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Pong

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An animated clip showing a classic Pong game in action.

What is Pong?

Pong is a fun sports video game that looks like table tennis. It was made in 1972 by a company called Atari, Inc.. A man named Allan Alcorn created it as a practice task. But it turned out so well that people loved to play it!

How do you play Pong?

In Pong, you move a paddle up and down on the left or right side of the screen. You hit a ball back and forth with the paddles. If you miss the ball, your opponent gets a point. The first player to reach eleven points wins. It’s simple and lots of fun!

Why is Pong important?

Pong was the first game that helped start the whole video game industry. After Pong, many other companies made their own games. Pong was so popular that it was sold in many places, including stores like Sears. Today, Pong is kept in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. as an important piece of history.

Fun facts about Pong

Pong has been made for many different devices over the years. You can find it on old arcade machines, home consoles, and even modern phones. It’s a game that brought people together to play and laugh, and it’s still enjoyed by many today.

Images

The Magnavox Odyssey, the world's first video game console, released in 1972.
The original Pong prototype, an early video game system on display at the Computer History Museum.
A small commercial building in Sunnyvale, California, which was the home of the first-ever commercially successful arcade video game, Pong.
The Sears Tele-Games Atari Pong console, a classic video game system from 1975.
An old Russian Турнир pong game console, shown against a white background.
An Atari Super Pong IV console on display at a museum exhibition about the history of digital imaging and video games.
An old Pong console from 1978, showing the first generation of video gaming technology.
Portrait of Allan Alcorn, a video game pioneer.

Related articles

Table tennis
Video game industry
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D.C.

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Pong, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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