A house party falls suddenly silent as people hover around in a crowd to watch as Joseph Hughes gets ready to take his shot.

Taking his time, Hughes finds his footing, inhales deeply and with a flick of the wrist, releases a pingpong ball into the air. A plop echoes throughout the room that then erupts into a series of shouts, applause and high-fives.

The game is beer pong.

The “sport” has become a popular form of drinking game at house parties in college communities.

“It’s something we just play at my house a lot because it’s fun and another way to drink,” said Hughes, 22, a BECA major at SF State. “It rallies the troops as an event more than just hanging out would.”

Although the rules change from household to household and from college to college, the concept stays the same: throw the ball, land it in the cup, the other team drinks the beer.

The game usually consists of four players that make up two teams. The teams, who are on either end of a table, stand in front of a set of 12 cups each filled, usually halfway, with beer.

The object of the game is to shoot a pingpong ball into the opponents’ cup. Both of the opponents then have to drink the beer from that cup, which is removed from the table. This continues until one team has eliminated all the opposing team’s cups.

“If you find yourself losing a lot, you’ll be hurting the next day,” said 21-year-old Ryan Parola, an undeclared junior at SF State.

“The best part about beer pong is that the goal is to get your teammates drunker so you can keep winning,” said Mick Monahan, 22, an art major at SF State and avid player of the game. “It’s interesting too because the more you play, the worse you are supposed to get. That and it beats sitting around and staring at your friends.”

What separates beer pong from so many well-known drinking games, like king’s cup, is that it’s a game geared toward skill rather than luck.

“Beer pong gets the drinkers active while most games have you sitting around a table with cards, quarters or dice,” said Hughes. “They get to try and get better at something the more they drink. It sounds frustrating but it’s actually why it’s so fun. And even if you’re not playing you can watch. It’s entertainment.”

Not everyone finds the game quite so amusing though.

“My boyfriend plays all the time,” said international relations major Karina Corbett, 21. “It consumes our time to hang out.”

While the origins and name of the game are both debated, Beirut is the name when players don’t use paddles, which is the more common form of play around SF State, and beer pong is the term used when players do use paddles.

While most people agree on the basics, it’s the rules that get people in sticky situations.

“I’ve seen a lot of screaming fights break out over rules,” said Corbett. “General rule of thumb should be house rules and they should all be laid out before the game starts.”

The ‘sport,’ which has become popular in colleges around the nation, has found a place in bars as well as basements and backyards.

One bar in San Francisco that provides beer pong is Bar None in the Marina District. In addition to the traditional bar games, pool and darts, beer pong draws crowds.

“It’s a fun bar to go to and play the game,” said history major, Rana Stethan, 22, who has a ping pong table in her home specifically for beer pong. “It’s more social and you’re around more people.”

Some enjoy playing in the comforts of their own home.

“For me it’s more fun to play at home where it’s a more friendly environment without the random people that get mad,” said senior Christopher Gavazza, 22.

Gavazza and his roommate, 23-year-old Ryan Purdy, who is working on his teaching credential at SF State, have a table in their garage that is frequently used for beer pong when they have people over.

“We just figure people are going to play,” said Purdy. “It adds an element of fun and it’s something that you can get involved in and actively drink. Everyone loves the ball cup game.”

As Hughes struggles to line up his shot, he takes aim and sinks the ball. The other team must drink the cheap, room-temperature beer from that cup even though the ball has been on the floor countless times.

“Sure it seems gross,” said Hughes. “But so are lots of sports. And this one, unlike football and baseball, has the best of both worlds. This one you get to play the game and drink the beer.”