TOSSING

There is a specific rotation to tossing the die. One at a time, players go in order tossing the die towards the opponents glasses. One player from Team A will throw the die, then one player from Team B will toss. Then the second player from Team A will take his or her turn and lastly the second member of team B will go. It is important to keep this order as messing up the rotation will result in a penalty. After you all 4 have gone, you start again.  Refer to the diagram below as an example of one full rotation.

Each toss must be thrown underhand while sitting down roughly 8 feet about the table top.  To contest this the other team may call 'low' while the die is in the air, if he or she thinks it didn't reach an appropriate height.  There are no refs -

This is a gentleman's game. Act accordingly.

SCORING

A point can only occur 3 ways.

1 - The die lands on the table and bounces out through the 'end plane' of the table and then makes contact with the ground.  If the die makes contact with the table but bounces off out any side of the table or back towards the tosser's side of the table, this is not a point.

2 - If the die comes into contact in any way with one of the opposing glasses and bounces off the table in any direction then hits the ground, that is a point.  This is the all celebrated 'Ting shot', named for obvious reasons.

3 - The final way to score is simply sinking the die into one of the opposing glasses. Simple as that.  WARNING this feat may bring an unusual amount of unexpected happiness in your life.

DEFENSE

There is no contesting a sink.

To prevent the other team from scoring, the team receiving a toss may catch the die that either rolls through the scoring plane or tings off a glass. You may not catch the die over the table as it would be interference to the toss.  Catching can exchange hands as much as you please (even between both team members), and there is no limit to where you can go off to chase the die.  However, the die must in the end be in one of your hands.  It cannot be caught rolling down your shirt (that would essentially be catching with your body and one hand, still illegal).  It is a legal catch if the die while exchanging hands in an attempt to catch it, rebounds off of a wall or some other foreign object (only exclusion to foreign object being the floor of course).  The die must of course end up in one hand.  The rest is up to your imagination and your ability.

PENALTIES

A team must drink every time:
they have just been scored on
they shoot the die out of order
a player from that team shoots an air ball (die does not hit the table)
If a glass is tinged and the die remains on the table, but shows a 5 face up the defensive team must drink
Every time a team has to drink, each player must finish a third of their beers. By the third time a team has to drink, the beer must be finished and refilled with another 12oz. (350mL) beer.

The only exception to this rule is with a sink, in which case the defensive team must finish the remainder of their beer and roll out the die at the bottom.  If the roll results in a 5, you must drink another full 12oz. (350mL) beer before continuing.

You must always drink with your teammate, you're in this together.  And always cheers your teammate, its just rude not too.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

ABOUT

INFREQUENT CIRCUMSTANCES

As you begin to play and hone your skills, crazy things may come your way, things that are hard to explain.  Do not fret.  That's why we're here.  Below are some interesting cases that our supreme court of Snappa jurs has been tested with.  Outlined are some addendums to our rules.  These are things that were always intended by the rules but never explicitly explained.  What the correct ruling is, why it is so.

1 - What happens if I score my own glass?

Right off the bat, YOU CANNOT SCORE ON YOURSELF.  Sport is a test of your ability, not the inability of your opponent.  If you can exploit your opponent's weaknesses by your own action that is one thing, opponents scoring on themselves is another.  In concept, applying rule #1 to this.  You should want to beat your opponent because you have scored on them..  In summary just remember this, YOU CANNOT SCORE ON YOURSELF.

2 - What happens if i sink my own glass?

This is essentially FAQ #1 but it does seem to some to be different, after all, now there's a die in the bottom of a glass of beer? Must be point right?  NO.  You cannot score on yourself.  That being said, we are all gentlemen here and would never consider sticking anything into a glass of beer of any quantity.  So naturally the only solution is to put the beer somewhere, bottoms up gents.  Not only does this satisfy not sticking things in your beers, but in a way its a penalty for embarrassing yourself, don't complain, you did this to yourself.  As a reminder, always drink as a team.

 3 - What if I tinked two glasses? (or any occurrence where two 'points' are scored)

You can only score one point per toss. Period.  If you feel you deserve more for your valiant efforts on the field of battle, Snappawin recommends a side beer to drink for celebratory occasions.  If you are weirdly tired of drinking and a side beer is too much, your teammate should have some hands ready to collect some high fives.

4 - What if the die bounces off of the floor into the glass?

This seems more complicated than it is, but we don't blame you for your consultation.  If the die hits any foreign object (anything except for the table, and the four glasses placed on top of it), the toss is dead.  No point can follow now, of any kind.  Refer to FAQ #2 on what to do to a die at the bottom of a glass where no point is awarded.  A tricky situation, that is ultimately part of this conversation, is if the die bounces off of the defense's hand or body into the glass.  A hand (or body) is a foreign object, the toss is dead, almost.  The toss cannot now sink or ting a glass for a point, but it obviously can leave the person's body or hand, hit the floor and then be a point (provided the die left the scoring plane of the table).  Again, FAQ #2 if it bounces into a glass.

5 - What happens to the rotation if someone tosses out of turn?

