The skunk rule

What is the skunk rule in ping pong?

The skunk rule ends a game early when one player is so far ahead that the rest is a formality. The usual thresholds are 7-0 in a game to 11, or 11-0 in a game to 21. Reach the number without conceding a point and the game is over immediately.

It is not in the official ITTF rules and never has been. It exists for a practical reason: when six people are waiting for one table, a 11-0 game that still has to be played out is wasted table time. The same logic gives it other names in other rooms, including the shutout rule and the whitewash.

The common variants are worth agreeing before you start. Some houses play skunk at 7-0 only, some at 7-0 and 11-1, and some apply it in every game of a match while others only apply it in the first. A minority play that a skunk wins the whole match rather than the game, which is a much bigger rule than it sounds.

In Score All the skunk threshold is a switch on the match setup screen, so the game ends by itself at the number you agreed rather than relying on somebody remembering.

Where it applies

Related: 21-point ping pong rules · Table tennis scoring · Skunks in cribbage

This rule is a switch when you set up a game, so the scoreboard applies it for you. All scoring rules →