Neon Pong

Tips for Neon Pong

In Neon Pong the angle of every return depends on where the ball meets your paddle. Hit it with the centre and it comes straight back; catch it near the tip and it flies away flat and fast. Moving the paddle as you make contact drags the ball along with it, so the strongest returns aim into the corner your opponent has just left rather than back at them. The ball speeds up on every hit, so drift back towards the middle of your side between returns and you will have less ground to cover.

Start solo against the gentlest of the three AI levels to learn how the angles work, then move up. A match to five is a quick warm-up, while eleven gives you more time to come back from a bad start. With power-ups switched on, each pickup goes to whoever touched the ball last, so when one drifts into mid-court, a return that carries the ball through it is worth aiming for.

How to play Neon Pong

Neon Pong is a duel between two paddles on either side of a glowing court. The ball is served from the centre line, and each player moves a paddle to send it back. When the ball gets past a paddle, the other player wins the point, and serves alternate between the two sides with a short countdown before each one.

Where the ball meets your paddle sets the angle of the return, from straight back off the centre to flat and fast off the tip, and moving the paddle as you hit drags the ball with it. The ball speeds up with every return, so long rallies get harder to hold. A match is first to seven points unless you set it to five or eleven, and the score flashes when a player reaches match point.

You can play solo against the computer at one of three levels of difficulty, or with a friend on the same device. On a computer in landscape, player one uses W and S or the mouse and player two the arrow keys; on a touch screen each player drags a finger on their own half. Turn a phone upright and the paddles move to the top and bottom. Power-ups can be switched on, adding a longer paddle, a faster ball or extra balls. Esc opens the menu, P pauses, M mutes and Space restarts.

About Neon Pong

Neon Pong follows the bat-and-ball format of the earliest video games: a simple form of table tennis on a screen, with a paddle on each side and a ball bouncing between them. The idea has lasted because two people can understand it in seconds and still play close matches.

Neon Pong, made by Kiloo, sets the court in glowing neon and adds the angle and drag that let you aim your returns. It works as a quick solo game against a computer opponent at three strengths and as a game for two on one keyboard, tablet or phone, held in either orientation. The optional power-ups, with their extra balls and bigger paddles, give friends a livelier match when a straight rally feels too even.

Frequently asked questions