Again this is more simple than it seems.  The simple answer is everything continues as it should; tossing order preserved as initially intended.  If you think about what this is implying you can figure out what to do easily.  Here's an example though, Player 1 tosses.  Next Player #2 tosses and Player #1 and his teammate (Player #3 ) play defense.  Player #1 accidentally tosses again effectively going out of turn. Now, WHAT DO YOU DO?  Consider what should have happened provided there was no rotation mess up.  Player #1's teammate Player #3 should have tossed and then Player #4 from the other team should have followed.  In order to maintain the original order, Player #4 goes after the out of turn toss from Player #1.  Now you may continue through this process and then realize that in maintaining the order, Player #1 goes again after Player #4. (he's now gone 3 times in a row)  There must be some mistake right? Sorry but there's not, blame your selfish teammate.

6 - 'Coach, I've already decided I'm not going to follow rule #1 and can't decide who starts the game!?'

First of all, I hope nobody needs to read this for a ruling because you four can't figure it out amongst yourselves.  If this is the case, one of you casually roll the die while a member from the other team guess wither the outcome is high or low.  The die must land on the table to determine an outcome.  If they guess it correctly they decide which team goes first.  If you can't decide who tosses and who guesses, ask your mom when she comes over to change your diaper next.

7 - 'But the sun is in our eyes.'

First, shades, get some.  Not all tables are created equal.  Not all playing arenas are created equal.  If you have decided to start on the table, stick with it.  It is recommended, but not required, for teams to change sides once a combined score adds up to 7 (3-4, 5-2... etc.).  If a player would like to switch from the left side to the right this is OK (it is also acceptable at any point in the game).  BUT, This is only acceptable to do once said player is up to toss again. For example, Player #1 wants to move sides with his/ her teammate and does.  If that team decides to switch back it cannot do so until Player #1 is up to toss again.  You cannot toss on one side, then switch to another side to catch, then switch back to toss again.  If you switch, remember tossing rotation order depends on person, not seat, the order does not change.

COMMENTARY

For God's sake, don't play with solo cups.  You're better than that, run into Walmart and buy 12 pint glasses, they're $12.  You're welcome (you too Walmart).

Back to the subject of tables.  Sometimes a situation calls for something a little extra, the 72" x 30" is what you should play on.  It has been discovered (sometimes out of necessity to play or necessity to absolutely kill it) that some objects call to you to be played on.  Snappawin does not have a scientific explanation for this phenomenon but recounts this occurring around monasteries, Greek temples, sarcophagi, old wooden ships...  It is recommended to answer the calling.  If these 'tables' are oddly proportioned, play accordingly without changing the rules (round corners are to be avoided, it will test your table's collective ability to adhere to rule #1).  It can be more difficult to some but thankfully you're not an ordinary person.  Also, Honor thy home table.  It is like your significant other, accept it for all of its flaws (warpage, cracks, crookedness) .  No surface material is truly unwelcome although wood is the best for all around play.

Regarding 'Celeb shots'.  In its purist form, Snappa does not permit this.  However it has been found that sometimes playing this game with other people around can be similar to dangling food in the face of a lion to joke, but eventually getting your fucking hand bit off.  Pardon our eloquent French.  If tensions are running high in your surrounding environment and letting someone that you would normally like to play with wants a toss, it can be permitted.  Rule #1 though, this isn't some rotating circus of a drinking game.  In fact let me remind you this is a drinking sport and you signed up for a game to 7.

Each time we teach someone to play Snappa, their awe is often partially driven by a hint of familiarity. Sometimes, this familiarity is from the game of beer die. Beer die has garnered a lot of traction over the past couple of years due to its accessibility-which we respect because we are gentlemen. However, we'd like to draw some key distinctions.

To the lay person, beer die may be seen as another drinking game. People typically have two reactions to Snappa: (1) they have an immediate loss of patience and ultimate disinterest or (2) they are entirely intrigued and want a seat at the table ASAP

Beer die has similar elements to Snappa, but is a different activity entirely.

First of all, the rules of Snappa can be found on snappawin.com. You’re welcome. People from the Snappa community have emailed us every week thanking us since we posted them 3 years ago. Snappwin.com/rules continues to be the top 3 google results (after urban dictionary and some unrelated tech startup) for “Snappa”. This isn’t about Snappawin. The rules of Snappa are crucial to helping Snappa games across the globe uphold rule #1: It’s a gentlemen’s game. This means anyone, regardless of sex or gender preference, should be treated with respect and should play with a high level of humility and honor for their fellow tosser. Beer die, on the other hand, may have a different set of rules for every game played. This makes the culture of the game of Beer die a lot closer to that of Beer Pong. Moving on...

Beer die is played standing up. As a refresher, the defense in Snappa may stand as soon as their opponent has tossed the die. Sitting is an important element in Snappa. In the 21st century, how often do 4 people sit around a table to share in an activity—one that is free of technology and rich in mutual respect of one another as a core principle. Best friends can be made at a Snappa table. This is not to say that respect, friendship, and conversation can’t be found around a beer die table. However, they are much more difficult to achieve when people are on their feet, distracted, and have the ability to argue about rules. Sitting down grounds people.

Snappa players generally hold themselves to higher standards than participants of the game of beer die. There is an honor to the game. Snappa belongs with Polo and Chess as one of the most important sports of all time. To dumb down an analogy, it can be appropriately viewed as an equivalent to putting soda in whiskey.  You can tell yourself it's because its just the way you like whiskey but be honest, its just easier to drink and you're scared of what will happen if you do it right.