As an online influencer since 2009, I get a lot of random pitches in my email. Particularly if they have nothing to do with food or natural living, I typically ignore them.
The email asking me to review Pepper Pong, the “Best New Game of 2023,” somehow caught my eye. I was quickly intrigued by the creativity of this compact travel game, a hybrid between ping pong and pickleball that you can play anywhere.
As a family who camps and takes hiking trips, I wondered if this would be a great solution for our kids, age 10 to 19, to have something to do during our travels. We have a ping pong table in our basement that my oldest two boys love to play on, but it’s not exactly portable.
Trying Pepper Pong for the First Time
When we opened the box, it was just after dinner on a balmy summer evening. My younger two had to go to bed, but the 16-year-old girl and 19-year-old boy dug in. They decided to clear our kitchen table and give it a go.
Ninety minutes and a lot of laughter later, I was fully impressed by Pepper Pong’s ability to draw in two teenagers. They were clearly having a ball! Although the game was easy to pick up, they were also dripping with sweat and had clearly gotten some good exercise along with the sibling bonding. I was an instant fan!
How to Play Pepper Pong
Honestly, I won’t bore you with the instruction manual–and you can watch tons of videos online, including the fun reel that my kids put together on Instagram here. What I’m hoping to do is help you get the gist of the nuances of the game and how different it is from ping pong.
First, there are three types of balls called peppers. They range from lighter to heavier and less bouncy to more bouncy. Rookies are supposed to start with the lightest and least bouncy version and move on to the heaviest and most bouncy version for more challenge. You can play with two or four people, and Pepper Pong uses rally scoring, which means it doesn’t matter who served, someone always gets a point.
That aspect and the fact that you only need 11 points to win a game means that games move very fast and no one has time to get bored. If you know how to play ping pong, you’ll quickly understand that the rules are a bit more simple, which means there’s very little barrier to entry. Pepper Pong is an easy game to figure out. Plus, each family can have fun making house rules, like what do you do when you hit a wall or the chandelier in the kitchen?
What Makes Pepper Pong Great?
The reason I was initially so intrigued to review Pepper Pong was its portability and versatility. You can literally play on any hard, more-or-less flat surface. Examples included the kitchen table or island, a picnic table outside, a plain old banquet table anywhere, or even the hood of a car. It doesn’t matter if your surface is round, square, or rectangular. It doesn’t really matter how long the table is. You just play wherever it works.
We were at the beach once, and my daughter and I realized that the boys had gone to the car to get something and never came back. When I sought them out, I discovered they had gotten out Pepper Pong and were playing a rousing game on a picnic table in the park. In my mind, this is the perfect example of having the right random game that can stay in the van all the time.
Plus, because the rules are so simple, kids of almost any age can quickly learn to play. The paddles are very lightweight, and the rookie ball makes it easy for anyone of any age to pick up quickly.
Traveling as a family with real food in real life is a lot of work, but it’s so worth it. Learn from my experience packing a family of 6 up in a van for a two-month road trip. See what we brought with us, what we left home, how we ate healthy for cheap while we were away from home, and most impressively how we fit everything we needed for two months in the van with all 6 of us!
Pepper Pong Does Have Some Room for Improvement …
I asked my oldest, our family’s Pepper Pong expert, what he wanted to share about the game. After we chatted a bit, we decided that the concept is a solid A+/A- idea. So far, the implementation is running at about a B/B-, because there are some rough edges. If we could be on a consulting board for the Pepper Pong review team, we would make at least two major improvements to the game.
1. Pepper Pong’s Challenging Ball Is Too Sticky
Paul explained that the red ball, the heaviest and most bouncy, has a surface that can only be described as “too sticky.” It tends to grab any smooth surface, which means that if you hit it with any spin, the bounces will be erratic – a short bounce, then a long, then a short, then a long, because the ball is in essence trying to grab the surface.
He said that actually makes it really difficult to return, which could be part of the challenge; but it would be more fun if it was consistent. In the end, we would recommend a slightly different constitution for the texture and consistency of that red challenge ball.
2. The Wind Factor Impacts Pepper Pong
Obviously, for playing inside, one does not need to worry about the breeze. However, since the beauty of Pepper Pong is that it can be played anywhere, we’ve got to take the wind into account.
That day in the park, when Pepper Pong was an impromptu game, my boys probably put it away a little sooner than they would have because the fence kept blowing over. The wind wasn’t really that strong, but any slight breeze with the right direction was knocking over the fence. We experimented a bit by propping the ends with four large rocks, and that helped considerably. On a more windy day, playing Pepper Pong outside would be nearly impossible.
We would recommend to the company to, at minimum, include four substantial bean bags to set up on the sides, although more testing is needed to figure out if that system really works. Otherwise, perhaps some little feet on both ends and the center would help stabilize the fence in light wind. I don’t think every game needs to be able to be played in strong winds, but a small breeze shouldn’t ruin the Pepper Pong game, in our opinion.
The Real Pepper Pong Review: Would I Buy Pepper Pong?
What any honest review really comes down to is one question: would I buy Pepper Pong if I didn’t already own it? A lot of online influencers tend to write about only the positive. I think you’ll find that here at Kitchen Stewardship®, I’m incredibly balanced and always share the room for improvement. I’ve actually reviewed products poorly and honestly share that I would never buy them, and I don’t think anyone should.
This is not one of those products. In spite of some room for improvement, I still think Pepper Pong is a very worthy purchase. In fact, it would make a great gift, especially for college kids who don’t have a lot of space to store games, families who go camping, or any household without space for things like air hockey or table tennis in their house, but who like to have a game with a lot of movement. I can’t wait to continue following Pepper Pong’s progress, especially since they were just on Shark Tank and got a great offer on November 22nd.
Once again, you can see Pepper Pong in action at our house in this Instagram reel. Hit the big red button to see what the current deal is on this versatile, travel-worthy game called Pepper Pong!
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I bought it as a Thanksgiving present for my family in the US, since I am abroad and couldn’t come to visit, and they enjoyed playing it together during the when they all got together. Because of an email from you about a month ago, Thanks for the suggestion.
Hi Mara!
Thanks for sharing; we’re so glad your family enjoyed it!