Glowball
Two paddles, one glowing ball, ten levels.
Something wrong, or a question this page does not answer?
Write to brown.jason10@gmail.com.
One person reads that address, so give it a day or two. It helps to say which iPhone you have and what iOS version it is on.
Questions people ask
How do I play?
Your paddle is the blue one at the bottom. Put a finger anywhere on the bottom half of the screen and slide it side to side; the paddle follows. Keep the ball from getting past you, and get it past the paddle at the top.
Where the ball lands on your paddle decides where it goes. Off the middle it goes straight back. Off either end it leaves at an angle, and that is how you get it past someone.
On level 1 the ball waits for you: it is not served until you have touched your paddle.
How to play, on the first screen, says the same thing in five lines with pictures.
What is the ladder?
Ten levels, one after another. Each is a little harder than the last: the other paddle gets quicker and steadier, and the ball gets faster as you climb. Levels 1 to 3 are first to 3 points, levels 4 to 9 are first to 5, and level 10 is first to 7.
Beating a level opens the next one. Any level you have already beaten can be played again from the numbered circles on the first screen. The row of dots on each level's card shows how far up the ladder it is.
What are the things that drift down the court?
Pick-ups. Catch one on your paddle to use it. The ones drifting towards you are yours; the ones drifting away are the other paddle's.
- Shield — for five seconds, the line behind you bounces the ball back even if you miss it.
- Power shot — your next hit sends the ball back twice as fast. Your paddle turns amber while it is waiting.
Scoring a point, or losing one, clears them all away.
It is too hard.
Open Settings on the first screen and choose Extra wide under Paddle. Your paddle gets wider on every level. Nothing is taken away for using it.
There is no sound.
The game follows the ring/silent switch on the side of the phone. If the phone is set to silent, the game is silent. There is also a Sound setting inside the game, under Settings.
How do I pause?
The pause button is on the right-hand edge of the screen, beside the middle line. Leaving the app pauses the match too. When you carry on, everything waits a second before it moves.
How do I start again from the bottom?
Settings, then Start the ladder again. It asks before it forgets anything.
Where is my progress kept?
On your iPhone: how many levels you have beaten, and your two settings. Deleting the app deletes them.
Can two people play?
Not in this version. It is you against the computer.
Why did it ask for my age range?
Some places now have laws that make every app ask. If you are covered by one, your iPhone may show a sheet when Glowball opens, asking whether to share your age range. Either answer is fine. The game is the same at every age, and it does not keep or send the answer. Most people will never see the sheet. The privacy page has the detail.
What does it need?
An iPhone running iOS 17 or later.
Purchases and refunds
Glowball is bought once. There is no subscription, no advertising, and nothing else to buy inside it.
Purchases and refunds are handled by Apple rather than by me — the place to ask is reportaproblem.apple.com.
Privacy
The game collects nothing, sends nothing and has no account. The whole policy is on the privacy page, and it is short.