Yorimichi Games
How to play this basketball shooting game
This is a basketball game that is all about the shot. You see the court from the side: your shooter stands on the left, and the backboard and hoop are on the right. Pull the ball back, let go, and your player shoots. The ball flies on a real arc, and if it drops through the hoop, you score. There is no dribbling, passing or defense to worry about. The whole game comes down to two things: how hard you throw and at what angle.
Pull back and release to shoot
On a phone or tablet, put your finger near the ball, pull back (down and to the left) and lift your finger. On a computer, press anywhere on the court with the mouse, drag down and to the left, and release. It works like a slingshot: the longer you pull, the harder you throw, and changing the direction of the pull changes the launch angle. While you are pulling, a line of white dots shows where the ball will start to travel. With a keyboard, press Space to show your aim, use the Up and Down arrows for power and Left and Right for the angle, then press Space again to shoot.
The “just right” power window is small
A regulation hoop is 18 inches (45 cm) across and the ball is about 9.5 inches (24 cm) wide, so there is less room than you might think. Throw a little too soft and you clip the front of the rim; a little too hard and you hit the back rim or the backboard. Way too soft and you get the dreaded air ball. After every miss, look at where the ball went wrong and adjust just a touch for the next shot. The bar above the court shows the speed (in meters per second) and angle of every shot, so you can remember the numbers that worked.
Swish, bank shot, rim roll or rim out
A basket counts whenever the ball passes down through the hoop. If it touches nothing at all, that is a swish. If it goes in off the glass, it is a bank shot. Sometimes the ball bounces around on the rim before it decides, and it may drop in or roll out. A ball that comes up through the hoop from below does not count, even if it falls back through afterwards, just like in a real game.
Game modes and difficulty
| Mode | What you do |
|---|---|
| Free-throw practice | Shoot from the free-throw line as long as you like. The spot buttons also let you practice close shots, mid-range jumpers, threes and deep threes. Your makes and your longest streak are saved |
| 60 seconds | Score as many points as you can in one minute. A new ball arrives as soon as you shoot, and the spot changes every time. A shot released before the buzzer still counts if it goes in |
| Daily challenge | Ten shots that change every day. Everyone gets the same spots and the same wind on the same day, so you can compare scores with friends |
| 2 players | Two players take turns on one device. Make a shot and your opponent must make it from the same spot or take a strike |
Basketball shooting game rules: spots and points
In the 60-second mode and the daily challenge, a basket from beyond the 3-point line (6.75 m, the international distance) is worth 3 points, and everything inside it is worth 2. As in the real rules, standing on the line counts as a 2. Longer shots need more power, and any error in your power gets bigger with distance, so the three is harder but pays more. The free-throw line is 15 feet (4.6 m) from the backboard, exactly where it is on a real court.
| Difficulty | How it feels |
|---|---|
| Easy | The dotted aiming line reaches most of the way to the hoop, and there is no wind. Line the dots up with the rim and you will make plenty. A great place to learn the feel |
| Normal | The aiming line stops about halfway, and some shots have wind. Remember the power that worked and fine-tune from there |
| Hard | A short aiming line, strong wind and a hoop that slides from side to side. You need to read the wind and lead the moving target |
Wind and a moving hoop
On Normal and Hard, a flag in the bottom-right corner shows the wind. A tailwind blowing toward the hoop carries the ball further, so take a little off the shot. Against a headwind, add a little power. On Hard, the whole backboard slides slowly left and right. The ball takes about a second to reach the rim, so aim for where the hoop will be when the ball arrives, not where it is now.
2-player mode: match the shot
The 2-player mode works like the classic driveway and playground shooting game that many people know as HORSE. The first shooter uses the spot buttons to pick any spot and shoots. If the shot goes in, the other player must shoot from the same spot, in the same wind. Miss the match and you take a strike. If the first shooter misses, nobody gets a strike and the other player picks the next spot. Choose whether 3 strikes (a short game) or 5 strikes knock you out. The strategy is simple: score from your favorite spot and make your opponent copy a shot they do not like.
Basketball shooting tips
1. Use an arc of about 50–60 degrees
A flat shot comes at the hoop from the side and tends to hit the front of the rim. A very high shot is fine in theory, but a small error in power sends it far off. An arc of around 50 to 60 degrees drops down into the hoop from above and gives you the biggest target. From close to the basket, go a little higher.
2. Keep the angle, adjust the power
If you change both the angle and the power at once, you will never know which one caused the miss. Pick an angle you like, keep it the same, and only change the power. You will find your range much faster.
3. Read the miss
Front rim means you were short, so add a little power. Back rim or backboard means you were long, so take some off. An air ball means you need a lot more. Every miss is information for the next shot.
4. Remember what worked
After each shot, the speed and angle appear above the court. When you make one, note the numbers or how long your pull was. From the same spot, the same pull will go in again.
5. In the 60-second mode, keep a rhythm
A new ball is ready the moment you shoot, so do not wait to watch every result. Adjust to the new spot and keep shooting. Take the sure two from close range and be brave with the three when you are far out.
6. Use the backboard
A shot that is slightly too hard can still hit the square on the backboard and drop in. Real players use the glass all the time on shots from close in and at an angle.
FAQ
Can I play on a phone, tablet or computer?
Yes. On a touch screen you pull back with your finger and let go. On a computer you drag with the mouse or use the keyboard. There is nothing to download and no account to create.
My shots keep falling short, or flying long. What should I do?
The length of your pull sets the power. Pull further if you are short and less if you are long. Easy mode shows a longer aiming line, which makes it much easier to learn how much pull you need.
Can I stop and continue later?
Yes. On the same device and browser, Continue brings back your makes, your score and the time left in the 60-second mode. A daily challenge in progress can be continued on the same day only.
Can I pause the game?
Press the Pause button, or P or Esc on the keyboard. The 60-second clock stops too.
How realistic is it?
The rim height (10 feet, 3.05 m), hoop size, gap to the backboard and the free-throw and 3-point distances match a real court. Things like backspin, the player’s jump and the exact bounce of the backboard are simplified, and the wind is stronger than you would feel on a real outdoor court, to make the harder levels interesting.
A short history of the basketball shot
Basketball is usually traced back to 1891, when a physical education teacher in Massachusetts was looking for an indoor game for the winter months. The first goals were peach baskets, and someone had to fetch the ball after every basket. The 10-foot height of those baskets has stayed the same ever since. The three-point shot came much later: American professional leagues tried it in the 1960s and 1970s, the NBA adopted it in 1979, and international rules followed in the 1980s. Free-throw contests and shooting games like the one in our 2-player mode show that a hoop and a ball are all you need for a good game.