Pickle Kids

You play one kid, a computer teammate plays the other, and a timing ring helps you hit. Real side-out scoring, the kitchen and the two-bounce rule.

Play it free Put your kid in Pickle Kids

How we made it

At a glance

Format: Doubles, games to 7 or 11, win by 2
Players: One player and a computer teammate against two computers
Levels: Easy, Medium and Hard
Plays on: iPads, Chromebooks, phones and laptops, right in the browser
Controls: Simple, Advanced or Auto run

What it teaches

Side-out scoring: only the serving team scores, and each side gets two servers
Calling the score the way players do, like 4-2-1
The kitchen: no volleys from the zone next to the net
The two-bounce rule
When to dink, when to lob and when to drive

New to pickleball scoring? Read our guide for parents

What this game means

Pickleball is a sport kids can play with their parents and grandparents, and almost everybody finds the scoring confusing the first time. Pickle Kids teaches the rules by playing them: the serve rotation, the kitchen and the two-bounce rule, with the score called out the way players say it.

The swing is simple on purpose. A kid on a phone can rally on the first try, then learn to dink and lob once the rally feels easy.

A timing ring

On Easy and Medium a ring closes on the ball so you know when to let go. A miss tells you why: too early, too late, too far, or let it bounce.

Power without pressure

Phones can't feel how hard you press, so the hold is the power. Hold Hit longer for a harder shot and let go as the ball arrives for a Perfect.

Three ways to play

Simple is a stick and one Hit button. Advanced adds Dink and Lob. Auto run is the easy mode, where the kids run to the ball and you only swing.

Real rules

Two servers a side, a side out after both lose a rally, the server swapping sides after each point, and the score called out on screen.

Screens from the game

Pickle Kids mid-rally: Ziggy returns from the baseline with Maya at the kitchen line and Leo and Priya across the net

Pickle Kids: the timing ring closes on the ball as it comes over the net to Ziggy at the kitchen line

Pickle Kids from the overhead camera: Leo hits near the far kitchen line with Priya beside him

Pickle Kids on a phone held sideways: the timing ring turns green as Ziggy gets ready to hit

On the field

Every kid is drawn by the same code as the game, in their team uniform. With a Player Edition, your kid joins them.

Ziggy

Blue doubles team
Maya

Blue doubles team
Leo

Red doubles team
Priya

Red doubles team

Put your kid in Pickle Kids

How to play

On a tablet or phone: Drag on the left to run. Hold Hit for power and let go as the ball reaches you. Advanced adds Dink and Lob buttons.
On a keyboard: Run with WASD or the arrows. Hold Space to power up and let go as the ball reaches you; a quick tap is a soft shot. In Advanced, J dinks and L lobs. C switches the camera, P pauses.