Sprinting, Skiing, Snooker and Odd Ball Games: 15 Sports Games Sorted by Controls
Most of the sports section is already sorted in two other guides: every soccer game compared and the court and ring sports guide for basketball, volleyball, tennis, darts and boxing. That leaves fifteen games that fit neither: four track-and-field games, a ski racer, a skateboard game, a hockey game, a billiards table, a curling sheet, a bicycle-kick shooting game, and five ball games that bend the usual rules — basketball with a pot instead of a hoop, dodgeball in water, soccer played with cars.
They are grouped here by what your hands actually do. In the track games you alternate two keys or time a single one. On snow and ice you steer. At the table you aim and set power. In the ball-game oddities two people usually share a keyboard. Each table lists the keys from the developer's listing, the player modes the developer states, and what the developer says the game is about. The control references on our game pages were matched against each developer listing using the game's distribution ID, the 32-character code the game is served from, not by title. Where our page says something the developer listing does not, this guide follows the developer and says so. Where a listing gives no keys or no player count, the table says "not stated".
1. Track and field: tapping and timing
| Game | Keys the developer lists | Players (per the developer) | What you do (per the developer) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 Meters Race | Left and Right arrow keys to run | Not stated; you race other opponents | The 100m sprint against other opponents; keep pressing to make your athlete run faster; characters from many countries |
| Sprinter Heroes | Tap the Left and Right arrows and A and D by turns | You and a friend, plus other runners | A worldwide tournament on seven continents; each unlocked level is harder, and the last race is described as really tough |
| Hurdles Heroes | Player 1: W. Player 2: Up arrow | 1 Player or 2 Player | A hurdles tournament on 7 continents; jumping a hurdle at the last moment makes you accelerate; finish first on all of them to win |
| Athletics Hero | Touch, click, mouse, cursor keys or W A S D to match the on-screen prompts | Not stated | Choose a hero for the 100m, javelin and triple jump; hold and release when the power bar is maxed, but avoid overpowering; a gold medal across all events |
The first three split neatly by how much effort a race takes. 100 Meters Race and Sprinter Heroes are about pressing two keys as fast as you can; the developer of Sprinter Heroes spells out that the keys are tapped by turns. The difference is company: 100 Meters Race is a single sprint against other opponents with a choice of characters from many countries, and its listing mentions no second player, while Sprinter Heroes is a seven-continent tournament you can run with a friend. Its developer lists both key pairs, the arrows and A and D, without saying which player takes which; our game page puts Player 1 on A and D and Player 2 on the arrows, which is the natural split but not one the developer states.
Hurdles Heroes is the follow-up — its developer opens with the running heroes continuing into a new tournament — and it changes the input completely. Each player has one key, W or the Up arrow, and the reward is for jumping each hurdle at the last moment, which makes it a timing game rather than a mashing game. It keeps the seven-continent structure and the 1 Player or 2 Player choice. For a pair who want the same tournament with less finger strain, Hurdles Heroes is the one; for a straight test of tapping speed, Sprinter Heroes.
Athletics Hero is the only multi-event game here. Its three events use two kinds of input: matching on-screen prompts, and a hold-and-release power bar for the throw and the jump, where the developer warns against overpowering. It accepts the widest range of inputs in this guide — touch, mouse, cursor keys or W A S D — but its listing says nothing about a second player.
2. Snow, ice and a skateboard
| Game | Keys the developer lists | Players (per the developer) | What you do (per the developer) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ski Legends | None; the listing's instructions are a feature list | Solo career or multiplayer; compete against your friends | Alpine skiing at resorts from easy to very challenging; slalom, giant slalom, super-G and downhill; get past rocks, deep snow and ice; collect skiers |
| Puppet Hockey | Arrows and F; touch screen | Described as a 2 player game, but one key set is listed | 1 on 1 ice hockey as one of 12 international teams; score as many goals into the opponent's net as possible |
| Skateboard City | Right arrow to start, arrow keys to control, Z and X for tricks, Space to jump; on-screen controls on mobile after rotating the device | Not stated | Collect all the stars to complete a level; one life per level, and a fall means starting over; a freestyle mode is listed as coming soon |
Ski Legends has the most event variety of any game on this page — four alpine disciplines — but its developer listing names no keys at all, so this guide cannot tell you which ones it uses. Our game page says the controls are shown in-game; the developer listing does not say that. What the developer does state is the structure: a solo career, or multiplayer against friends.
Puppet Hockey is a one-on-one game with a choice of 12 national teams. The developer's instructions are just "arrows and F" plus touch, and they do not say what F does; our page calls it the stick swing. The listing calls it a 2 player game but gives only that one set of keys, so we do not count it as a same-keyboard game. If you want two people on one keyboard on the ice, Puppet Hockey Battle and Ice Hockey are in the court and ring guide.
Skateboard City has the fullest key list in this group — start, steer, two trick keys and a jump — and the strictest rule: one life per level. The goal is collecting every star rather than scoring tricks, and the freestyle mode the developer mentions is described as not yet available.
