How to Play Ping Pong

Every game room has to have an area where you can play ping pong. This is a great game where the rules are similar to tennis – that’s why this game is often called table tennis! The smaller area makes for a more challenging game, but guarantees a fun afternoon you’re your friends or family.

According to Wikipedia, ping pong originated in England during the late 1800s. It’s a variation of a game called whiff-whaff that used to be played by soldiers in South Africa and India. They bought it back with them to England after their military service was completed. Today, the rules have changed slightly, but in essence it’s still the same. There are even global ping pong tournaments and it used to be an Olympic Sport!

If you haven’t played ping pong yet, then this will be the entrance to your first time! By following these simple ping pong rules you’ll be ready to hit the big leagues in no time.

Ping Pong Requirements

You will need a friend to play against as well as a ping pong table with the net or line in the middle. You will also need ping pong paddles and the white ping pong ball. You can also have a piece of paper and pen in order to keep score.

How to Play Ping Pong

1. You will need to decide who is going to serve. Flip a coin or decide on your own.
2. When serving, make sure that the ball hits your side of the table first before it bounces over to your opponent’s. If it hits the net but you served properly you get to serve again.
3. The other player then returns the ball to you. If a player hits the net upon a return but still goes over to the other person’s side the ball is still in play.
4. Scoring will work as follow:
   • if your serve goes into the net or goes off the table the other person’s scores a point.
   • if you do not make a legal return a point is rewarded to your opponent.
   • if the ball touches you after a legal serve or return a point is awarded to the other player. The same goes for if the ball is hit twice with the paddle.
   • if you touch the table or move it your opponent will score a point.
5. The trick with ping pong is to keep your eye on the ball and to hit gently.
6. Serves are rotated with every two serves so that the other player also gets a chance.
7. The winner will be crowned when he or she reaches 11, but this score can be altered to 21 or 15. You have to play until you are 2 points ahead of the other person, so if you have 11 and the opponent has 10, you need to keep playing to get to 12.

Ping Pong Video Tutorial

Ping Pong Game Variations

To make things more interesting you can play doubles. The rules are the same, but the team members become more. This is a great way to play a challenging game of ping pong.