A pickleball game you play in your browser

What you can play

• Quick play A match against whoever is waiting for an opponent.
• Courts Join or watch a public court, or make your own.
• Play a bot Matt at four levels, from Rookie to Pro.
• Tournaments Knockout brackets for 4 to 16 players.
• Watch Any public match, live.
• Leaderboard Global boards for signed-in players with a username.

Play people online

Quick play seats you where someone is waiting, or opens a new public court. If nobody turns up within a few seconds, Matt takes the other side. A new player can still take his seat until the first ball is struck. After that, someone watching can press Ask to play, and you have 10 seconds to say yes or no.

Courts lists every public court and can search them by code. Create court makes a public court, or a private one that only people with its 4 character code or link can find.

Matt, the bot

Matt plays the other side at four levels: Rookie, Club, Tour and Pro. Rookie is slow to the ball, hits soft and often misses. Each level above reacts sooner, covers more court, hits harder and places the ball better. Tour is the level tournaments use.

Pick a level in Play a bot, or press B during a match to move to the next one. Once the first ball is struck, hold B for 3 seconds to restart at 0-0 at the level you are on. Outside tournaments, a match against Matt pauses when you open Settings or press Esc.

Tournaments

A tournament is a single-elimination bracket for 4 to 16 players. Rounds are played to 7 and the final to 11. Every match is won by 2, and one that reaches 15 ends there. When the count is odd, Matt fills the open spot. How to host or join a tournament covers the steps.

How scoring works

Every rally scores a point for whoever wins it, and the serve changes sides after every point. A game goes to 11 and must be won by 2.

• Serve. The ball hangs in front of you until you swing at it. The game aims it into your opponent's half. If you never swing, the game serves for you after 9 seconds.
• Points. The game aims each shot you hit into the other court, so the skill is reaching the ball and timing your swing. A rally ends when the ball bounces twice, lands out, or gets past a player.
• The kitchen. The court has one, but no faults are called there. You may volley from anywhere, and there is no two-bounce rule.

Trophies, ranks and leaderboards

Sign in with Google and pick a username, and counted matches earn or cost trophies. The ranks, from the bottom:

1. Bronze
2. Silver
3. Gold
4. Platinum
5. Diamond
6. Master
7. Champion
8. Pro

Each rank below Pro has three divisions of 50 trophies. Pro has no divisions. A Pro player on the trophies board is shown with their place there instead, such as Pro #4. Wins against Matt at your rank's level or harder pay a few trophies, up to a daily limit, and carry you as far as Master. Above that, only wins against people count.

The Leaderboard has three global boards: Trophies, Longest rally and Win streak. Each shows the top 100 signed-in players with a username. A switch there takes you off them. What a win or loss is worth is in How to play.

Friends

With a username you can search for players and send friend requests. Your friends list shows who is online, playing Matt, in a game, watching or in a tournament. You can also add a player from their profile card, which opens from a name on the leaderboard or in search results.

Watch live matches

Up to 8 people can watch each court, from the court list or a shared link. Watching needs no paddle and works on a phone.

Camera views and reactions for watchers are listed in How to play.

What it takes to play

The court runs in a browser on a computer or tablet. The paddle is a phone with motion sensors and a modern browser, linked by scanning a code. An iPhone asks for motion access first. Read how your phone becomes a pickleball paddle for the details, or why Poddle needs no app or download.

On a Mac with macOS 14 or later and Google Chrome, one AirPod (AirPods Pro, AirPods 3, AirPods 4 or AirPods Max) can be the paddle instead, with the free Poddle Helper app. AirPods 1 and 2 cannot. A webcam is optional for stepping side to side, and its video stays on your computer. Step-by-step setup is in How to play.

Questions

Can I play pickleball online against real people?

Yes. Quick play seats you on an open public court with another player, or opens a new court that others can join. To play someone you know, create a court and send them its code or link.

Does Poddle use official pickleball rules?

Partly. Games go to 11, win by 2, on a court with pickleball's lines and kitchen. Scoring is rally scoring with the serve changing sides every point, and the game calls no kitchen or two-bounce faults.

Can I play pickleball against the computer?

Yes. Play a bot puts Matt on the other side at Rookie, Club, Tour or Pro, and you can change his level mid-match with B. In Quick play, Matt also takes the other side if nobody turns up within a few seconds.