How to play Table Tennis
Table Tennis is a two-player Pong-style duel. Each player controls a paddle on one side of the table and tries to slip the ball past the other. The ball gets 5% faster with every hit, so long rallies turn into frantic reflex tests.
Rules
The ball bounces off the top and bottom edges. Return it with your paddle; if it gets past you, your opponent scores a point and the ball is served again from the centre in a random direction. The first player to reach 5 points wins the match.
Controls
- Left player: W and S.
- Right player: ↑ and ↓.
- Touch: each player drags a finger on their half of the table, so two people can share one phone or tablet.
- New Game resets the score.
Tips to win rallies
- Return to the middle of your side after every hit, so you can reach both corners.
- Watch the ball's angle off the wall to predict where it will cross your goal line.
- Rallies speed up with every hit; stay calm and move early rather than fast.
- Use small, precise movements near the paddle's target spot instead of big swings.
History
Atari released Pong in 1972. Engineer Allan Alcorn built it as a training project, and its success helped launch the arcade video game industry. Table tennis was the inspiration for that very first hit.
FAQ
- Can I play against the computer? This version is for two players on one device. Our Pong tutorial shows how to add a computer opponent.
- How many points win a match? The first player to score 5 points wins.
- Does the game run at the same speed on every screen? Yes. The ball moves in fixed 60 Hz steps, so it is just as fast on 60, 120 or 144 Hz displays.
Build it yourself
Curious how this game works? Our step-by-step tutorial How to Make a Pong Game in JavaScript rebuilds it from this page's code, with examples you can copy.