What is Pong?
Pong is the 1972 Atari arcade game that turned video games into a business. Two paddles, one square ball, a dashed line down the middle and a score at the top — that is the whole game. There is no story, no power-up and no ending: keep the ball on the table, and the first side to 11 points wins.
What runs on this page is Pong Classic, an HTML5 remake of that idea built in Construct 2 by Twisted By Art. It keeps the black table, the white paddles and the 11-point game, and adds a menu: one player against the computer on three difficulty settings, or two players on one keyboard or one touchscreen. You always play the left paddle.
How to play
Press play, then choose 1 Player or 2 Players on the menu. In one-player mode pick Easy, Normal or Hard; in two-player mode press Play. The ball appears on the center line at a random height and drifts off at a random angle. It bounces off the top and bottom walls; the left and right edges are the goals. When the ball leaves the court past a paddle the other side scores, and half a second later a new ball is served. Reach 11 and the ball vanishes, WINNER and LOSER appear over the two halves of the court, and Enter (or a double-tap) takes you back to the menu.
Controls
Mouse and touch behave the same way: the paddle chases the pointer while the button or finger is held down, at the same speed the keys move it.
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse / touch |
|---|---|---|
| Move the left paddle (you) | W up · S down | Hold and drag up or down anywhere on the screen (left half in two-player) |
| Move the right paddle (two-player only) | ↑ ↓ | Hold and drag on the right half of the screen |
| Pick a mode or difficulty | — | Click / tap the button |
| Fullscreen on / off | — | Double-click / double-tap the menu screen |
| Back to the menu after a game | Enter | Double-tap anywhere |
| Quit to the menu mid-game | — | Double-click the home button at the bottom center |
Tips and strategy
- Treat the serve as a warning shot. The ball leaves the center line slowly, then jumps to two and a half times that speed the first time it touches a paddle. Use the slow phase to get in line.
- Reset to mid-height after every point. The next ball is served from the center line at a random height. A paddle parked at the top loses to any low serve.
- Use the walls against the computer. The computer paddle only starts tracking the ball once it is past roughly the first quarter of the court, and it simply follows the ball's height. A late bounce off the top or bottom wall changes that height fastest, which is what a slow Easy paddle cannot keep up with.
- Difficulty is speed, nothing else. Easy, Normal and Hard change how fast the computer paddle moves — each step doubles it. Hard reaches almost everything.
- Short, early movements beat big swings. Your paddle moves at a fixed rate whether you use keys or drag, so holding the pointer far ahead does not make it faster. Start moving when the ball crosses the center line.
- Do not fear a vertical ball. Angles that would send the ball nearly straight up or down are straightened to horizontal, so a ball that looks like it will bounce between the walls forever will suddenly go flat — and fast.
- In two-player, use the keyboard. W / S and the arrow keys work at the same time. Touch works too, split by halves of the screen, but two people sharing one mouse pointer is not a fair match.
A short history
Pong was built at Atari in 1972 by Allan Alcorn, who had been given the task by Nolan Bushnell as a training exercise; the prototype cabinet went into Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale, California, and did well enough that Atari put it into production that November. It was not the first video table-tennis game — Ralph Baer's Magnavox Odyssey, released earlier that year, had one, and Magnavox sued Atari over it, the two settling in 1976. Home Pong followed in 1975 through Sears. The arcade original ran on dedicated circuitry rather than software, which is why every browser Pong is a remake. If you like the era, we also host Space Invaders and Pac-Man.
About this version
This is Pong Classic, an HTML5 game exported from Construct 2 and served from this site — no Flash, no plugin, no download. It draws at 1280×720 and scales to the player above, so it works on desktops, Chromebooks, tablets and phones (hold a phone in landscape). Included: Easy, Normal and Hard computer opponents, a two-player mode on one keyboard or touchscreen, games to 11, sound effects and a double-tap fullscreen toggle. Not included: online play, a pause button, high scores or saved results — each game starts from 0–0, like dropping a quarter in the cabinet. Want another quick two-player game? Try Tic Tac Toe, or browse the rest of the retro collection.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pong free to play here?
Yes. The game runs in the page above with no download, no account and no payment. Press play, pick 1 Player or 2 Players from the menu and the first serve comes straight away.
Is this the original Atari Pong?
No. Atari's 1972 Pong was a purpose-built arcade circuit board, not software, so it cannot run in a browser. What you get here is Pong Classic, an HTML5 remake by Twisted By Art built in Construct 2 that keeps the rules: two paddles, one ball, a center line and a game to 11 points.
What are the controls?
You are the left paddle. Move it with W and S, or hold the mouse button (or a finger on a touchscreen) and drag up and down — the paddle chases the pointer. In two-player mode the second player takes the right paddle with the Up and Down arrow keys. Press Enter after the WINNER / LOSER screen to return to the menu.
Can two people play on one keyboard?
Yes. Choose 2 Players in the menu, then press Play. The left player uses W and S and the right player uses the Up and Down arrows, so both fit comfortably on one keyboard. The computer opponent is switched off in this mode.
What do Easy, Normal and Hard change?
Only how fast the computer paddle can move. The computer always follows the ball's height once the ball has crossed into its side of the court; on Easy it accelerates slowly and tops out at a moderate speed, Normal doubles that and Hard doubles it again, which makes Hard close to unbeatable on straight shots.
How many points do you need to win?
Eleven, the same target as the original arcade cabinet. As soon as either side reaches 11 the ball is removed and a WINNER / LOSER banner appears on each half of the court. Press Enter or double-tap the screen to go back to the menu and start again.
Does it work on a phone or tablet?
Yes, and it was built for touch. Hold a finger on the screen and slide it up and down to move your paddle; in two-player mode each person drags on their own half. Double-tap the menu screen to toggle fullscreen, and hold the phone in landscape — the game is drawn at 1280×720.
Why does the ball suddenly get faster?
Each point starts with a slow serve from the center line at a random height and angle. The first time the ball touches a paddle its speed jumps to two and a half times the serve speed and stays there for the rest of the rally. Steep, nearly vertical angles are also straightened out automatically so the ball never gets stuck bouncing between the top and bottom walls.
