Beer die

The Library of Babel

Origin:	The Garden of Forking Paths, 1944
Jorge Luis Borges' Library of Babel
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Beer die is the celebrated game of many, where only the most dexterous, agile, and strong-livered will prevail. Beer die has many variations across the globe, but this guide will cover PPO-sanctioned rules. The game is found at any Blues Pub, and on rare occassions 4 à 7.

How to Play

Equipment

In order to play beer die, very little is required; a table, at least one die, regulation cups, and some beer.
Table

Ideally the table will be between 4' and 8' (see below), give or take a few inches. The best material to play on ins melamine, providing a strong and even bounce to the die. In truth any material can be used, but layers of paint, plywood, etc. often cause sporadic bouncing.

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The Die

The best six-sided dice have crisp, 90° edges, providing clean bounces. Rounded die are increasingly common, but they should be avoided at all costs. Seeing as one will get progressively inebriated as the game continues, multiple dice are recommended to save you the trouble of chasing after rogue die.

Regulation Cups

The experienced drinker will know the importance of a good regulation cup, and the same ideology applies to beer die. If at all possible, regulation cups should be used in all instances of beer die. Red solo cups are a good substitute, but it's just not the same.

Set Up

1. Arrange the table so it between two and four feet off the ground
2. Place seating for two people at each end of the table

• Rolling in: If more than gour players wish to take part in a game, it is resolved by rolling in. Each candidate rolls a single die, the two highest rollers are one team, the two lowest another. In the event that a team is on a winning streak, the table is limited to only two spots. In this case only the two highest rollers will be form a team.

1. Roll for Side or throw: One die is rolled by each team. The team rolling the higher number gets to choose which side of the table they will sit on or whether they will throw first or second. The other team gets to make the remaining decision (throw or side).
2. The team take their seats and place their beers entirely eithin the appropriate squares on the table (see above diagram)
3. Games may be played between a team of two and a single player, between two single players, but doubles games are invariably the most fun.

Scoring

The scoring of a game is divided up into drinks and beers. Each beer consists of 4+1 drinks (see The Naughty Numbers). One drink can be any size a player wishes, so long as the player finishes the beer after 4+1 drinks are ammassed (i.e. a player can chug their beer on their first or last drink, drink exactly 20% of the beer per drink, etc.).

“ Teams always drink together. If one player commits a foul, both partners must drink. ”

Drinks can be taken by a player for their partner, but not by outside parties.
A game goes up to wah or, occasionnaly wah-wah beers (see The Naughty Numbers) such as in a Championship Game. The number of beers is decided at the start, but may increase during the game by mutual agreement of both teams. The first time to finish the requisite number of beers loses the game. Yes, the losers drink the most. Everyone wins, really!

Sequence of Play

Sweet, sweet anticipation.

• One player from the first team (let’s call him/her Player 1A) throws the die in the air. It must bounce on the far side of the table (beyond the halfway line). If it goes between the opposition’s cups (or off the end of the table in the case of a single opponent), they must attempt to catch it, cleanly, with one hand and no bobbling or trapping against the body.
• One player from the second team (lets call him/her player 2A) team takes his/her turn throwing the die and thus establishes the order of throwing. This order must be retained for the rest of the game. Thus in our example, the order of throws would be: 1A, 2A, 1B, 2B, 1A… From now on, for simplicity’s sake, I will dispense with the his/her and simply say his. Keep in mind that women are welcome, nay, encouraged to participate in Beer Die (especially given the pants rule [see below]).
• Once a team has finished a beer, their opponents get up and refill their cups. It is also considered polite to provide one’s opponents with the bottle caps used in filling their beers, so they may be flicked.
• Once a given team has consumed B-1 (with B being the total number of beers in the game) the Pants Rule comes into effect. The team which has reached B-1 must lower their pants to around their ankles, not take them off completely. (Generally the sort of women that wear skirts regularly don’t play Beer Die, but if you do run into a woman [or man] wearing a skirt, this should be lowered to around the ankles in lieu of pants). The pants shall be worn around the ankles until either the team has won the game, or until they have finished their final beer of the game. Many players frown on the wearing of “tighty whities,” but there is no official rule proscribing their wearing