Ping Pong Game: how to play

Ping Pong is a free ping pong game you play online in your browser. Bounce, a sporty ping pong ball, calls the game while you rally against five friendly opponents, from a sunny garden patio to the bright lights of the Star Arena. It is table tennis seen from above, quick to learn, and you can also play 2 player ping pong with a friend on one computer, tablet or phone.

How to play

• Move your paddle to meet the ball: it follows your mouse, or your finger while you drag on the table, or use ↑ ↓ or W S (← → and A D work too).
• Where the ball meets the paddle sets the angle: the middle sends it straight back, near a tip sends it sharply across the table. Move the paddle as you hit and the ball curves the way you moved (spin, from Beach Hut on).
• To serve, tap or click the table or press Space; if you wait, it goes by itself. The serve changes every two points.
• A ball that gets past your paddle is a point to your opponent. Win the game (first to 3, 4, 5, 5 and 6 points) to reach the next place. Lose a game and it costs one of your three hearts, and you play that opponent again.
• Points: 100 for each point you win times your streak of points in a row (up to ×5), 10 for each return, 25 for an edge shot off the very tip of the paddle, and a level bonus of 200 times the level number. Three stars per level: win it, keep all your hearts, and lose 1 point or fewer.
• Two players: pick 2 PLAYERS on the start card. Player 1 uses W and S, player 2 uses ↑ and ↓; on a touch screen each player drags on their own half. First to 7 wins, and nothing is saved.

The five levels

1. Garden Patio: Cubby the wooden block, slow straight rallies to learn the angles
2. Beach Hut: Drip the water drop puts spin on the ball, so shots curve, and yours can too
3. Rooftop Club: Pinny the bowling pin and a breeze that bends the ball the way it blows
4. Snowy Lodge: Bao the panda hits smashes: a fast ball with a red trail
5. Star Arena: Robin the fox, the champion, with spin, breezes and smashes together

After the Star Arena the five places come round again: in lap 2 the ball and every opponent are faster, in lap 3 faster still, and then it stays at that speed. You have three hearts for the whole run, and the game is the same for everyone each day, so you can compare scores. Press M to turn the sound off or on.

Tips

• Get to the ball early and stand still: the angle comes from where it hits the paddle, not from a swing.
• Your opponent drifts back to the middle after each shot, so a sharp angle into a corner is hard to reach.
• Watch a curving ball all the way: it lands where the curve takes it, not where it was first heading.
• In a breeze, the ball bends the way the streaks and the BREEZE label point. Move a little that way early.

Questions

Is Ping Pong free?

Yes. Ping Pong is a free ping pong game you play online in your browser: no download, no sign-up and nothing to buy.

Can I play 2 player ping pong?

Yes. Pick 2 PLAYERS on the start card to play a friend on one device: W and S against the up and down arrows on a keyboard, or one half of the screen each on a phone or tablet. First to 7 wins.

Can I play the ping pong game on my phone?

Yes. Drag on the table to move your paddle and tap to serve. On an upright phone the table turns so you play from the bottom of the screen. It works on phones, tablets and computers.

Is this table ping pong or air hockey?

It is table tennis, also called table ping pong: a paddle, a net and a light ball, seen from above. The ball flies over the net and bounces once on the other side, and you win a point when it gets past your opponent's paddle.