A big thank you to Pepper Pong for sending a starter set for us to enjoy. As always, no monetary compensation was received for this rave review, it’s just a product we adore.
Around here, we are always on the hunt for active games we can play as a family. If those active games can be 1) played without a designated table that we have to store and 2) require almost no set up at all, I’m already a huge fan. But, if that active game can be played *indoors*? Well, then I’m 100% sold.
Because of all of this and more, I’m wholly sold on Pepper Pong.
So, what is Pepper Pong?
Pepper Pong was designed by the same product engineers as the smash hit Spikeball. The company itself describes it by saying Pepper Pong is like if pickleball and table tennis had a baby. But, instead of being played on a court or requiring a specific table to play, Pepper Pong is portable. It’s still fast-paced and is played with paddles or rackets, but it’s also an entirely new game in a lot of ways.
Basically, it’s a tabletop game, but one that doesn’t require a table. Does that make sense?
What makes it so versatile is that it can be played on any flat surface, such as a dining table, picnic bench, a café table, or even the hood of a car. Similar to table tennis, players hit a ball over a net to score points, but in this case it’s a soft-feel Nerf-like ball, and it’s a freestanding fence that you hit the ball over.
It’s this fluidity that makes it so fun. Because you can play it on so many surfaces and set up the freestanding fence however you like, the game changes every single time you play. It also makes it the perfect “no excuses” kind of game, because you always have the right gear and can start a game on a whim.
What’s in a set of Pepper Pong?
The set comes with a hinged fence that is freestanding and folds small for travel. It also has 4 specially designed rackets {called “mullets” in this case} and 3 uniquely designed balls {aka “Peppers”} that all fit snugly inside a carrying case so you can take it with you wherever, or just leave in your car so it’s always ready to go. The set also comes with sweat bands, which my kids thought was hilarious.
The 3 special Nerf-like foam “peppers” that are included in the starter set have varying levels of softness so you can play in whatever conditions life throws at you. They surprisingly have a good deal of bounce and spin for being squishy, but that squishiness achieves something no other paddle ball sport could: They somehow make it a quiet sport.
Yes, you read that right. Pepper Pong sounds spicy and boisterous, but it only is if you make it. The game at its core only has a soft foam thud with each serve, rally, bounce, or return. Any other noises are at the players discretion. It’s not silent, of course, but for an active sport, it’s unprecedentedly quiet.
What we love about the game
I love just about everything about it, truly. But, honestly for me it’s the fact that it can be played both indoors and out that really clinches the deal. I don’t know if you know this about Seattle, but our fall and winter seasons tend to be rainy. Oh, and sometimes our spring seasons are even rainier. This makes outdoor sports rough to schedule as it’s pretty much guaranteed to rain if we plan on the great outdoors. But, if we plan for indoors and move outside if the weather permits? Well, then it will 100% be sunny and beautiful outside. I don’t know why this is true, but it is.
Second only to the indoor-outdoor-play-anywhere aspect is the magic of the Pepper Pong “peppers”, or balls. The lack of noise of the game is a huge selling point, as well as the fact that it’s not dangerous because these are foam balls. I don’t get annoyed by voices and banter, but listening to a ping pong type ball bounce around my house would make me twitchy and nervous that something important was definitely going to get hit by accident. And, it would undoubtedly lead to something getting broken.
But, with the softer-feel foam balls, they don’t ricochet around the room like bouncy balls or ping pong balls do, and they haven’t knocked over a single thing, even when we played in smaller spaces. In fact, as soon as it arrived we cracked it open and began to play, not even worrying about the fact that I was in the middle of a messy-ish project in the adjoining space.
There’s so much to love about Pepper Pong, from its versatility to its traveling appeal, it’s hard to pick a favorite attribute. And, that’s why it’s the perfect active family present to yourself. If you’re on the fence at all {no pun intended}, I urge you to try it out. I’m certain you will love it as much as we do.
You can purchase Pepper Pong right on their website, and they even have a holiday deal going on right now that takes $30 off and allows you to buy an additional set at 40% off.