Civil War (World's Angriest Historical Drinking Game)

Civil War is a variation on standard Beirut invented in the basement of Brooks and perfected in the Greylock Quad which involves larger teams, faster action and a significantly more intense consumption of beer.

Set Up and General Rules

In Civil War, two teams consisting of four player line up on either side of a larger sized table, with a diamond shaped rack of four cups in front of each player with about a beer and a half distributed in the rack. Before the first game, a coin is tossed to determine who has the advantage at the beginning of the match. The team with the advantage receives three ping pong balls and the other team receives one. After a dramatic countdown and the shouting of "CIVIL WAR!" by all players, each team attempts to throw their ping pong balls into the racks of the other team. There are no turns. Each team shoots the balls as fast or as slow as they choose. If a ball is made, the owner of that cup is out of the game until he or she finishes the beer in that cup. When all four of a player's cups have been made, they are out of the game or "dead". The team who eliminates all their opponents first wins and has the advantage at the beginning of the next game.

Special Rules and Terminology

The out and out, brother against brother, glory to the victor, action of civil war has lead to several specialized techniques and terminologies unique to the game:

-Dead soldiers may help their team rebound stray balls but must observe the "Mason-Dixon" rule in which all of their body must remain on their team's half of the table.

-If a team chooses to focus their shots on the rack of just one player in particular so as to knock them out of the game early it is know as "taking them to Antietam".

-If a player is being "taken to Antietam" they may employ the "Stonewall Jackson" in which they may use their hands to block incoming shots to their rack while they try to drink their beer and get back into the game. All blocked shots must return to the other team. (Note: the legitimacy of the Stonewall Jackson technique is often questioned and is usually only employed under heavy protest in particularly desperate battles.)

-If a ball is knocked into a cup of a teammate on accident, the perpetrator is said to have "gone down to Chancellorsville".

-If a player is the only person left on his or her team and is outmatched they are said to be "in the courthouse".

-If said player comes back to win the game they are said to have preformed "Sherman's March".

-If a team determines they need a break in the action to stop the momentum of their opponents or catch up on beer drinking they may collect and hold all four balls for as long as they wish, a technique known as "taking a Burnside break".

-If a player pukes as a result of too many battles, he or she is said to have "taken Pickett's Charge".

A General Warning

The invention of new rules, terms, and variations is encouraged. Be warned that partaking in a night of Civil War is no small undertaking. You will need at least 2 hours and 3 thirty racks of bad beer. You will consume much more beer than you thought possible. Just like any Civil War you will find brother pitted against brother and resentment, anger, and drunken bro-fights caused by beers thrown into faces are inevitable. You may very well hate your friends after several intense games of Civil War.