Ragdoll Tennis is like Pong in 3D - Time Waster

Tennis players are often in superb physical condition. That's not quite the case in Ragdoll Tennis, however.

In this game, you're a blocky ragdoll. Actually, I can almost say you're the paddle (or "racquet," even though it hardly looks like one) because that's the part you really control. The ragdoll just comes along for the ride and makes things more difficult.

To hit the ball, your paddle simply needs to collide with it. This means that you have to put the paddle where the ball lands when it hits your side of the screen. There is real depth perception involved here, and the trajectory is not easy to compute.

Fortunately, until you defeat your first two opponents the game gives you a trajectory indicator. This handy feature lets you see where the ball would land if it were to continue its current course. However, it often doesn't continue along the same exact course because it bounces off of a wall or the ceiling.

Control is through the arrow keys only, and that's challenging enough. A match can get quite lengthy -- it took me several minutes just to defeat my first opponent (one blocky-looking Francois Ferdinandre) in the amateur league. It's pretty addictive stuff, especially if you like physics time wasters.

Tags: fun, pong, ragdoll, tennis, time-waster, timewasters