Pen Fight
The classic classroom desk game. Take turns flicking your pen and knock your rival's pen off the desk without falling off yourself.
Press on your pen, pull back like a slingshot and let go. The further you pull, the harder the flick. Flick near an end to make it spin.
How to play
Two pens lie on a desk. Players take turns to flick their own pen. Hit your opponent's pen hard enough to push it over the edge of the desk and you win the round. But be careful: if your own pen slides off, you lose the round, even if it was your flick. If both pens fall in the same turn, the round is played again. The loser of each round flicks first in the next one, and the first player to win the chosen number of rounds takes the match.
- Aim: press anywhere on your pen, drag away from where you want it to go, and let go. The arrow shows the direction and the power.
- Spin: where you press matters. Flick the middle and the pen slides straight. Flick near the tip or the back and it spins as it travels, which can swing it around a corner or flip the other pen as it hits.
- A pen falls when its centre goes over the edge, just like a real pen tipping off a desk. A pen hanging halfway over the edge is still in play, and very easy to knock off.
The pens
| Pen | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|
| Gel pen | Balanced. Light enough to flick across the whole desk. | Easy to push around for a heavy pen. |
| Marker | Short, thick and heavy: hard to knock off and hits like a truck. | Slow and short-ranged, so it can't chase a pen across the desk. |
| Fountain pen | Long and fairly heavy, with a long reach for hits from the side. | Its length makes it spin a lot when it's hit near an end. |
Tactics
- Hit through the middle. A hit near the centre of the other pen pushes it straight back. A hit near its end mostly makes it spin in place.
- Don't over-flick. After a hit your own pen keeps sliding, often in the same direction. A medium flick that pushes the rival to the edge is often better than a full-power shot that sends you off too.
- Think about the return shot. If you end your turn near the edge and close to your opponent, you've set up their winning flick. Sometimes the best move is a soft shot back to the middle of the desk.
About the bot
The bot uses the same physics as you. Before each flick it plays out many possible flicks in its head and picks the one with the best result: knocking you off, pushing you towards an edge and staying safe itself. On Hard it also checks your best replies to each of its top choices, so it avoids leaving its pen where you can knock it off. Easy tries far fewer shots and has shaky aim. Your best winning streak against each level is saved in this browser.
About pen fighting
Pen fighting is played on school desks all over the world, usually during breaks and occasionally during lessons. The rules change from classroom to classroom: some schools allow only one flick per turn, some count a pen that ends up on top of the other as a win, and some ban the heaviest pens. This version keeps the most common rules: one flick per turn, and the last pen on the desk wins.