Pong

About Pong

Pong is the game that started it all — the first commercially successful video game. Play a simple but addictive game of table tennis against the computer. Move your paddle to hit the ball past your opponent. Simple, timeless, and endlessly fun.

History of Pong

Pong was created by Allan Alcorn as a training exercise assigned by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell and released in November 1972. The first prototype was installed at Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale, California, where it broke down within days because the coin box overflowed with quarters. Pong became the first commercially successful video game, establishing Atari as a major company and launching the video game industry. While not the absolute first video game (preceded by the Magnavox Odyssey's table tennis game), Pong popularized video gaming for the mass market and inspired an entire industry of "Pong clones" in the mid-1970s.

Pong Tips & Strategies

• 💡Position your paddle in advance by predicting where the ball will travel based on its angle of approach.
• 💡Hit the ball with the edge of your paddle to create steeper angles that are harder for the opponent to return.
• 💡Keep your paddle near the center of your side by default, giving you equal reach to both top and bottom.
• 💡Watch the ball's speed increase after long rallies and adjust your reaction time accordingly.

Fun Facts About Pong

• ★The original Pong prototype broke down at Andy Capp's Tavern not from a defect but because the coin mechanism jammed from too many quarters.
• ★Pong's instruction manual consisted of just four words: "Avoid missing ball for high score."
• ★By 1975, Atari sold over 150,000 Pong arcade cabinets, and competitors released hundreds of clones.
• ★Allan Alcorn built the entire Pong game using only about 66 discrete logic chips, with no microprocessor or software involved.

How to Play Pong

1. 1Move your paddle up and down to hit the ball
2. 2Try to get the ball past your opponent's paddle to score
3. 3The ball speeds up as the rally continues
4. 4First player to reach the target score wins!

Frequently Asked Questions about Pong