5
CHART B
SAMPLE DIFFICULTY LEVELS FOR PONG-MASTER CONTROLS
Beginner Novice Intermediate Advanced Expert Master
Game Minutes
10
8
5
3
2
1
No. Of Sensors
3
3
3
2
1
1
Large-3
Large-2
Large-1
Large-0
Large-0
Large-0
Sensor Points
Medium-3
Medium-2
Medium-1
Medium-1
Medium-1
Medium-0
Small-2
Small-3
Small-3
Small-2
Small-0
Small-1
Grouped
Scattered
Lg. & med.-
End of
Corner
Corner
Sensor Placement
in middle
middle
middle, Sm.-
table
of table
or side
of table
of table
end of tbl.
of table
Game Points
11
11
21
21
21
21
CHART A
NUMBER OF SECONDS FOR ROBOT TO SCORE ONE POINT
Game Minutes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
21 Point Game
3
6
9
11
14
17
20
23
26
29
11 Point Game
5
11
16
22
27
33
38
44
49
55
CHART C
SAMPLE DIFFICULTY LEVELS FOR ROBO-PONG CONTROLS
Beginner Novice Intermediate Advanced Expert Master
Spin
Backspin Backspin
Topspin
Topspin
Topspin Sidespin
Ball Speed
2
3
5
7
10
10
Head Angle
G
G
F
E
D
D
Ball Frequency
4
5
5
6
8
10
Oscillation
Off
Off
Off
On
On
On
LEVELS OF DIFFICULTY
Pong-Master provides many options to match the
difficulty of the game to your present ability. The number
of options is almost endless. With some experimentation,
you'll soon find the settings that are challenging for you.
The first option is to adjust the amount of time for a
game. The game clock can be adjusted from 10 minutes
(least difficult) to 1 minute (most difficult) in 1 minute
intervals. As you increase the amount of time for a game,
the longer it takes the robot to score one point. This control
also works hand in hand with the Game Point control. A
normal game would be to 21 points. But with Pong-Master,
you have the option to set it for an 11 point game so it takes
longer for the robot to score a point (see Chart A).
A second option is the number of sensors selected. This
may range from 1 to 3. The more sensors selected, the
easier it is for you to score.
A third option is the sizes of the sensors. There are
three sensor sizes—small, medium, and large. The larger
the sensor size, the easier it is to strike and score a point.
A fourth option is to set the point levels for the sensors.
You can choose to award 1, 2, or 3 points for each strike of
a sensor. There are two jacks for each point level, so you
could, for example, plug sensors into both the 3 point jacks
and another sensor into a 2 point jack for an easy game.
You could choose a harder game by plugging two sensors
into the 1 point jacks and the third sensor into a two point
jack. A common arrangement is to set the larger sensor to
award 1 point, the medium sensor 2 points, and the small
sensor 3 points. The most difficult arrangement would be
to use only one sensor.
A fifth option is arranging the sensors on the table. The
least difficult arrangement would be to group all the
sensors together in the middle of the table. Placing the
sensors around the edges of the table or very close to the
net will make the game more difficult. (See Using Pong-
master To Improve Skills on page 6.)
As you can see, there are countless ways to adjust the
level of difficulty. Chart B gives some sample settings for
Pong-Master controls to obtain the different levels of
difficulty ranging from beginner to master.
Besides the options you have to set the Pong-Master
controls, you may also adjust the difficulty of a game by
selecting the type of shot the robot delivers to you. The
various parameters here are the type of spin, the speed of
the ball, the height of the ball, the frequency of ball
delivery, and whether the ball is delivered consistently to
one spot or randomly to many spots.
The type of spin can be backspin, topspin, or sidespin.
Backspin returns are usually the easiest to aim because the
ball travels slowly and in a straight line. Topspin is a little
more difficult because the ball can travel much faster.
Sidespin is most difficult to place accurately because it
causes the ball to jump sideways off your paddle and is
therefore hard to hit back in a straight line.
