A soccer match decided at the spot comes down to nerve and guesswork, and that is all this game asks of you. Penalty Kick Showdown unblocked puts you in a chunky 8-bit stadium where you take a kick, then pull on the gloves and face one. A full match lasts a few minutes, which makes it easy to squeeze into a break.
The project started life as PaDi Shooter 89, made by a dad and his son as their first game. You can face a computer opponent or hand the device to someone sitting next to you.
How to play Penalty Kick Showdown
Before kickoff, type a name for each side and choose a team. There are national sides plus two groups of made-up clubs with their own kit colors. Playing alone, you also pick how sharp the computer is: Easy, Normal or Hard.
On your shooting turn the goal is split into a three-by-three grid of targets. Choose one, then stop the moving power meter with a second tap or the Space bar. On your keeping turn you choose a zone to throw yourself at, and the ball comes in after.
Each team gets five attempts. If the score is level after that, the match goes to sudden death, with one kick per side until somebody leads. Finished matches are listed on a results board stored in your browser.
Controls
| To… | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pick a target or a dive zone | — | Click one of the nine zones in the goal | Tap a zone in the goal |
| Lock the power bar and shoot | Space or Enter | Click anywhere | Tap anywhere |
| Continue after a goal, save or miss | Space or Enter | Click | Tap |
| Mute or unmute | M | Click the note button (top right) | Tap the note button (top right) |
| Leave the match | — | Click Menu (top left) | Tap Menu (top left) |
Tips
- Stop the meter high. A strong kick is never the reason a shot goes wide, so there is no penalty for hitting it hard.
- Treat the top corners as a gamble. Those two zones fly off target the most often. The middle row is the safest place to aim if you just need a goal.
- Try the top row against the computer. The CPU keeper picks high zones less often than low ones, so a shot up there is less likely to be read.
- On Hard, mix up your pattern. The tougher keeper guesses your target more often, so do not aim at the same zone twice in a row.
- Keep your dive secret. In a two-player match the keeper chooses first, so the shooter should turn away until the dive is locked.
Penalty Kick Showdown questions
Can I play against a friend?
Yes. Choose the two-player option and pass the phone, tablet or mouse back and forth. Each of you shoots and keeps goal in turn.
Does guessing the right zone always stop the ball?
If your keeper dives to the exact zone of an on-target shot, it is saved. Diving one zone over only stops it some of the time, and harder kicks make that less likely.
Is my match history kept?
Results go to a leaderboard saved in your browser on this device. There is a button to wipe it if you want a fresh start.
Why is there no sound at first?
Browsers block audio until you interact with the page. The crowd, whistle and music begin after your first tap, and the note button or the M key mutes them.
