Giant Kerplunk

What You Need

• A giant KerPlunk set. A set has a tall open mesh or plastic tube, a stand, a bundle of long sticks, and a bag of lightweight plastic balls. Most giant sets ship with 24 to 30 sticks and 30 to 100 balls. The tabletop original uses 30 sticks and 32 marbles. Play with whatever your set includes.
• Flat ground. Grass or a patio. Sand tilts the tube and drops balls on its own.
• Two players. Works with up to four.

Setup

1. Stand the tube on level ground. Check that it does not rock.
2. Push each stick through a hole on one side of the tube and out a hole on the other side. Go in at random angles so the sticks crisscross. A tight, messy web holds more balls. A neat web dumps them on turn one.
3. Use every stick. Fewer sticks means a weaker web and a shorter game.
4. Pour all the balls in the top. They should sit on the web. If a few fall through, put them back on top and keep going until every ball rests on the sticks.
5. Give each player a spot to collect dropped balls. A bucket each is easiest.
6. Pick who goes first. Loser of the last game starts.

How a Turn Works

1. Choose a stick. The first stick you touch is the one you must pull. No testing.
2. Pull it all the way out, slow and straight. You may steady the tube with your free hand. You may not touch any other stick.
3. Set the stick aside. Any ball that falls during your pull is yours. Collect it.
4. Your turn is not over when the stick comes out. It ends when your opponent touches a stick. If the web settles and drops balls in the gap, those balls are yours too.
5. Play passes to the other player.

Scoring

Every ball that falls on your turn counts 1 point against you. Keep your balls in your bucket so there is no argument at the end.

Winning

The game ends when every ball has dropped, or when no sticks remain. Count your balls. Fewest wins. Ties are ties. Play again.

Two-Player Notes

With two players the turns alternate strictly, which changes the strategy. You cannot hope the collapse lands on a third person. Every safe stick you pull leaves a riskier one for your opponent, who then hands the next riskier one back to you. Count the sticks before you start. With an even number of sticks, your opponent pulls last if you go first. Expect the last 3 or 4 sticks to drop most of the balls. Sometimes the player who goes first has the safer path, and sometimes not. Alternate who starts across a match of 3 games.

Strategy Tips

• Look before you touch. Sticks with no balls resting on them are free. Sticks at the bottom of a ball pile are not.
• Pull from the outside edge of the web first. Center sticks carry the load.
• Pull along the stick's own line. Any sideways wobble shakes the whole web.
• Watch which sticks your opponent avoids. They probably saw something you missed.

Variations

• Sudden death. First player to drop any ball loses. Fast and brutal.
• Golden ball. Mark one ball with tape. Whoever drops it takes 5 points off their score, or adds 5 if you want it mean. The UK edition of the original game did this.
• Three-game match. Add the ball counts across 3 games. Alternate who starts. Lowest total wins.
• Speed round. Once you touch a stick, you have 5 seconds to finish the pull.