Payload: a free paddle ball game for 1 or 2 players

What is Payload?

Payload is a free paddle ball game you play in your browser. Two white beams face each other across a dark field, and a blazing yellow ball flies between them. Move your beam to send the ball back, and get it past the other beam to score a point. The first player to 11 wins, and you have to win by two, so a close game goes to deuce and keeps going until someone pulls two points clear.

The ball is the star. It glows a hot yellow, flares brighter every time it bounces, and lights up the beams and walls as it passes, with a short trail and a spray of sparks at every hit. Where the ball meets your beam sets the angle it leaves at: the middle sends it straight back, the ends send it off steeply toward the walls. Every return makes the ball a little faster, up to a top speed, so long rallies build into a blur, and moving your beam as you hit puts a little spin on the shot.

There are three ways to play. Against the computer you can pick Easy, Medium, Hard or Insane. Easy is slow to react and often misjudges a bounce, so it is a good place to learn; Insane reacts fast, moves fast and aims for the corner farthest from you, but its aim is not perfect and it can be beaten. Your win streak and best streak are saved for every level. In 2 Players mode two people share one screen: one uses W and S, the other the arrow keys, or on a phone or tablet each player drags on their own half. Online, Quick match finds you an opponent in seconds, or you can invite a friend with a link or a short code; the server runs the ball so both players always see the same match.

Payload starts in a second, needs no download, no account and has no ads. It plays on phones, tablets and computers, upright or sideways, with a mouse, a keyboard, a finger or a gamepad, and you can change the points to win and turn win by two off in Settings.

How to play Payload

1. Pick vs Computer, 2 Players or Online. Against the computer, choose Easy, Medium, Hard or Insane and press Play.
2. Move your beam with W and S or the arrow keys, by moving the mouse over the field, by dragging a finger anywhere, or with a gamepad's stick or d-pad.
3. Hit the ball back before it gets past you. Where it meets your beam sets the angle: the middle sends it straight back, the ends send it off steeply.
4. Every return makes the ball a little faster, up to a top speed, so long rallies get intense. Moving your beam as you hit adds a little spin.
5. When the ball gets past a beam, the other player scores a point. Serves alternate, and a short countdown runs before each one.
6. The first to 11 points wins, and you must lead by two: at 10 all it is deuce, and play goes on until someone is two points ahead. You can change the points to win and turn win by two off in Settings.
7. With two players on one screen, the left player uses W and S and the right player uses the arrow keys. On a touch screen, each player drags on their own half.

Payload tips and strategy

• Aim with the ends of your beam. A ball taken near the end flies off at a steep angle and bounces off the wall, which is much harder to reach than a straight shot.
• Move back toward the middle after every return. From the centre you can reach either corner in time.
• Watch the angle the ball leaves the other beam at, not just where it is. The wall bounce is predictable, so you can get there early.
• Hard and Insane aim for the corner farthest from you. Make them stretch with sharp angles and they will sometimes overreach.
• As the ball speeds up, small, early moves beat big, late ones. Keep your beam between the ball and your goal.
• On a phone, turn it sideways for the biggest field, or play upright with your beam at the bottom. Full screen gives you every pixel.

Four computer levels, from Easy to Insane

The computer reads the ball the way a person does. It notices each new shot after a short reaction time, works out where the ball will cross its beam, including bounces off the walls, and moves there no faster than its top speed. Its aim is never perfect: the faster the ball and the farther away it is, the bigger its error, and it takes a second, better look half way.

Easy reacts slowly and often misjudges the wall bounce. Medium keeps a rally going. Hard is quick and aims its returns away from you. Insane reacts fastest, moves fastest and goes for the far corner every time, which means taking the ball near the end of its beam; push it with sharp, fast shots and it will sometimes miss. Your win streak and best streak are saved for each level, and the best streaks on Hard and Insane go on the leaderboards.

Play online or with a friend

Online, Quick match pairs you with the next player who is looking for a game, or you can invite a friend with a link or an eight-letter code. The server runs the ball, so both players always see the same match, and your own beam moves the instant you do. If someone's connection drops, the match pauses and the point is replayed when they are back; after 30 seconds away, the other player wins. When a match ends you can ask for a rematch.

On one screen, two players share the keyboard or each take half of a touch screen. Gamepads work too: the first one is the left beam and the second one the right.

A short history of the paddle and ball game

Ball-and-paddle games are among the oldest video games. Early versions in the late 1950s and 1960s ran on laboratory oscilloscopes and experimental home television consoles, and in the 1970s simple two-player tennis games on arcade cabinets and home consoles introduced millions of people to video games.

The idea is so simple that it has been remade countless times: two bats, one ball, and the angle you put on it. Payload keeps that core and adds a glowing ball that lights its surroundings, a computer opponent with four distinct personalities, and real-time online play.

Payload FAQ