Penalty Duel
One shoots, one saves. Most goals wins. 5 kicks each.
Penalty Duel is a two-player football shootout in which one player swipes to shoot at one of six goal zones while the other taps the zone they think it will reach. You swap roles each kick, and the most goals wins.
The shooter flicks the ball, and the angle and speed of the swipe pick one of six goal zones. The keeper has a moment to guess which one and tap it. Goal, save or miss, then the goal flips ends and you swap roles.
Also known as Penalty shootout, Penalty kick game, 2 player football.
- How you hold it
- Face-off
- Match
- 5 kicks each
- Length
- About 1 minute
- Play
- Friend or bot
How to play Penalty Duel: quick rules
About 1 minute at 5 kicks each. Full rules, options and bot levels are further down.
- 1One shoots and one saves, swapping every kick.
- 2Shooter: swipe the ball, and the angle picks left or right.
- 3A slow swipe aims low, a fast one high, too fast flies over.
- 4Keeper: tap the zone you think it goes to.
- 5Most goals from 5 kicks wins; level means sudden death.
Penalty Duel rules
Each kick
- The goal is split into six zones: three across, in a top and a bottom row. The goal sits at the keeper's end, and the ball on the spot in the shooter's half.
- Every kick starts with a countdown. After GO the shooter has about six seconds to make one good swipe; with no shot, the kick is lost (“Too slow”) and counts as taken.
- The keeper can pick a zone any time from GO until a moment after the shot. The first tap is final, and the keeper only sees a neutral “Ready” cue, never the zone.
- A keeper who hasn't chosen in time doesn't dive, and can't stop a shot on target.
Shooting
- Start the swipe on or near the ball and flick toward the goal. Its angle picks the left, centre or right column; swing it too wide and the shot misses (“Wide!”).
- Its speed picks the row: slower aims low, faster aims high, and too fast flies over the bar (“Over!”).
- A swipe that is too short or slow shows “Swipe faster”, and one aimed away from the goal shows “Swipe toward the goal”. Neither uses up your shot.
- Shots go exactly where the swipe sends them; there is no luck in the shot itself.
Goals, saves and misses
- A shot on target into the zone the keeper chose is saved. Into any other zone, it's a goal. A dive to the next zone along doesn't stop it.
- Each kick ends in exactly one of goal, save or miss, and only goals score.
- Both choices are revealed together when the kick resolves, never before.
- If the app goes to the background before a kick resolves, that kick is replayed from the start, with both choices forgotten.
Winning and sudden death
- Each player takes 3 or 5 kicks, alternating. Your tracker shows a tick for each goal and a cross for each save or miss.
- The match ends early as soon as one player can't be caught.
- Level after the regular kicks means sudden death: one kick each per round, and both kicks are always taken. The player who took the second regular kick shoots first, and the order flips each round.
- A round where exactly one player scores wins the match. If ten rounds stay level, a coin toss, shown on screen, decides it. There is no draw.
- The first shooter is picked at random; on a rematch, the player who lost shoots first.
Tips to win at Penalty Duel
- 1Mix your shots. The bot at Normal and Hard learns where you shoot within a match, so never hit the same zone twice in a row by habit.
- 2Low shots are the safest: a slow, steady swipe can't fly over the bar, while a high shot risks “Over!” if you swipe a touch too fast.
- 3Keep your angle away from the edges. A swipe swung too wide misses the goal, and a miss costs as much as a save.
- 4As keeper, watch for patterns: many players favour one corner, especially under pressure in sudden death.
- 5Take your time. You have about six seconds after GO, so a calm swipe beats a rushed one.
Controls
Phone flat between you. Each player owns a half, and the far half faces the far player.
- Shooter: swipe from the ball toward the goal. Angle picks left or right, speed picks low or high.
- Keeper: tap one of the six zones in your goal. The first tap locks your dive.
- While you swipe, a short dotted line shows the direction, never the zone.
- Play a friend needs a phone that reads two fingers at once.
Options
Every option is free. Defaults are marked.
| Option | Choices | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Kicks | 35 (default) | How many regular kicks each player takes before sudden death. |
Play Penalty Duel against the bot
The bot both shoots and keeps, by the same timing rules as you, with real swipes. As keeper it picks its zone a moment after your shot without ever seeing where the shot is going. At Normal and Hard it learns from the kicks you've already taken this match, shooting away from where you dive and leaning toward where you shoot, but never too heavily on one zone. It forgets everything at the start of every match, rematches included.
Easy
Shoots wide or over often, picks zones at random and sometimes dives too late.
Normal
Occasionally shoots into the zone you just dived to, and sometimes reads too much into your favourite corner.
Hard
Rarely misses the target and adapts to your pattern, but a player who keeps varying their shots stays hard to read.
Online, tournaments and hints
- Online
- One phone onlyPenalty Duel turns on a keeper's split-second dive, which internet delay would decide, so it stays on one phone.
- Tournament
- Can be drawn in a tournamentIn a tournament it is always 5 kicks each, whatever your saved options.
- Hints
- No hints here: it's all about your own reactions.
Coming soon
- Tap to shoot. An easier way to shoot: tap a zone in the goal instead of swiping, with the shot's power set for you.
How it feels
- A kick thud and a whoosh as the ball leaves, and a glove slap when the keeper locks a dive.
- A net ripple and a crowd swell for a goal, a glove thump and a gasp for “Saved!”, and a post clang for a miss.
- A whistle as the goal slides to the other end and the “You shoot” and “You keep” labels swap.
- A drum roll for “Sudden death”, and on your first game a one-time tip: “Slow = low, fast = high, too fast = over”.
Accessibility
- Colour is never the only cue: the dive and shot zones carry a glove and a ball icon, results are spelled out (“Goal!”, “Saved!”), and trackers use ticks and crosses.
- Shooting and keeping each need just one finger, and the keeper can use a thumb.
- With Reduce flashing on, the net ripple, slide and crowd swell become simple fades.
- The keeper's window is real time, so Penalty Duel can't be played with a screen reader.
Penalty Duel questions
One player swipes the ball at one of six goal zones while the other taps the zone they think it will reach. You swap roles every kick, and the most goals after 5 kicks each wins.
It goes to sudden death: one kick each per round until exactly one player scores in a round. If ten rounds stay level, an on-screen coin toss decides it.
No. Sudden death, and a coin toss after ten level rounds, always produce a winner.
The speed of your swipe picks the row: a slower swipe aims low and a faster one aims high. Swipe too fast and the ball flies over the bar.
Yes. Penalty Duel in Duo Clash is built for two players on the same phone. Phone flat between you. Each player owns a half, and the far half faces the far player.
Yes. The bot both shoots and keeps, by the same timing rules as you, with real swipes. Choose Easy, Normal or Hard.
Play Penalty Duel on one phone
Free on Android. Sit face to face, or take on the bot on Easy, Normal or Hard.
