How to play Rally

The original bat-and-ball duel — slide your paddle, angle your returns, and beat the computer to seven.

Rally is the paddle-and-ball duel that started arcade gaming. You take the left paddle, the computer takes the right.

The rules

Slide your paddle to meet the ball and it bounces back. You score when the computer fails to return it; it scores when you miss.

First to seven points wins the match. Easy, Medium and Hard change how well the computer tracks the ball.

The angle is the whole game

Where the ball strikes your paddle decides where it goes.

Hit it with the centre and it returns flat and predictable. Hit it near the edge and it leaves at a steep angle, which is much harder for your opponent to reach.

That single mechanic is the difference between rallying and playing. A player who simply intercepts the ball is playing defence forever; a player who chooses which part of the paddle to use is aiming.

Playing the angles deliberately

Watch where the computer's paddle is as the ball comes to you, and return to the opposite side. An edge hit that sends the ball diagonally away from where your opponent is standing is the basic winning shot, and it works repeatedly.

The counter-intuitive part is that the steepest angle is not always best. A very steep return travels further to reach the other end, giving your opponent more time. A flatter, faster return to a slightly less awkward spot is often harder to reach.

Pace

The ball speeds up with every hit, so a long rally ends up faster than either player is comfortable with.

This means the player who ends rallies early has an advantage in a way that is not obvious. If you are winning exchanges at moderate speed, taking an aggressive angle early is better than trading twenty safe returns until the ball is moving faster than you can track.

Conversely, if you are behind on reflexes, playing flat and safe to keep the ball slow is a legitimate strategy — you are choosing the speed the point is decided at.

Position between shots

Return to the middle of your side after every hit. The middle is the only position from which both corners are reachable, and drifting after a wide return is how easy points are conceded.

Do not follow the ball with your paddle while it is at the far end. Move to where it will come back to, then wait.

Against the computer

At higher settings the computer tracks the ball accurately, so aiming away from it stops being enough and you have to make it move. Two returns to the same side followed by one to the other is more effective than alternating, because it commits the paddle before the change.

Controls

Move your mouse or drag up and down to slide the left paddle; the Arrow keys or W/S also work. The ball's angle depends on where it hits your paddle — use the edges for sharp returns.

Strategy tips

Aim with the paddle, not just block with it. The centre returns flat, the edges return steep, and choosing between them is the entire skill.
Return the ball away from where the opponent's paddle is, not away from where the ball came from.
Do not always take the steepest angle. A steep return travels further and gives your opponent more time than a flatter, faster one.
Come back to the middle after every hit. It is the only spot from which both corners are reachable.
Move to where the ball will return, then wait. Following the ball across your side wastes the time you need for the next interception.
End rallies early if your reflexes are winning. Every exchange speeds the ball up, so a long rally hands the point to whoever tracks fastest.
Play flat and safe if you are behind on speed. Keeping the ball slow is choosing the terms the point is decided on.
Wrong-foot the computer with repetition. Two returns to one side then one to the other beats alternating, because it commits the paddle before the change.