🏓 How to play Pong
By Miguel Arechaga
Pong is the grandfather of all video games: two paddles, one ball, and nothing else. Behind that simplicity there's plenty of room for strategy, especially in the angle you return the ball with. Here's how to play and how to beat the computer.
What is Pong?
It's the classic paddle game: you control the bottom paddle and the computer controls the top one. The ball bounces between the two, and every time it gets past your side, your opponent scores a point (and vice versa). Whoever reaches 5 points first wins.
How to play
- Move your paddle, the bottom one, with the ← → arrow keys or by dragging your finger directly on the board (there are no more on-screen buttons: control is more precise by dragging).
- The top paddle is controlled by the computer and automatically chases the ball.
- If the ball gets past your paddle, the computer scores; if it gets past the computer's paddle, you score.
- Whoever reaches 5 points first wins the match.
- You can pause the match at any time with the Pause button or the P key.
The key is the angle, not just returning it
Returning the ball isn't enough to win: the computer reacts well to balls heading straight at it. The real advantage comes from hitting the ball with the edge of your paddle instead of the center. The further from the center you hit it, the sharper the outgoing angle, forcing the computer to travel further to intercept it.
Also keep in mind that the ball gains speed with every hit. Early in the match you have more time to react, but as the score climbs the bounces get faster and faster, so anticipate the trajectory instead of waiting for the ball to arrive.
🎚️ Choose your difficulty level
Against the computer you can pick from three levels with the "🎚️ Difficulty" button, which cycles through Easy, Medium, and Hard (the chosen level is shown on the panel above the board, next to the score). On Easy the computer reacts later and moves more slowly, great for getting the hang of the paddle; on Hard it reacts almost instantly and moves at full speed, so you'll need to nail your angles to score. The level only applies to matches against the CPU: in online 2-player matches the button is disabled, since you're competing against a real opponent there.
Quick tips
- Stay near the center of your paddle between hits so you can reach either side in time.
- Hit with the edges of your paddle to force sharp angles the computer struggles to return.
- If you're playing on mobile, drag your finger directly on the board: it's more precise than buttons in fast rallies.
With these aiming adjustments you'll notice the computer starting to miss bounces it used to return without trouble.
Play online with 2 players
You can play Pong against another person in several ways: press "🌐 Online" and create a room to share a 4-letter code with whoever you want to challenge, use "🔍 Find opponent" to have the system instantly match you with another available player, or add a friend by their username from the 👥 Friends panel (while signed in) and press "Challenge" next to their name to invite them directly to a match.
🏆 Wins ranking
All your online Pong matches are recorded on your account: every win (and every loss) adds to your history. Go to Ranking, the 🎮 2 Players tab, choose "Pong" from the dropdown, and check your position against other players, synced across all your devices.
Prefer playing solo? Your wins against the computer count too: every time you win a 1-player match, your score updates on the 🕹️ 1 Player tab of the Ranking, under "🏓 Pong (1 jugador)" in the dropdown. For either result to count you need a free account on MundoSudoku (just a username and password, no email required): you can play without one, but without signing in your score isn't saved to the ranking.
