Penalty Kicks
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About Penalty Kicks
Penalty Kicks is a head-to-head shootout between you and the computer. You take turns: first you shoot at the goal, then you play the keeper while the computer shoots at you. A moving aim marker sweeps across the goal and you must time your shot, which turns a simple tap into a small test of nerve.
It suits anyone who likes quick sports games, with a match lasting two to five minutes. You get five kicks each, and a tied match continues into sudden death. A good game is one where you convert most of your own penalties and guess the right side a couple of times when defending.
How to play Penalty Kicks
- Watch the yellow crosshair move back and forth over the goal.
- Tap or press space when the crosshair is over the spot you want to hit.
- On the computer's turn, choose left, centre or right for your keeper before the ball arrives.
- Each side takes five kicks. A goal scores a point, while a save or a miss scores nothing.
- If it is level after five each, sudden death continues round by round until someone is ahead.
Controls
| Keyboard and mouse | When shooting, press the space bar or Enter, or click, to fire. When defending, press A, S or D, or the left, down and right arrow keys, to dive left, stay central or dive right. |
|---|---|
| Phone and tablet | When shooting, tap anywhere to fire the ball at the aim marker. When defending, tap the left, middle or right third of the screen to send your keeper there. |
Scoring
The match score is goals scored by each side. At the end, you receive 100 points for each goal you scored, plus a 300 point bonus for winning, so a win with four goals is worth 700. A loss still pays for your own goals.
Tips and strategy
- Aim at the corners of the goal, which are the hardest for the keeper to reach, but make sure the crosshair is still inside the posts when you tap.
- A shot that lands outside the goal is a miss, so a safe shot just inside the frame is better than a risky one near the edge.
- The crosshair speeds up with each round, so find your rhythm early and learn when it passes the spots you like.
- The keeper sometimes guesses your side, and that chance rises through the match. Do not aim for the same place every time.
- As keeper, avoid always picking the same direction. The computer chooses its side at random, so any pattern you follow is no better than guessing.
Penalty Kicks FAQ
▸Do I play against another person?
No. You play against the computer. It shoots at your keeper on its turns and defends against you on yours.
▸Can the computer keeper always save my shot?
No. It dives at random, though it sometimes picks the right side based on where you aimed. Well-placed shots near the posts still beat it often.
▸What if the match is tied after five kicks?
Play goes on in sudden death. Each side takes another kick, and the match ends as soon as one round finishes with someone ahead.
