Home Run

Home-run derby. Time your swing as the pitch arrives — the better the contact, the farther the ball flies. Distance is your score; clear the fence for a home run. Three whiffs and you're out.

How to play

Tap to swing. A ball is tossed in toward the plate; tap exactly as it reaches the hitting spot.

How close your timing is to that moment decides everything. A perfectly timed swing barrels the ball for maximum distance; a little early or late still makes contact but travels less; way off is a swing and a miss.

Every hit adds its distance in metres to your score, and clearing the fence at 100 metres is a home run. A whiff, or letting the pitch go by without swinging, is an out — three outs and the game ends.

The pitch speed varies from one toss to the next, so you cannot swing on autopilot. Watch the ball, find the moment, and keep stacking metres.

Tips & strategy

Watch the ball, not the bat. Your swing fires the instant you tap, so the only thing your eyes need to track is the ball closing on the plate; lock onto it from the moment it is released and let your thumb go when it reaches the hitting spot, rather than glancing around the screen.

Because the pitch speed changes every toss, judge the moment by where the ball is, not by counting time. A slow lob hangs and tempts you to swing early, while a quick one is on you before you expect it. Reset your read at the start of each pitch and commit to that ball's pace alone.

The distance curve is steep near perfect timing, so small improvements in accuracy pay off hugely. The gap between an okay swing and a barrelled one is only a fraction of a second, but it can be the difference between a forty-metre flare and a hundred-and-thirty-metre bomb. Chase the centre of the window, not just any contact.

When you are unsure, a slightly late swing is safer than an early one. Pulling the trigger too soon is the classic way to whiff on a slow pitch, whereas waiting that extra beat still tends to catch the ball somewhere in the contact window. Patience keeps your outs down and your metres climbing.