Paddle Duel

How to play Paddle Duel

Paddle Duel is a fresh, original take on the game that started the whole arcade era: two paddles, one ball, and a rally that gets faster with every hit. Each player guards one end of the board with a sliding paddle and tries to bounce the ball back past the other player. Miss the ball and your opponent scores a point; the first to seven points wins the match. The rules take about ten seconds to learn, but the reflexes, angles and nerve it takes to win a long rally give the game its lasting appeal. Play a friend on the very same screen, or take on the computer at three difficulty levels and earn ranking points for every victory. Everything runs in your browser and works offline, so a duel is always one tap away.

The goal

The aim is simple: be the first player to reach seven points. You win a point whenever the ball gets past your opponent’s paddle and reaches their end of the board. That means the game is equal parts attack and defence — you must return every ball that comes your way while trying to send your returns where your rival cannot reach in time. Because the ball speeds up on every paddle hit, long rallies become tense very quickly, and a single missed return can swing the score.

The board and the layout

Paddle Duel is played in portrait orientation, which is deliberate: this version places the paddles at the TOP and BOTTOM of the board rather than the left and right. On a phone that lets two people sit opposite each other and each control a paddle with a thumb near their own edge, and it lets a single player rest a thumb comfortably at the bottom of the screen. The ball bounces off the left and right side walls and off the two paddles. Your paddle slides left and right along your edge; it cannot leave the board, so it always stops at the side walls. The blue paddle is at the bottom, the amber (or red, versus the computer) paddle is at the top, and a dashed centre line marks the halfway point.

Rules of play

• The ball is served from the centre toward one player. It travels in a straight line until it meets a wall or a paddle. It bounces off the left and right side walls, keeping its speed but reversing its sideways direction.
• When the ball reaches a paddle, that paddle bounces it back toward the other end. Where the ball strikes the paddle changes the angle of the return — hitting the ball with the centre of the paddle sends it nearly straight, while striking it with the edge sends it away at a sharp angle.
• If the ball passes a paddle and reaches that player’s edge, the ball was missed and the other player scores one point. The ball is then re-served from the centre toward the player who just conceded, so the next rally always starts from the loser’s end.
• The ball gets a little faster every time a paddle hits it, up to a maximum speed. The longer a rally lasts, the harder both players have to work — rallies naturally build to a frantic finish.
• The first player to reach seven points wins the match. A winning banner appears with the final score, and you can start a fresh match at any time with New game.

Controls

In the two-player game the blue player at the bottom uses A and D (or the left and right arrow keys) to slide their paddle, and the amber player at the top uses F and H. On a touch screen there is no keyboard: instead, each player drags a finger on their own half of the board. Dragging on the bottom half moves the blue paddle; dragging on the top half moves the amber paddle. Because both players see the whole board at all times, there is no hidden information — same-screen play is completely fair.

In Paddle Duel vs Computer you control only the blue paddle at the bottom. Use A and D, the left and right arrow keys, or simply drag anywhere on the board to slide your paddle to that spot. The red paddle at the top is the computer.

Playing the computer (ranked)

In Paddle Duel vs Computer you pick one of three difficulty levels before you start. The computer plays a tracking paddle: it watches the ball, predicts where it will arrive at the top edge, and slides to meet it. What changes with difficulty is how quickly and how accurately it can do that. On Easy the computer reacts slowly, moves at a gentle pace and often aims a little off, so a beginner can win. On Normal it reacts sooner, moves faster and aims more accurately. On Expert it tracks almost perfectly, reaches the ball in time from nearly anywhere, and rarely misjudges the bounce — you will need clean angles and fast returns to beat it. The computer thinks entirely on your device, so it works offline. Beat it to earn ranking points: Easy is worth 10, Normal 30 and Expert 100. Sign in and your best result appears on the leaderboard.

Strategy tips

• Use the edges of your paddle to control the angle. A centre hit sends the ball nearly straight back, which is easy for your opponent to read; catching the ball near the edge of the paddle fires it away at a sharp diagonal that is much harder to return.
• Play the walls. Because the ball reflects off the side walls, you can aim a return that bounces off a wall and comes back at an unexpected angle. Sending the ball wide forces your opponent to travel the full width of the board.
• Return to the centre after every shot. The safest resting place for your paddle is the middle of your edge, because from there you can reach a ball heading to either side in the least time. Wandering out to a corner leaves the far side wide open.
• Against the computer, keep the ball moving and vary your angles. The tracking paddle is beaten by pace and surprise: fast, wide, wall-assisted returns give it the least time to react, and on the higher levels those are the shots that will eventually catch it out.

Frequently asked questions