Draft:Flunkyball (Beerball)

Flunkyball is a drinking game in which 2 teams compete. The game may also be refered to as Beerball.

Prerequisites

 * One can or bottle of beer per person (usually a half litre)
 * One Target. For example a soda bottle half filled with water.
 * One ball

Rules of the Game
The two teams stand opposite each other, each in a row, approximately 10 meters apart. There is no fixed number of player per team, but typically this is between 3 and 8 players.

Each player must start with their bottle or can of beer unopned on the ground before them. Between the two teams, in the middle of the field, the target is placed. This is usually a PET bottle, that must be hit by the ball in order to topple over. The team that has the ball will try to knock over the target. If the target is knocked over, the throwing team is allowed to start drinking. The bottles or cans are only allowed to be opened once a team knocks over the target for the first time.

As soon as the target is knocked over, the opponent team will try to put the target back upright as quickly as possible. Furthermore the ball must also be retrieved by the opponent team. Once the opponent has correctly placed the target, retrieved the ball and has all players behind their line, they yell "Stop". The throwing team must then stop as drinking as soon as its called, and place their drink infront of them again.

If a player has finished their drink, the bottle or can must be turned over above their head, in order to prove to the other team that the drink has indeed been finished. After a player has finished their drink, the player is out. They are no longer allowed to help their team retrieve the ball or righting the target.

As soon as the entire team has finished their drinks, they have won the game.

Punishments
Punishments can be handed out for a few reasons. Typically this is if a player starts drinking too soon, stops drinking too late after the stop signal. Other reasons for punishments include a leaking can, or allowing your drink to fall over.

Players can also try to use the ball to knock over their opponents drinks, in order to give them a punnishment.

A typical punishment is getting an extra drink to finish, or allowing the other team to take a sip. Although other punishments may be agreed upon by both teams.

What actions are considered punishable, and how exactly they are punished depends per location.

Variations
The rules of Flunkball can vary a lot. Often the rules are only determined just before the game starts, or sometimes even during the game

For example, the distance between the teams and the target may vary.

In some cases, it may not be necessary to retrieve the ball, and simply righting the target is enough.

Furthermore the punishment for not porperly finishing your drink may vary. In some games the punishment of having excess drink fall onto you is considered punishment enough. While in otgher games you may need to replace your drink with a new one.

The bal may also be replaced with another object, like a PET bottle, a can of beer, an onion, or someone's shoe.

The game may also be played with non-alcoholic drinks, such as ice tea, or a type of soft drink. Fizzy drinks are prefered as this keeps some of the challenge of chugging a beer.

Also the amount of drink that a player must finish can vary. Any size of drink is allowed, as long as all players have the same amount.

Spread
Flunkyball ius usually played in a park or field when the weather is nice. Flunkyball is also played sometimes during music festivals.

Flunkyball is most popular among students at universities. Every year there is a flunkyball championship held at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

History
The first games of flunkyabll were played in the early 2000's, especially in Poland. They were played with cans of beer in the middle that had to be knocked over. The first major variation was played with a so called "puck". The puck is a crushed can of beer, made to have the shape of an icehockey puck. However, due to more stringent deposit rules on cans, the puck variation is increasingly rare.

In Poland, the game is called "Flanki", and is considered a national student game. It is played by almost everyone at festivals, and other alcohol related events.

The first ever "World Championship" was held in Darmstadt in 2005, with the winning team coming from Dillenburg.

Media
A round of flunkyball can be seen in a videoclip from the band Kraftclub from Chemnitz.