How to play
Two players with oversized heads face each other across a net on a sunset beach. Orange plays on the left and Blue on the right. Keep the ball off the sand on your side and land it on theirs. A game goes to eleven points, and you need to win by two. On the menu you can pick a quick game to seven or a long one to fifteen.
- Orange moves with A and D, jumps with W and hits with Space. Hold S while hitting to set.
- Blue moves with the left and right arrows, jumps with ↑ and hits with Enter. Hold ↓ while hitting to set.
- Gamepads work too: the stick moves, up jumps, down sets and A hits. The first pad is Orange, the second is Blue.
- On a phone, hold it sideways. Each player owns one half of the screen: drag to move, drag upwards to jump, drag downwards to set, and tap the hand button on the outer edge to hit.
- Playing alone? Choose vs Bot and pick Easy, Normal or Hard.
- P or Esc pauses. The game also pauses by itself when you switch tabs.
Hitting the ball
Your big head is always in play: a ball that drops on it bounces off, and if you jump into it, it flies higher. The hit button swings your arm up and forward from the shoulder. What the swing does depends on where you are:
- On the sand, a hit is a pass that loops over the net and drops into the other half. Hold towards the net for a deep pass, hold away from it for a short drop.
- On the sand while holding down, the hit is a set: the ball goes straight up on your own side, ready for your next touch.
- In the air, the hit is a spike: hard, forward and down. Spike too far from the net and it will hit the tape.
Timing matters. The middle of the swing is the sweet spot. Swing a little early or late and your pass comes out short and low, which is how most balls end up in the net.
Three touches
You may touch the ball at most three times before it goes back over the net. Head bounces count, and so do sets. A fourth touch gives the point to your rival. A ball that rolls around on your head counts as one touch for about half a second, then as another. When the ball crosses the net, the count starts again for the other side.
Serving and scoring
Every rally wins a point, and whoever wins the point serves the next one. The ball waits above the server’s head. Press hit to serve, or the serve goes by itself after three seconds. The server may not touch their own serve again. The side walls and the dome are in play, so a wild ball bounces back instead of going out.
Combo spike
Here is the trick that wins games. Set yourself, jump, and spike the ball while it is falling back down. A spike straight after your own set is a combo spike: it leaves your hand about a third faster and burns a trail across the sky. The bot will try it too, so stay near the net when it sets.
Strategy
Read the arc, then move. Get under the spot where the ball will drop to shoulder height, a little away from the net, and swing just before it arrives.
Use all three touches. A first touch with your head, a set and a combo spike is much harder to return than a single pass.
Change the depth. If your rival is standing at the net, pass deep. If they are at the back, a short drop wins the point.
Mind the tape. A spike from the back of the court goes into the net. Spike close to the net, pass from far away.
The same big heads also play football in Bobble Kick and basketball in Bobble Hoops, both made for two players on one screen.
If you enjoy Bobble Volley, try Bounce Tanks or Bowling Duel next.
