How do you play Volleyball Duel?
Stay on your half of the court, move left and right, jump, and send the ball over the net by letting it hit your body. Any touch pops the ball upward, so there is nothing tricky to time. The whole game is about being where the ball is going to land before it gets there.
Like the classic animal volleyball games, the court is seen from the side in a bright gym. The yellow player on the left is you; the blue player on the right is the computer or your friend. Each rally starts with the ball dropping onto the head of the side that just lost the point, so the loser always gets the first attack. The ball bounces off the walls and the ceiling, so it never leaves the court. Only the floor ends a rally.
How is the score counted?
When the ball touches the floor, the player on the other half gets one point. It does not matter who hit it last, only which half of the floor it landed on.
| Situation | Result |
|---|---|
| Ball touches the floor on my half | Opponent scores, next ball drops on me |
| Ball touches the floor on their half | I score, next ball drops on them |
| Ball hits the net | It just bounces off. Whichever side it lands on decides |
| Ball hits a wall or the ceiling | It bounces and play continues |
| Reaching 15 | Wins with a lead of 2 or more |
| 14 all | Deuce. Play on until someone leads by 2 |
Deuce and match point show under the scoreboard, and once a rally passes four touches the rally count appears too. The result screen keeps the longest rally and the number of spikes.
How do you spike?
Jump, and if the ball touches you while it is above net height, the spike fires automatically. It travels almost three times faster than a floor bump and dives downward, so unless the defender is already in position it is very hard to return.
- Standard spike: press nothing in the air and the ball goes down at 30 degrees toward the middle of the other half.
- Slam: hold ↓ (S for the left player) when you connect and the ball dives at 56 degrees, landing right behind the net. Use it when the opponent hangs back.
- Long hit: hold ↑ (W) when you connect and the ball flies almost flat to the back of the court or off the back wall. Use it when the opponent is glued to the net.
- Low ball: if the ball is below net height when you touch it in the air, it counts as a jumping bump and pops up high instead.
The ball carries a little spin: a spiked ball sinks slightly faster and a ball you bump while running curves a little in the direction you were moving. Connecting near the top of your jump gives the best angle, so jump about half a beat before the ball reaches your head.
What is different about the three computer levels?
Easy simply chases where the ball is right now. Normal calculates where the ball will land and goes there first. Hard does the same, then jumps at every chance and picks the spike angle that lands farthest from you.
| Level | Speed | Reaction | Behaviour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 60% | every 0.45 s | Follows the ball's current position, big errors, jumps now and then |
| Normal | 82% | every 0.24 s | Predicts the landing spot, jumps most of the time, random spike angle |
| Hard | 100% | every 0.1 s | Waits at the landing spot, jumps at every chance, picks the angle by your position |
Against Hard, just bumping the ball back is not enough. When the computer hugs the net, hit long; when it drops back, slam. Wins per level are saved in this browser and show under the buttons on the title screen.
How does two player mode work?
Pick Two players on the title screen: the left yellow player uses W A S D and the right blue player uses the arrow keys on the same keyboard. On phones and tablets each half of the screen gets its own stick and jump button, one finger each.
In two player mode the result shows which side won and the longest rally instead of a win count. Two spikers finish a match fast, two bumpers can keep a rally going for dozens of touches, so mix it up.
Tips for winning
- Watch the landing spot, not the ball. While the ball is rising, guess where the arc ends and go there. Chasing the ball keeps you half a step late.
- Stand half a step behind the ball to receive. A hit on top of your head lofts the ball forward over the net. A hit on your front pops it almost straight up and you have to hit it again.
- Always jump for a high ball. Bumping it from the floor hands the attack to your opponent.
- Mix your angles. Slam only and the opponent moves up to the net; hit long only and they drop back. Look where they are and aim the other way.
- When the opponent jumps, step back. Most spikes land in the middle or the back of the court. Wait at the net and the ball sails over your head.
Controls
- Keyboard: ← → or A D to move, ↑ W or Space to jump. Hold ↑ (W) in the air for a long hit, ↓ (S) for a slam. P or Esc pauses. On the result screen Space or Enter starts a new match.
- Two players: left player W A S D, right player ↑ ← ↓ →.
- Phone and tablet: push the round stick at the bottom left to move, push it up or tap the jump button on the right to jump. In the air push the stick up for a long hit or down for a slam. Two player mode shows one set per half.
- Top right buttons: sound on or off, pause, back to the title.
Win counts and the longest rally are stored only in this browser and never sent to a server. All graphics and sounds are drawn and synthesized in code, so there is nothing to download and the game opens instantly even on a slow connection.