Launch Poing! by double-clicking its icon. Start a game by clicking the “New Game” button. You’ll see a brief description of level 1; to begin playing level 1 click the “Begin” button. Each time you successfully complete a level, you’ll see a similar description of the next level; the game will always wait for you to click “Begin” before starting the level.
The goal in each level is to hit targets with the ball. You’ll be given one target at a time. If you hit it, it will vanish and a new one will appear somewhere else, until you either hit all the targets for that level, or you run out of time. If you run out of time, the game is over.
You control the ball by placing bumpers in its path. When the ball hits a bumper, it bounces off at a 90° angle. There are two kinds of bumpers: ones that lean right, like a slash /, and ones that lean left, like a backslash \. To place a bumper, press the slash or backslash keys on your keyboard. The bumper will appear just ahead of the ball, so that the ball hits it and changes direction almost immediately.
Bumpers stay put until you start a new level, or until you remove them. To erase a bumper, press the space bar just before the ball reaches the bumper. You can also change an existing bumper to the other kind of bumper by pressing / or \ as usual just before the ball reaches the bumper.
If you find that the ball moves too fast at first, try selecting the “Slow Ball” option in the Preferences menu.
If you hate reading manuals, you can stop reading now and start playing. Come back to this document later, to make sure you aren’t missing any of the game’s features, and to get some tips on good technique. If you like the game, please select “Shareware Notice” from the Chapters menu above and read what it says.
