Ping Pong

Two paddles, one ball, a line down the middle. Miss the ball and your opponent scores. First to seven points takes the match. It is the simplest competitive game there is, which is why it still works.

The depth comes from the paddle. Where the ball strikes it decides the rebound: hit near the centre and it comes back almost flat, catch it near the edge and it leaves at a steep angle. Every return is also slightly faster than the last, so a long rally becomes progressively harder for both players.

Play against the computer or against a friend on the same device. Easy tracks the ball slowly and with a wide margin of error, so it misses steep returns. Hard reacts quickly and stays close to the ball, but returns to the middle when the ball is moving away — it is beatable with angles, not with speed.

1. Choose a mode and press Start. The ball is served from the centre after a short pause — use it to position your paddle.
2. Keep the ball in play. If it passes your paddle, your opponent scores a point.
3. Each return is about 5% faster than the one before, up to a cap. Long rallies genuinely get harder rather than just longer.
4. The rebound angle depends on where the ball hits your paddle — centre for flat, edge for up to 55 degrees.
5. First to 7 points wins the match.

Desktop, one player: move your paddle with W and S or the ↑ ↓ arrow keys. Moving the mouse vertically also controls it directly, which is more precise in fast rallies. Space pauses and resumes.

Desktop, two players: the left player uses W and S, the right player uses the ↑ ↓ arrow keys.

Mobile and tablet: drag on your half of the table to move your paddle. In two-player mode both halves are live at once, so two people can play on the same screen with a thumb each.

• Aim with the edge of the paddle. Returning from the centre sends the ball straight back to your opponent. Catching it near the tip fires it into a corner they have to sprint for.
• Return to the middle after each shot. The centre is the shortest average distance to wherever the ball comes back — standing where you last hit it is what loses points.
• Against Hard, use steep angles. It matches speed easily but has a small tracking margin, so wide returns are what beat it.
• Watch the ball, not your paddle. As the rally speeds up, the only way to keep up is reading the trajectory early instead of reacting to where the ball already is.
• Use the serve pause. There is a short delay before each serve. Move to the centre during it rather than being caught mid-drift.