A variation on the popular party game, “virtual beer pong” still involves aiming a ping pong ball across a table into cups of beer, except it’s captured on live video. Could it be an evergreen trend?
It’s hard to say which stay-at-home activities that will remain once the pandemic is “over”, but one thing is for sure: the sports industry can get inspired by following even short-term trends and study them.
With ongoing lockdowns forcing many Australians to stay home due to the continued spread of COVID-19 in the community, people are finding new and innovative ways to stay connected to their friends and family.
According to licensed sporting product retailer The Stubby Club, the latest craze sweeping Australia is… virtual beer pong!
How does Virtual Beer Pong work?
As The Stubby Club explains, all that is required for each team in addition to beer pong tables, ping pong balls and playing cups is a recording device, like a mobile or iPad. Each team finds a recording angle that includes their entire playing area, including the table and immediate area around it.
The goal is to provide a view for the other team that does not obstruct the flight of the ball and eliminates blind sports where someone could be dropping the ball into a cup from above, out of view from the camera.
The ideal angle provides a view slightly above the rim of the cups. Then, it just comes down to choosing the preferred platform to stream the beer pong tournament on.
Virtual beer pong has become so popular it is even being endorsed by rapper Post Malone, who also created a NFT auction after the event.
Too good to be “just” a stay-at-home activity
According to The Stubby Club, virtual beer pong is quickly gaining momentum as a popular stay-at-home activity that allows friends, family and even colleagues to stay in touch and socialise.
As lockdowns linger on, many workplaces are introducing happy hour activities to keep people engaged and connected.
There is something in virtual beer pong that makes me think it is something more than just a short trend. Of course, the game will not be an Olympic sport, or at least we may consider it unlikely, but the idea is too popular to disappear.
The classic rule for coming up with good ideas is simple: take two existing things (like beer pong and video conferencing), and merge them.
By the way, did I hear virtual college competitions?
Trendspotter and contributor to this article: Magnus Berglund (About)
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