at the heart of the Alpha Tau Omega house, where four fraternity brothers invented this game called Beer Die. Although this is one of the many claims of the origins of beer die, this is perhaps the claim that has the most support to be factual. Regardless of the true origin of the game, the nature of it is to bring people closer by having fun while drinking good old beer.
Things You Need to Play Beer Die
Okay, if you are seriously considering adding beer die to your friendly games at your party, there are a few things that you need to prepare. The first one is the long table. Just like beer pong, a beer die is played on a long table. More often than not, beer pong is played on top of any long table available, but a pingpong table is the most used table as it is available within college dormitories already.
But if you want to get technical, you have to prepare a long 4″ x 8″ table, preferably plywood, with a visible vertical line dividing the table into two sides. You will also need a set of four armless chairs, four pints of your preferred beer placed at each corner of the table within arm’s length, two pieces of die or dice, and, of course, the four players that will participate in the game. All these are, of course, necessary if you want to uphold the true and unadulterated form of beer die. Remaining pure and true to its original form from when it was invented.
Rules of Beer Die
This four-player game is not that complicated to play, although it does require a bit of flexibility, tenacity, and athleticism. To play beer die, the team to toss first shall be determined by an initial toss of the dice or die and a member of the opposing team calls out ‘high’ or ‘low’; a ‘high’ is from 4-6 numbers on the dice and ‘low’ is from 1-3. If one predicts correctly, his or her team will be the first to toss.
In terms of how to play beer die, the team who is first to toss must toss the dice in the air according to the height that both teams have agreed upon and bounce it off their opponents’ table, and if the opposing team is unable to catch the die using only one hand, then it is considered a point. Defense is done by simply catching the die once it has bounced off the defending side’s table. If a player accidentally and instinctively catches a die with two both hands, a point is given to the opposing team.
In the case where the die does not meet the height requirement when tossed, the other team can call it ‘height,’ and the point goes to them. Another way to score a point is if the die hits the line that divides the table or falls short to go across into the opposing side. In other sports, the line would be the equivalent of a net.
Point System
To win, a team must score nine or eleven points, depending on what both teams have agreed upon. In the advent of playing for nine points, a beer must be killed and then refilled in every three-point marker. While a beer is killed and then refilled for every four points garnered. A game is won in two sets.
Only one point is given per attack and defense, but there are exceptions to this, like the tink and the sink. A tink is when a die hits the pint of beer while the defending side is unable to catch the die before it falls to the ground. This move is then awarded two points. A sink is when the die falls inside the pint of beer while being tossed to the defending side. This garners three points easily, and the beer is killed no matter what the score is.
Changing It Up
It may seem funny that this sort of social game has somehow a rather slightly strict set of rules or regulations, but the important thing is that the game is played to enjoy oneself with his or her friends. You can definitely change things up a bit, like going for a unique die or Rice’s to use, like novelty ones that are soft and large or have cute designs. You can also use different sizes of glass, cups, mugs, or jugs for the beer. Why not try adding a little bit more consequence or punishment for the losing team that is both fun and safe, of course. Ultimately, the choice is in your hands. It is to have fun, after all.
David is a well-known news writer, investigative journalist, and author, featured on CNN, MSNBC, and ABC News. His work focuses on truth and justice, tackling societal issues directly. Through clear investigations and compelling storytelling, he challenges the norms of journalism.