What You'll Need
Rage Cage (also known as Stack Cup, Boom, or Chandelier in different regions) is one of the fastest, loudest, most chaotic drinking games ever devised. Once you have 8+ people at a table, it becomes an event. Here's what you need:
- A large round table (the more circular, the better)
- Plastic cups — one per player, plus a large communal cup in the center
- 2 ping pong balls
- Beer or mixed drinks
- 6 to 20 players (the sweet spot is 8-12)
Setup
Place the large cup in the absolute center of the table and fill it with beer (this is the penalty cup). Each player takes a regular cup, fills it about 1/3 with their drink, and places it in front of them in a ring around the table. The cups should form a complete circle.
Two players across from each other each receive a ping pong ball. These are the starting players.
How to Play
Bouncing In
The two starting players both bounce their ping pong balls simultaneously, attempting to land them in their own cups. The moment your ball goes into your cup, you pass your cup AND the ball to the player on your left.
That player must then bounce the ball into the cup before passing it on. The cups and balls keep moving left as fast as players can bounce in.
The Chase — Getting Raged
Here's the chaos: the two balls are racing around the table in the same direction. If the faster ball catches up to the slower one — meaning the player with the faster ball bounces in before the slower player bounces in — the faster player stacks their cup inside the slower player's cup and sends both down the line.
The player who got stacked must take a fresh cup from the center pile, fill it from their drink (or the communal pool), drink it, then bounce into that new cup before passing on. Meanwhile the stacked cups keep circling.
The Center Cup
If at any point a player bounces their ball into the big center cup instead of their own cup, the player to their left must immediately drink the entire center cup. Then refill the center cup and keep playing.
In some versions, sinking the center cup causes everyone to simultaneously reach for a cup in the middle — last to grab one drinks the center.
Variations on Getting "Raged"
Some groups let the faster player skip a specific player they choose (not just the immediate slower player). This adds targeting and strategy to what is otherwise pure speed.
Winning
Rage Cage doesn't have a traditional winner — it ends when everyone's had enough, or when someone heroically drinks the last center cup three times in a row. The true winner is whoever avoided being stacked the most.
For competitive play: count stackings. Player who gets stacked least is the champion.
Tips & Strategy
- Speed is everything early. In the first few rounds, pure bouncing speed is all that matters. Get your technique dialed in for clean, quick bounces.
- Watch the ball behind you. If you're struggling to bounce in and the ball behind you is moving fast, you're about to get stacked. Switch to aiming for the center of your cup rather than chasing perfect technique.
- Use a smaller cup for faster bouncing. Shot glasses are harder to land in but some pros prefer them — the reduced cup size forces precision that speeds up over time.
- Position the center cup close. During intense rounds, having to reach far to access the penalty cup costs precious seconds. Recenter it if drift happens.
Variations
Chandeliers
Each player's cup is labeled (phone numbers, names). A center cup is placed in the middle. Players take turns bouncing into their own cup. If you make it in 1 bounce, pick someone to drink. If you make it in 2 bounces, everyone drinks. If you hit the center cup, everyone drinks the center.
Survivor Rage Cage
After getting stacked 3 times, you're eliminated. Last player remaining wins. Non-eliminated players keep drinking.
Team Rage Cage
Split into two teams sitting alternating seats. Each team has one ball. Score by how many times the opposing team gets stacked. Play to 10.
Rage Cage involves alcohol consumption. Please drink responsibly. This game is intended for adults 21 and older in the United States.