How to play Roll-N-Shoot
One player rolls a ball along a track they drew themselves. The other has five shots to stop it. Both screens run the same physics, so the result is never in dispute.
A round, step by step
- Draw the track. The thrower drags a line across the table. Chalk is limited to 1600 units, and the track must be at least 300 long. The shooter's turret is already on the table, so you can route the ball away from it.
- Pick a ball. Four rolling shapes and three sizes. A cube is not on the list for the obvious reason.
- Pick a weapon. The shooter does this at the same time, on their own screen, so neither player is kept waiting.
- Set the power. Once both are locked in, the thrower's lever unlocks. Hold it to sweep the needle, release to roll.
- Shoot. The ball rolls, the shooter gets five shots, and every weapon has a reload delay.
How the round is won
- The shooter wins by hitting the ball. Any hit, any time.
- The thrower wins if the ball drops into the exit hole at the end of the track, or if all five shots miss, or if the shooter runs out the 42-second clock.
The power lever is a real decision
The exit hole only swallows a ball that arrives at 300 units per second or less. Roll too hard and the ball skims the lip and runs loose on the open table, where the padded rim bounces it back into play as an easy target. Roll too softly and friction stops it short — and a stalled ball is not safe, it just sits there until the shooter's five shots are gone.
The green band on the lever is calculated from your actual track: its length, its corners and the ball you chose. Release inside the band and the ball reaches the hole slowly enough to drop in. A twisty track scrubs off more speed, which moves the band and narrows your margin.
Ball shapes
| Shape | What it does |
|---|---|
| Sphere | Rolls true and holds a steady speed. The predictable choice, which also makes it the easiest to lead. |
| Egg | Wobbles as it rolls, so its speed keeps changing. Genuinely hard to lead, at the cost of a little pace. |
| Disc | Rolls on its edge and presents a thin target, but scrubs badly through tight corners. |
| Barrel | Heavy, fast and wide. It keeps its speed beautifully and is the easiest thing on the table to hit. |
Size matters twice over: a bigger ball is a bigger target, but it also has lower rolling resistance and more momentum, so it carries further and arrives faster.
Weapons
| Weapon | Speed | Hit radius | Reload | Character |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stone | 330 u/s | 16 | 0.75s | Slow and forgiving. Crossing the table takes over three seconds, so lead it generously — or wait until the ball comes close. |
| Knife | 560 u/s | 8 | 0.55s | The balanced pick. Fast enough to keep the lead sane, thin enough to punish a sloppy read. |
| Gun | 1500 u/s | 4.5 | 0.34s | Almost no lead needed and the quickest reload, but the bullet is tiny. Aim, do not spray. |
| Missile | 170 → 950 u/s | 13 | 1.15s | Launches slowly, then accelerates and steers gently toward the ball. The homing is weak on purpose: you still have to lead it. |
Controls
| Action | Touch / mouse | Keyboard |
|---|---|---|
| Draw the track | Drag across the table | Hold the arrow keys to steer a pen |
| Track shortcut | Random track button | Tab to the button, then Enter |
| Power lever | Press and hold, release to roll | Hold Space or Enter on the charge button |
| Aim | Drag the table, or the ◀ ▶ buttons for fine control | ← and → (the barrel has a maximum swing speed) |
| Fire | Fire button | Space or Enter |
Playing together
Online: create a room and send the four-character code or the link. Both browsers run the same simulation and exchange only a handful of events — a track, a weapon, a power reading and five shots — so it stays in step even on a slow connection. If the two browsers can reach each other directly, the game quietly upgrades to a peer-to-peer link and the badge in the corner says so.
One device: pass the phone or laptop back and forth. The screen says whose turn it is and hides the other player's setup until the handover.
Hidden track: turn off “shooter can see the track” before starting for a much harder match — the shooter then sees only the launcher and whatever the ball is doing right now.
Tips
- Corners cost speed. A zigzag track is hard to shoot at, but it may not carry the ball all the way to the hole.
- Distance is the shooter's enemy: the further away the ball is, the more lead every weapon needs. Route your track along the far edge.
- As the shooter, watch the first second before firing. The power the thrower chose is the one thing you were not told.
- The grid on the table is a distance reference. Use it to judge how far ahead to aim.
- Throwing and shooting are different skills, so play the rematch — it swaps the roles and keeps the score.