How to start
- Open bigboard.games on every device and tap Start a table on one of them.
- The others join by themselves on the same Wi-Fi; elsewhere, scan the QR code or type the four-letter code.
- Lay the devices edge to edge, screens up, as the drawing shows, and pick the game.
Three lines on one court
Three players need a court with three goal lines. Make a T, two devices facing each other with the third across their end, turned toward them, or lay all three in a line, end to end. Each player's line sits on the outer edge in front of them, all three the same length.
The ball crosses every seam where two screens meet, and there is no safe return in a three-way court: a ball you send at one rival can come off the rail toward the other, or straight back at you. The Aim guide helps here, a dotted line from the ball to the point where it will meet your own line.
Lives, and the last one in
Free-for-all is how three play. Everyone starts with 3, 5 or 7 lives (Short, Standard or Long), and every ball that crosses your line costs you one, whoever hit it. With none left, your line goes grey and turns to rail, and the ball bounces off where it was while the other two play on.
The last player with lives left wins. Some power-ups hit everyone else at once: a Short paddle shrinks both other players' paddles, so the one who picks it up can turn a close match. With a fourth, 4 player paddle tennis adds teams to the choice.
A bot, and a device that drops
Two teams take four players, so three always play free-for-all. Two friends and a computer player work too: the bot takes the third seat, with a line on the edge of the court, run by the device under it.
If a device drops out, everyone pauses and the rally ends with no point. If it doesn't come back, Play on turns its lines to wall, its players are out, and the court plays on over its screen with the two still in.
3 players: questions and answers
Does each player start with 5 lives?
Yes, by default: Short gives 3 and Long 7, and every ball into your line costs one.
Is a player at zero lives walled off?
Yes, their line turns to rail and the ball bounces off it while the others play on.
Can three play in teams?
No, teams take four players; three always play free-for-all.
Can the devices lie in a T?
Yes, a T or a line: two facing, the third across their end.