It looks like a washers toss box but has “cups” in the shape of a beer pong rack. Instead of pong balls or washers, it has Mashballs that look a lot like those “foot bags” that hippies on college campuses kick around in a circle. No matter what similarities you may draw, it’s called MashBall and it may become the next big thing in tailgating games.
Todd Mashburn and John Michael Domingo created MashBall while in college at LSU. (LSU, huh? I think these guys have been to a tailgate maybe a few millions times.) Mashburn and Domingo still love beer pong, washers and cornhole, mainstays at any tailgate, yet they wanted to improve upon those standard tailgating games. They were set on creating a highly portable game that would be wind resistant for outdoor play at a tailgate and was not just one game with one set of rules. An added bonus was that the game they created alleviated having to buy cups ever again since the “cups” are already built in. Another bonus? They designed it to play on any surface: grass, sand, asphalt, concrete and MashBall even floats in water. Don’t try that with your old washers or cornhole boards.
So how do you play MashBall? Actually there are six ways to play MashBall but the most popular is to combine the game play of washers with the rules of beer pong.
Start by separating the two halves of the MashBall set at the distance measured by the measuring cord and clip provided. When play begins, both teams stand behind the separate halves of the MashBall set much like in beer pong, teammates stand on the same side. Each player on each team gets one toss per turn. If playing one-on-one, each player tosses two MashBalls much like each player would throw two pong balls in beer pong.
When a ball is made in a hole, the opposing team should remove the ball and plug the hole with one of the provided MashBall plugs. Much like removing the cup from the table in beer pong when a shot is made, in MashBall you cover the hole, thus eliminating that hole. The first team to plug all of the holes wins the game.
In addition, beer pong rules at at work including make two in a row and get balls back and you are also allowed to rerack to form a closer pattern of holes. If you want to incorporate drinking into the game when a shot is made, that is your choice. (We did…)
Those are the basic rules of classic MashBall but there are other variations and rules you can play. The other games are Fast Mash, 21, Masher Toss, Baseball and Mash the Stack. The rules for these different variations of MashBall are included with each game set.
We took MashBall to a backyard BBQ party a few weeks ago and just the other day, along to the final pre-season tailgate when the Chargers played the San Francisco 49ers. While at the tailgate and the BBQ, Mashball was a big conversation starter. Numerous people came over to our parking space and asked about MashBall and even asked if they could play it. The kids at the BBQ loved MashBall because the distance was not so far as cornhole and they felt they could have a better chance of making a shot.
MashBall comes complete with everything you will need to play right out of the box. The MashBall Lifestyle Edition consists of two sides of the playing boxes, two balls, 22 plugs, one measuring cord and The Ultimate MashBall Guide.
After thoroughly testing MashBall, this game is going to be a big hit in the parking lot. We deem it “Tailgate Approved” and are happy to offer it for sale in our our online tailgating gear store
