Pong
ArcadeHow to play Pong
I control the left paddle. On a computer I drag the paddle with the mouse or nudge it with the up and down arrow keys. On a phone I drag my finger on the table or hold the on-screen up and down buttons.
I rally the ball past the computer paddle on the right. Where I hit the ball on my paddle changes its angle, so catching it near the edge sends a sharper return. The ball speeds up on every hit, and the first side to reach seven points wins the match.
About Pong
Pong is where the video game industry begins. Allan Alcorn built it at Atari in 1972 as a training exercise, and the prototype cabinet installed in Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale famously broke down within days because its coin box was jammed full of quarters. Two paddles, one ball, a dotted net: an entire medium in embryo.
Pong endures because it is pure timing and geometry. The ball's exit angle depends on where it meets your paddle, so a rally is a conversation about angles, flat and safe versus steep and lethal. Against the computer here, the edges of your paddle are your offense and its center is your defense, exactly as they were in 1972.
Pong rally craft
- Strike with the paddle's edges to send steep, hard-to-reach angles; use the center only to reset a rally you are losing.
- Move to where the ball will be, not where it is, track the bounce line off the top and bottom walls early.
- Vary your angles. Any rhythm you settle into is a rhythm your opponent can camp.
- After each return, drift back toward the middle; center court covers both corners with minimum travel.
- Speed rises as rallies continue, shrink your movements as the ball accelerates instead of swinging wildly.
FAQ
How do I aim my shots in Pong?
The contact point on your paddle sets the return angle: dead center goes back flat, and the nearer the edge, the steeper the deflection. Deliberately catching the ball off-center is the entire offensive game, flat returns are how you survive, angled ones are how you score.
Was Pong really the first video game?
Not literally, Spacewar! predates it and Magnavox's Odyssey had a tennis game Atari settled a lawsuit over, but Pong was the first video game to be a mass commercial hit, and it effectively founded the arcade industry. 'First famous game' is the fair title.
Why does the ball keep beating me in the corners?
You are probably chasing the ball instead of reading the rebound. Watch the angle the ball takes off the far paddle and the walls, plant yourself on its projected line early, and save the sprint for genuinely steep shots.
What are the controls?
Mouse or arrow keys slide your paddle on desktop; on a phone you drag your side of the screen. First to the target score wins, and the ball gets faster the longer each rally runs.
