Paddle Duel is an original browser game two people can play on a single device. Lay the phone flat on the table, sit opposite each other, and the screen folds along its middle line: each end of it is somebody's home ground, with its own paddle, its own end line and its own readout. There is one control: hold anywhere in your own half and move your finger left or right. The paddle follows from where it already was, so you never have to find it first, and your thumb can rest behind it instead of on top of it. There is one skill: the middle of the bat sends the ball straight back, the ends send it away at an angle, so every return is you deciding how far the other person has to run for the next one. The ball speeds up with every rally until it caps out, and the first player to the target score takes the match. On your own, switch to solo and the far paddle is played by the machine at one of three levels.

The cabinet in the corner of the arcade with two knobs and nothing to explain: you each grabbed one, a white square bounced back and forth, and whoever missed watched the number on their side go up. The best games were never the fast ones — they were the ones where neither of you would let go first. This is that feeling in a browser, with the knobs replaced by the finger you already have on the glass.

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【街】 The coin arcade · 1988–2000 →

1. 01

   Lay the device flat and sit opposite each other. Tap anywhere to start: the near paddle is yours, the far one belongs to the person across from you.

2. 02

   Every ball opens with a countdown while it blinks on the serve spot. Both paddles can move during it — that time is there so you can both get set.

3. 03

   Hold your own half of the court and drag sideways. The paddle does not jump to your finger; it follows from where it already was, so resting your thumb behind the bat is fine.

4. 04

   The middle of the bat sends the ball straight back; the nearer the end you catch it, the sharper the angle. To send it somewhere they cannot reach, meet the ball with the end of the bat.

5. 05

   Whichever end the ball leaves by hands the point to the other side, and the next serve goes to whoever just lost it. First to the target score wins.

6. 06

   Playing alone? Switch to solo and the far paddle is played by the machine at one of three levels. On a keyboard the arrow keys drive the near paddle, A and D the far one, and Esc or P pauses.

Do not catch everything with the middle of the bat. The middle is the safe spot, but it hands the ball straight back and the other player can take it standing still. When you have room, meet the ball with the end of the bat instead.

How do two people play on one phone?

In Paddle Duel the screen folds along its middle line and each end of it is one person's home ground. You each hold the half nearest you and drag sideways, and your own paddle follows. The two fingers are tracked separately, so both of you can be moving at the same moment, neither of you can swallow the other's input, and nobody has to reach across the middle.

How do you beat the other player?

It comes down to the landing spot: which part of the bat the ball meets decides the angle it leaves at. The middle sends it straight back, the ends send it away sharply. Catching everything on the middle hands the ball back the way it came and your opponent can take it without moving; when you have room, meet it with the end of the bat and it flies to the side they cannot reach. The ball also speeds up with every return, so the longer the rally the earlier you have to get set.

How long is a match, and can you change the target score?

The target score is set before the match and can be three, five or seven, with five as the default. First to it wins and there is no win-by-two rule. A five-point match runs a minute or two, depending on how evenly matched the two of you are. Pause at any time: the ball and the countdown freeze together and resume exactly where they stopped.

Is there a single player mode against the computer?

Yes. Switch the mode to solo before the match and the far paddle is played by the machine, at one of three levels: the low one plays a slower ball and reacts late, the high one plays a faster ball and rarely misses. The machine never quietly gets stronger or weaker with the score, and it can never move faster than you can — its paddle speed cap is lower than yours, and that is part of the rules rather than a promise.

What does the centre post court change?

The open court is empty: just the two of you and one ball. The centre post court stands a post in the middle of the court, so a straight shot down the centre line comes back at you and you have to play around it. The post only takes up a small slice of the width and leaves a wide lane on either side, so it changes the angle you play at rather than blocking the way. A ball that bounces off its top or bottom face and comes back to the side that just hit it is still the same point, and the rally count keeps going.

Can you play it online against a friend?

Paddle Duel is same-screen only: two people, one screen, one device. The game itself makes no network requests and opens instantly, which is a deliberate trade. If your friend is somewhere else, you can each play a match and compare longest rallies — that number is kept on each device.

Is this the arcade cabinet with the two knobs?

That core loop is two bats, one ball, a landing spot that sets the exit angle, and first to the target score. Paddle Duel is an original browser version of it — art, sound and interface all made here — that opens in a tab with no download and no sign-up. The knobs have become a finger dragging on the glass, which is closer to the original than a key is: the input was always a smooth one-dimensional quantity.