3. Table and target: aim, then power
| Game | Input the developer lists | Players (per the developer) | What you do (per the developer) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nine, Eight and Snooker | Left-click where you want to aim; A and D or Left and Right arrows to fine-tune the aim | Single game, play against a friend, observer, free table | Three games in one: Eight, Nine and Snooker; the developer stresses honest physics and no unnecessary music or animation |
| 3D Mini Curling | Mouse click or tap | Tagged 1 Player and 2 Player | Aim, adjust your power and release the stone to outscore your opponent |
| Bicycle Kick Master | Mouse to move, click to kick. Mobile: move with your finger, lift it to kick; no swipe | Not stated | Beat the keeper and a defender using nothing but bicycle kicks |
Nine, Eight and Snooker has the most modes in this guide: four, including an observer mode and a free table with no opponent. It is also the only game here that mixes mouse and keyboard for one action — click to set the line, then nudge it with A and D or the arrows. The developer's instructions are cut off after the aiming section, so the shot input itself is not quoted here.
3D Mini Curling is the simplest input on the page, a click or a tap, with aim and power as the two things to get right. Our game page explains scoring as stones closer to the centre and knocking the opponent's stones away; the developer listing says only that you outscore your opponent, so that detail is not repeated here as fact.
Bicycle Kick Master sits here rather than in the soccer guide because it is a target game: one kind of shot, a keeper and a defender to beat. On a touchscreen the kick happens when you lift your finger, which the developer notes is not a swipe. For full soccer matches, see the soccer comparison.
4. Ball-game oddities
| Game | Keys the developer lists | Players (per the developer) | What you do (per the developer) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunkers Fight | Player 1: A / D move, W / S shoot. Player 2: Left / Right arrows move, Up / Down arrows shoot | 2 players | After the countdown, grab the ball first and throw it into the pot; if the opponent takes the ball, protect your pot |
| BBall Pro League | Mouse or touch | Vs AI, or a friend on the same touch device | A basketball season followed by playoffs for the championship, or a single game |
| Dodgeball 3D | Player 1: W A S D move, F throw. Player 2: arrow keys move, K throw | 2 players; also a career mode | Played in water; match, wrestling, soccer and career modes; in soccer, score five before your opponent; customize your player |
| Pocket League 3D | Solo: arrow keys, Space jump, double Space flip. Two players: P1 arrow keys, L jump / flip; P2 W A S D, G jump / flip | 1 or 2 players, with optional AI bots that help you | Car soccer; jump for stronger hits, double jump to flip for even stronger ones; pick a country flag; most goals before time runs out |
| Blaze Ball Showdown | Player 1: W up, S down. Player 2: Up arrow up, Down arrow down | Single-player and multiplayer | 1v1 in a fiery arena: score goals and defend your own net |
Four of these five list two full key sets for one keyboard, which makes this the best group on the page for two people. They differ in how many keys each player needs. Blaze Ball Showdown needs two per player, up and down only, the fewest here. Dunkers Fight needs four — two to move, two to shoot — and its one rule beyond scoring is stealing: the ball can be taken out of your hands, so you also defend your pot. Dodgeball 3D has three keys' worth (four-way movement plus one throw) and the most modes of the group, though its developer describes it as a water game with wrestling and soccer modes rather than classic dodgeball.
Pocket League 3D has the most involved layout and one trap to know about: in two-player mode Player 1 is on the arrow keys with L, and Player 2 is on W A S D with G — the reverse of most games here, where Player 1 takes W A S D. Jump once for a stronger hit, twice to flip for a stronger one still. It is also the only game in the group where AI bots can join your side.
BBall Pro League is the exception: no keys at all, mouse or touch only. Its two-player option is for a friend on the same touch device, and it is the only game here with a season-and-playoffs structure. More same-keyboard games from every section are in the two-player, one-keyboard guide and the two-player section.
Where to start
- Two of you, one key each: Hurdles Heroes.
- Two of you, a short key list: Blaze Ball Showdown (two keys each) or Dunkers Fight (four each).
- Two of you, more to learn: Pocket League 3D or Dodgeball 3D.
- Two of you, mouse or touch: Nine, Eight and Snooker (play against a friend) or BBall Pro League (same touch device).
- Racing a friend on the keyboard: Sprinter Heroes.
- On your own, with structure: Athletics Hero (three events), Ski Legends (solo career) or Skateboard City (one life per level).
- A single click: 3D Mini Curling or Bicycle Kick Master.
How this page was put together
This page does not rank or score the games, and none of it comes from playing them. It lines up facts already on the fifteen game pages — keys, player modes and goals — after those facts were checked against each developer listing by distribution ID. Where our page says more than the developer listing, as with Ski Legends' in-game controls, Puppet Hockey's F key and 3D Mini Curling's scoring, this guide follows the listing and says so. Where a listing calls a game two-player but gives one set of keys, we say that instead of assuming. Each embed was re-checked from a server in the United States on the date shown at the top.
