In kottabos, the dregs or drops of wine were flicked from the drinking cup at a target set in the middle of the room. Pride was taken, not only in hitting the object, which usually was a small metal disk balanced on a lamp stand, but in the the correct form of the throwing motion. A simpler form of the game was to hit a basin without spilling any wine, or the symposiasts could attempt to sink one or more small saucers floating in a basin of water. A more complicated version involved striking a small scale and bringing it into contact with a figure below. There were prizes, perhaps special cakes or kisses from a serving girl or boy, as well as penalties. Athenaeus says that some took as much pride in playing kottabos as others did in hurling the javelin.
