Battleship Pong Rules & Gameplay Guide

Welcome to the official Battleship Pong Rules & Gameplay Guide for your rental. This page provides everything you need to run fun, fair, and competitive matches at your event. Battleship Pong is easy to learn, fast to play, and perfect for all ages.

This guide explains how to set up the game, how turns work, how to score hits, and how to determine the winner.

What’s Included

Each Battleship Pong set includes:

3 heavy-duty metal ships per team
1 metal mine per team
Solo cups
Ping pong balls
Setup and rules sheet

The game is best played on a standard 8-foot table.

Game Setup

1. Divide Into Two Teams

Each team stands on opposite ends of the table.

2. Place Your Fleet

Each team receives:

3 Ships
1 Mine

Players may arrange their ships and mine in any formation on their side of the table. Ships may not cross the center line.

Once the game begins, ships cannot be moved.

3. Load the Ships

Place Solo cups into each ship slot. Make sure they are seated firmly.

4. Prepare Ping Pong Balls

Each team begins with an equal number of balls.

How to Play

1. Take Turns Shooting

Teams alternate tossing ping pong balls at the opposing fleet.
Player turns rotate clockwise or in the order chosen before the game begins.

2. How to Score a Hit

A “hit” occurs when a ping pong ball lands in a cup on an enemy ship.

When a cup is hit, remove the cup.
Once all cups on a ship are hit, that ship is sunk and removed from play.

3. The Mine

The mine acts as a special target:

If a player sinks the mine, that team must remove one additional cup from any of their ships.
Mines do not “sink” — they simply penalize the opposing team when hit.

4. No Leaning or Reaching

Players may not lean over the table or block shots.
Hands must remain behind the table edge.

5. No Table Movement

If someone bumps the table, the affected formations are returned to their previous positions to the best of your ability.

Winning the Game

The game ends when:

All ships on one team are sunk.

The opposing team is declared the winner.

For tournaments or parties, you can run:

Best-of-3 matches
Round-robin brackets
Speed rounds (timed play)

Optional House Rules (Use as Needed)

These optional rules make the game more customizable:

Bounce Shots Count

Balls that bounce before landing in a cup count as hits.

Call Your Ship

Players must announce which ship they are aiming for.

Rapid Fire Mode

Each team gets 30 seconds to shoot as many balls as possible.

Turn Steal

If a player sinks two cups in one turn, their team gets an extra throw.

Safety & Conduct

This is a family-friendly game appropriate for all ages.
If adults choose to include beverages, drink responsibly.
The Dunk Tank Company does not provide or supply alcohol.