If you are looking for a fun and clever group game fit for team building or parties, try the Tilt a Cup Game. All you need is a stack of cups and ping-pong balls and you have yourselves an ice breaker that will tickle your brain, as well as challenge your coordination and teamwork. Keep reading to learn how to play the Tilt a Cup Game.
Features of the Tilt a Cup Game
| ★ Game Name | Tilt a Cup |
| ★ Group size | small and medium |
| ★ Age | any |
| ★ Type | stationary |
| ★ Skill | balance and coordination |
| ★ Place | indoor |
| ★ Time | up to 5 – 15 min |
| ★ Preparation | no |
| ★ Materials | plastic cups and pin-pong balls |
Aim of the Game
The aim of the game is to build a tower of stacked cups with a ping-pong in each of those cups. The trick part is that before stacking one cup to another, the player has to bounce each ball with one hand and catch it with the top cup in the stack in the other hand. The player to successfully complete the tower wins!
Group Size and Age
You can play this alone, in pairs, or in small groups. Medium groups can still use this icebreaker, but it will require too many materials to play. This group game is best for children who are ten years old and up, and adults too.
Preparation and Materials
To play Tilt a Cup Game, each player will need the following:
- 8 plastic cups
- 8 ping-pong balls
How to Play the Tilt a Cup Game:
1. On the ground (table), all 8 cups will initially be stacked together. The player holds the compressed stack from the bottom cup. On the other hand, the ping-pong balls are grouped in one place within the player’s reach.
2. At the count of three, the player will need to bounce the ping-pong ball and catch it with the compressed stack of cups.
3. Once the ball is inside the top cup, the player pulls out the bottom cup from the stack and places it on top so that the new and empty top cup is now sitting on the ping-pong ball. This will make the stack a bit loose and the top cup freely moving around.
4. The player bounces another ping-pong ball to repeat the process. The player must catch the ping-pong and balance the stack from the bottom cup. As the ping-pong balls and cups are stacked one after another, the player’s tower becomes wobblier and more difficult to balance.
5. The player must then strategize on how to keep bouncing the balls while simultaneously keeping the swinging tower upright. Moving the tower too swiftly can cause it to fall apart. If the tower falls, the player will have to repeat the process all over again.
The player who completes the task first wins the game. If you plan to compete in teams, each player in the team will have his own set of 8 cups and 8 ping-pong balls. When all the players in the team have successfully completed the task, their team wins.
Alternative Variations
Another interesting variation to this group game is completing the task in pairs.
One player will be holding the stack from the bottom cup to catch the ping-pong balls from the other player who is going to bounce each ball from several feet away. The pair should work together and strategize to complete the process.
Enjoy this exciting game with your peers. All you need to do is tilt a cup!