Shoot with your body

1. 1Open Play and allow the cameraYour browser asks first. The video never leaves your device.
2. 2Stand back until your hips are in viewThe setup check ticks off framing, centring and lighting for you.
3. 3Hold the ball high, pause, pushBoth hands over your head, a beat of stillness (the ball glows yellow), then push up and out.
4. 4Calibrate onceThree practice throws teach the game your normal shot, so your natural push scores.

Distance

About 2–3 m (6–10 ft) from a laptop or phone camera. Head to hips must be in frame; your torso should fill roughly a quarter to half of the picture's height.

Height

Camera at about chest height, pointing straight at you. A laptop on a table is fine; tilt the screen so your head isn't cut off when your arms go up.

Face the camera

Stand square to the screen, in the middle of the picture. Leave room above your head: the shot finishes with your arms up high.

Keep it steady

Prop a phone up in landscape so it can't slide. Moving the camera mid-game makes the tracking re-learn where you are.

One player in view

Tracking follows one person. Ask friends to stand behind the camera, not beside you.

The pose model needs to see your arms clearly. Most tracking trouble is lighting: in a dim room your arms blur and your throws stop registering, even though the skeleton still appears.

Light in front of you

Face a window or a lamp. The light should fall on you, not on the camera.

No bright window behind you

Backlight turns you into a silhouette. Turn around, or close the blinds. The setup check warns when it sees this.

Bright and even

Turn on the main room light. Strong side light throws shadows that hide an arm.

Contrast helps

Clothes that stand out from the wall behind you, and sleeves that don't flap, track best.

The setup check measures how bright the picture is (on your device, nothing is sent) and tells you if it's too dark or backlit.

1. 1Stand tall, feet shoulder-widthKnees soft, facing the camera. Keep your hips in view the whole time.
2. 2Set: hands high, pauseHold an imaginary ball above your head with both hands, elbows bent. Hold still for a beat: the ball glows yellow when you're loaded.
3. 3Push up and outStraighten your shooting arm up and towards the screen in one quick motion, snapping the elbow. A real push, not a wave.
4. 4Follow throughFinish with your arm up and wrist flicked. Then bring your hands down before the next shot.

Either hand works: the game picks the arm that moves. A shot needs the set first, so waving, stretching or scratching your head won't fire one by accident.

Power

Push harder for a longer shot, softer for a shorter one. After calibrating, your normal push is the make. A little jump adds distance.

Aim

Lean your shoulders left or right over your hips (don't step) to send the ball that way. The dots on the floor and the "Lean aim" readout show where it's going.

The green rim

With the camera on, a green light loops round the rim every 3 seconds. Throw while the rim glows green and it's a guaranteed swish, however you threw it. Rookie gives you 1.2 s of green, Legend 0.6 s.

Coaching

After each shot the card under the court tells you if you were short, long or wide, and how to fix it.

Hot hand

Dribble at waist height in a steady rhythm (4 bounces), then shoot: a make scores one multiplier tier higher.

Raise a hand

On menus and the game-over screen, hold a hand up high for a second to press the main button. No walking back to the keyboard.

Look around (3D)

Drag or swipe the court to swing the camera, pinch or scroll to zoom, Reset view to go back.

Every mode also plays without a camera. Hold Space (or press and hold the court) to charge, release to shoot. A quick tap is a medium shot. ↑↓ change the arc, ←→ aim, Esc pauses. The green rim is for camera play only.

Check the light first

A dim room is the most common cause. Turn on a light in front of you.

Check your distance

Step back until your hips are in view, and stay centred.

Set, then push

Hold the ball high and pause until it glows yellow, then push fast. A slow push reads as a stretch.

Watch the camera box

PEAK is your arm speed; it needs to pass the SHOT line. If it stays below, push harder or recalibrate from the start menu.

Slow tracking warning?

Close other tabs or apps using the camera, or pick Classic 2D in the start menu.

Still stuck? Play with the keyboard or touch, and check what the camera does.