Neck Pong

About Neck Pong

Neck Pong is a first-to-seven duel against the computer where your head is the paddle. Tilt or move your head up and down and your paddle follows continuously — this is one of the few games on the site that maps head position directly to a position on screen rather than converting movement into discrete flicks, which makes it the best starting point if you have never played a head-controlled game before.

The rally is built to reward that continuous control. The ball serves at 940 units per second and gains speed on every paddle hit up to a ceiling of 1560, and where the ball strikes your paddle determines the angle it leaves at: catch it near an edge and it flies off steeply, catch it centred and it comes back flat. Your paddle is 122 units tall against a ball radius of 13, so there is enough margin to be slightly late and still make contact — deliberately generous, because a neck cannot snap to a position the way a mouse can.

The opponent AI moves at 470 units per second against your 620, so you are faster than it is, but it never gets tired and it never overshoots. Games run about two to three minutes.

How to play

• Move your head up or down — the paddle tracks your head position continuously
• Arrow Up / Down or W / S — keyboard control at 620 units per second
• First player to 7 points wins the match
• The ball accelerates with every paddle hit, up to a hard ceiling
• Hit the ball off-centre to send it away at a sharper angle

Tips & tricks

• Use the edges of your paddle on purpose. A deliberate edge hit sends the ball back at up to a 60-degree angle, which is the main way to pull the AI out of position — centring every return just feeds it easy volleys.
• Recentre between points. The paddle follows your head relative to your calibrated neutral, so if you drift low during a long rally you lose reach at the top of the screen.
• Small movements, not big ones. The full paddle range maps to a modest head range, so an exaggerated lean overshoots and you end up correcting back through the ball.
• Watch the ball, not your paddle. The tracking is smooth enough that you can trust it peripherally, and players who stare at their own paddle react late.
• Late in a match the ball is near its 1560 speed cap and angles matter more than reaction — position yourself centrally between shots so you are never more than half a screen from either return.

Frequently asked questions

Is Neck Pong free?

Yes, completely free in the browser with no download and no account.

Can I play without a camera?

Yes. Arrow Up/Down or W/S move the paddle, and the game is fully playable on the keyboard alone.

How many points wins a match?

Seven. The first side to reach 7 points takes the match.

Is the computer opponent beatable?

Yes. Your paddle moves at 620 units per second against the AI's 470, so you are faster than it is — the challenge is the ball speeding up on every hit.

Is my camera video recorded?

No. Head tracking is processed locally in your browser and the video is never uploaded.