Pt Paddle: how it plays

Answer questions to grow your paddle. First to 5 wins.

Paddle ball with a chemistry question on every volley. Play the computer or send a link to a friend and play head to head. Free, no sign-up, nothing to download.

A rally, start to finish

  1. Serve. The ball crosses the court and a question comes up for whoever receives it.
  2. Answer it. A right answer, answered fast, gives you a long paddle for that volley. A slow right answer gives you less. A miss leaves you almost nothing to hit with.
  3. Return the ball, and the question goes to the other side. Miss the ball and the point goes to your opponent.
  4. First to 5 points takes the match.

Your paddle is a molecule

The paddle you hit with is a hydrocarbon chain, and every answer sets its length for that volley: methane at one carbon, decane at 10. One correct answer doubles the bonds along its backbone; a second in a row triples them. A wrong answer puts them back to single, so the paddle always shows the streak you are on.

methane
CH4
decane
C10H22

Controls

Keyboard

  • Up and down arrows move your paddle.
  • A, S, D and F answer, or say the answer out loud.
  • Space serves. R starts the match over.

Phone or tablet

  • Drag the strip to move your paddle.
  • Tap an answer on your turn.
  • Tap the court to serve.

Turn your phone sideways first. The court needs the width.

Play Pt Paddle →Play vs a friend →