Badminton

Badminton puts a singles match on an indoor court in your browser. You play from the left side of the net against a computer opponent at one of three levels, seen side-on so you can read every clear, drop and smash. Play this badminton game online free on a laptop, Chromebook, tablet or phone, with no download.

How to play

Move under the shuttlecock and swing as it reaches your racket. When the computer hits, a faint yellow ring on the floor shows where the shuttle will land if nobody touches it, so you can start running early.

• Hit: Space or J plays the natural shot for the height. Above head height it becomes a jump smash; lower down it is a clear, and from near the floor it is a high lift to the back of the court.
• Pick a shot: Up (or W, L) always plays a clear. Down (or S, K) plays a drop shot that falls just past the net. If you are close to the net and the shuttle is low, the same key plays a soft net shot.
• Timing: the sweet spot is just in front of your body. A clean swing there is accurate. A stretched or late swing is wild and can land out or catch the net tape.
• Touch screens: use the arrow buttons to move and the Hit and Drop buttons to swing. Or swipe the court: up to clear, down to smash, toward the net to drop.

The shuttlecock

A shuttle does not fly like a ball. Its feathers create a lot of drag, so it leaves the racket very fast and loses speed almost at once. In this game the drag grows with the square of the speed: a shuttle hit at 40 meters per second is down to about 20 within roughly a tenth of a second, and it falls at a slow, steady top speed of about 6.7 meters per second. So a clear rises in a long arc and drops almost straight down near the back line, and even a hard smash slows a lot before it reaches the other side.

Rules used

• Rally scoring: every rally wins a point, whoever served, and the winner of the rally serves next.
• Games: a game goes to 21. At 20-20 you need a 2-point lead, and at 29-29 the side that wins the next point takes the game 30-29. Choose one game or a best of three, where the winner of a game serves first in the next one.
• Serving: you serve from your right service court when your score is even and from the left when it is odd, diagonally into the opposite court. The shuttle is struck below the 1.15-meter serve height. Space is a high, deep serve and Down a low serve that just clears the net. A small map shows the courts in use.
• Lines: the court is 13.4 meters long with the net at 1.524 meters. A serve has to land past the short service line, 1.98 meters from the net. In singles the back boundary line is the long line, so a shuttle landing past it is out. Lines count as in.
• Simplified: because the view is side-on, shots never go wide, players do not change ends, and there are no lets or service faults for foot position.

Strategy tips

• Get back to the middle. After every shot, step back toward the center of your half.
• Smash only when it is high. A smash from deep slows down on the way. Smashes from mid-court are much harder to return.
• Mix drops with clears. The computer sets up for the shot it expects. A drop after two deep clears often wins the point outright.
• Watch the ring. If the landing ring is past the back line, let it go and win the point on the out call.

FAQ

Is this badminton game free?

Yes. It is completely free with no account and no install, and your win record for each level and your longest rally are saved in your browser.

How do I smash?

Press Hit while the shuttle is above head height. Your player jumps and drives it down steeply. If the shuttle is lower, Hit plays a clear instead.

What happens at 20-20?

Play goes on until one side leads by 2 points, such as 22-20. If it reaches 29-29, the next point wins the game 30-29.

How hard is the computer?

Easy reacts and moves slowly and rarely smashes. Hard reads the shuttle quickly and smashes almost every high one.

Can I play with a friend?

Not in this game, which is singles against the computer. For a friend on the same device, try Tennis, or play a beach match of Volleyball.