Pong 3D

Pong is where video games began in earnest — two paddles, one ball, nothing else — and Pong 3D keeps the purity while giving it a body: a glossy glowing table viewed in perspective, an indigo paddle on your side, a red one belonging to the computer, and a ball whose every crossing picks up a little more pace. Matches are first to 7 points, and points are scored the ancient way, by sending the ball past the other paddle.

The depth in Pong has never been speed — it is angles. Where the ball meets your paddle determines the angle it leaves at: strike it dead centre and it returns flat; catch it near the paddle's edge and it fires away diagonally, forcing your opponent to cover the far corner. Because the ball accelerates slightly with every paddle hit, rallies develop a rhythm of rising tension: the longer a rally runs, the faster it gets, until somebody's angle beats somebody's legs.

You choose the opponent before the match from under the stage: Easy, Medium or Hard AI, which changes the computer paddle's speed and accuracy rather than the rules. Easy is a gentle introduction for first-time players; Hard barely misses at all, and beating it is entirely about disguising angles and changing direction late — out-hitting it is not an option. Serves go towards the player who conceded the last point, keeping the pressure on whoever is behind.