It’s football season again in Happy Valley, which means long days of tailgates and all of the classic games: cornhole, stump, and cup pong. This year, a newcomer is breaking onto the tailgate and game scene: Whirl Pong.

Dillon Fink, a sophomore at Penn State majoring in mechanical engineering with an entrepreneurship minor, has always been a competitive person. Any gathering with family and friends meant games, especially outdoors.

Fink came to Penn State not only for its renowned engineering program but also for the sports and social atmosphere you can find in Happy Valley.

He wasted no time getting involved as a freshman, participating in Gameday Ventures, where teams of students create their own tailgate game to showcase at an event. Fink and his team created a mini golf game, but it was there that he got the idea for Whirl Pong.

“I saw a bunch of people playing cup pong around us in the area, and a whole bunch of them were just like on their phone, and they didn’t look engaged, they didn’t look like they were having fun. So I was like, ‘You know what? I wonder if I can do something with cup pong,'” Fink said. “So, I started coming up with some ideas, and my friend started spinning around in circles, and that’s kind of how I got the idea.”

Whirl Pong takes the traditional game of cup pong and adds a twist… literally. Essentially, it is a game of spinning cup pong. Players place the cups in standard formation on a platform that offers different speeds and modes.

It can change directions, move randomly, go faster, or go slower. Fink recommended everyone start on the first speed because he thinks it’s the most fun.

Whirl Pong is water resistant, USB chargeable with 5-6 hours per charge, and easy to travel and carry. Don’t worry, you can still play with all the classic house rules and formations, too.

“There’s nothing like it out there,” Fink said. “It’s a completely new product, a completely different way to play the game, and basically is taking the best part of the traditional game of cup pong and just making it more competitive and fun.”

Once Fink came up with the idea, it wasn’t a quick ride to having his product ready to sell. Penn State’s ENGR 310 class with Frank Koe was the biggest piece of this puzzle.

In the class, students are tasked to work on and develop a business, allowing Fink more resources and time he wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.

Fink needed a nine-month process to get the final version of Whirl Pong out, working to get a trademark, register his business name, plan the marketing campaign, and much more.

Fink had materials shipped to him from his supplier in China to play around with, filling his small dorm room with boxes until he got a feel of what would make the game best.

Since the physical product has been around, he’s brought his game to different events to get feedback from players and gain new customers. He went to the Penn State football game against Michigan last October when the idea was first made, getting overwhelmingly positive feedback that gave him the final push to pursue his idea. Over the summer, Fink set up a tent at a peach festival in Delaware, quickly becoming one of the most popular tents for people of all ages.

Fink hopes to be at every Penn State football home game this year, promoting Whirl Pong to all the fans and making connections ready to host Whirl Pong at their events.

As only a sophomore, Fink has a lot of time left at Penn State to make Whirl Pong the hot new game on campus and to find out his next steps.

“I knew coming into my freshman year that that’s probably the most important year because that’s when you’ve got to make a good impression,” Fink said. “If you want to put your name out there, you really gotta put yourself out there.”

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Fink and Whirl Pong are offering 30% off with the discount code ONWARDSTATE on its website, valid until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, September 12.

Editor’s Note: Onward State was not, and will not be, compensated for use of the ONWARDSTATE code on Whirl Pong’s website.