Anti
Pong
The paddle game where you dodge the ball.
Your paddle is made of bricks, and every ball that hits it knocks one out. Keep your bricks longer than the other side and you win.
How it plays
This time you're the paddle.
It looks like the old two-paddle game with a net down the middle, except here you don't want to hit the ball. Getting hit is how you lose.
Move out of the way
Drag anywhere on your side of the screen and your paddle moves with your finger, so your thumb never covers it. If you'd rather it went straight to your finger, Settings can do that.
Every hit costs a brick
Your paddle is a wall of bricks. Each ball that hits it knocks one out and bounces back over the net, and moving into a ball counts as a hit too.
Keep your bricks the longest
More balls join as the match goes on, and after a while they start to speed up. Whoever runs out of bricks first loses.
What's new
Rebuilt from scratch, and free now.
Anti Pong first came out in 2020. This version keeps the original idea and the original look, and redoes everything else, from the graphics to the music.
- BricksBold, flat paint
- Every paint is drawn clean and bright, and each one breaks apart in its own way when it's hit.
- ArenaThe original floor
- The charcoal floor with its grid of little crosses is back, with each side's score etched into it.
- FeelYou feel every hit
- Each hit pauses for a split second and taps your hand. Every column of bricks plays its own note, so a run of hits turns into a tune.
- SoundNew music
- A new soundtrack and new sound effects. Music, sound effects and vibration each have their own switch.
- MenusSimple menus
- Pick a way to play and a difficulty, then choose one player or two. That's the whole menu.
- BatteryEasy on the battery
- Matches run as smoothly as your screen allows, and the menus slow down to save battery.
Ways to play
Pick how you want to play.
Play the computer, or a friend on the same phone or iPad. Then choose the classic game or one of the twists on it.
Classic
The game as it's always been: balls bounce off whatever they hit, and come off the ends of your paddle at a steeper angle.
Ghost
Balls disappear between bounces and flash back when they hit something, so you have to guess where they're going.
Blackout
Both paddles fade to a faint outline, so you have to remember where you are.
Chaos
Lots of balls at once and power-ups all the time. Good for a party.
Power-ups
Power-ups float out from the middle.
Every so often one drifts toward a side of the screen. You grab it by moving your paddle into it, which usually means moving toward the balls. The balls go straight through power-ups.
For you
Shield
A pane of glass in front of your paddle stops the next ball.
Mend
Some of the bricks you've lost grow back.
Phase
Balls pass right through you for a few seconds.
Slow
Balls on your side slow down for a while.
These help you out.
Against the other side
Split
Every ball heading for the other side splits in two.
Haste
Balls heading for the other side speed up for a while.
Magnet
The other paddle pulls balls toward it for a while.
Blackout
The other side of the arena goes dark for a few seconds.
These make things harder for the other player. In Chaos they come out much more often.
Two players
Play a friend on the same screen.
One phone or iPad, two players
The screen splits down the net, and each of you drags on your own half. Hand your friend one end of the phone, or set an iPad flat on the table between you.
Playing on your own? Left-handed players can put their paddle on the right in Settings.
Controllers and keyboards
A game controller steers with its left stick or d-pad, and two controllers cover two players. A keyboard works too.
Left paddle: W and S
Right paddle: ↑ and ↓
The Garage
Spend your tokens in the Garage.
Every match pays tokens, more for a win and more again against a harder computer. Spend them on new paint for your paddle, and on different balls, trails and arenas. You can earn all of it just by playing.
PaintFor your paddle. Each one breaks its own way.
- OriginalYours from the startRed, yellow, green, blue. The stripes that started it all, fresh from the paint booth.
- SorbetFour scoops of pastel. Melts a little when it's hit.
- Candy CoatHard-candy gloss. Breaks like brittle.
- DenimStitched, faded, and tougher than it looks.
- 8-BitEvery brick a pixel. Every hit a little blip.
- GlacierClear ice with a blue heart. Rings like a glass when it cracks.
- CarbonWoven carbon, red stitching. Light, stiff, unbothered.
- NeonFour tubes humming in the dark. They flicker when you're hit.
- MagmaCooled rock over a molten core. Every crack glows.
- ChromeMirror-polished bumpers. Sparks fly.
- HoloHolographic foil. A different colour from every angle.
- Checkered FlagBlack and white, for the finish line.
- GalaxyA whole night sky in four bricks. Stars spill out when they break.
BallsWhat you're dodging.
- ClassicYours from the startIvory, glowing, a little smug about it.
- Square OneThe very first paddle games had a square ball. It blips like one, too.
- TennisFuzzy, bouncy, pok.
- Eight BallClacks off the walls. Outlook not so good.
- BubbleSoap and rainbows. Wobbles on every bounce.
- MoonA tiny moon with its own craters. Waxes as it flies.
- ChromeA ball bearing that reflects the whole arena.
- CometOn fire, and proud of it. Leaves embers on every wall.
- DiscoThrows light around the arena on every bounce.
- TrophyA little gold cup that never stops celebrating.
- PlasmaA storm in a sphere. Arcs to the walls as it passes.
TrailsWhat streams out behind every ball.
- StreakYours from the startThe original fading line, sharpened up.
- SparksA spray of hot sparks off the back.
- SmokeBurnout smoke. Thickest when it's fastest.
- PixelsA stair-step trail of little squares.
- RibbonAll four stripes, flowing.
- NeonA tube of light that buzzes as it bends.
- StardustTwinkles that hang in the air a moment.
- ConfettiEvery rally is a parade.
ArenasThe floor under the match.
- CharcoalYours from the startThe original arena, restored: charcoal, chrome, and that grid of little crosses.
- Pool HallGreen felt and brass corners. Mind the chalk.
- BlueprintWhere every paddle starts: on paper.
- Walnut CabinetHand-rubbed walnut and brass rails, like an old arcade cabinet.
- SynthwaveA neon grid running to a striped sunset.
- The GarageTool walls, a car lift, and a radio playing in the corner.
- 1972Black glass, white glow and scanlines, like the very first TV games.
Bought it before it was free? Thank you. You won't see ads, and the original paint from the first version, with a gold pin, is waiting in your Garage.
Game Center
A leaderboard and achievements.
Leaderboard
Every match you've won against the computer, next to your Game Center friends and everyone else.
Achievements
For things like winning without losing a brick, winning with one brick left, or filling up your Garage.
Is it free?
Yes. You'll sometimes see an ad between matches, but never during one, and never after a game with a friend on the same device. A one-time purchase turns the ads off for good.
I bought Anti Pong when it was a paid app. Do I get ads now?
No. If you bought Anti Pong before it was free, you won't see ads, and a special paint for your paddle is waiting for you. There's nothing to restore.
Can I play with a controller or a keyboard?
Yes. A game controller steers with the left stick or the d-pad, and two controllers work for two players. On a keyboard, W and S move the left paddle and the arrow keys move the right one.
Do I need Game Center?
No. It's only for the leaderboard and achievements. Everything else plays the same without it.
Does it play offline?
Yes, and you don't need an account. Ads and purchases need a connection, and your progress stays on your device.
Get Anti Pong.
It's free on iPhone and iPad. You'll sometimes see an ad between matches, and a one-time purchase turns them off. Token packs are there if you'd like to skip ahead, but you can earn everything by playing.
No. 19 · 2020
First came out in 2020, and rebuilt from scratch in SwiftUI and SpriteKit.
- iPhone and iPad
- Two players on one device
- Game controllers
- Game Center
- Plays offline