THE ARCADE / GUIDEBOOKOpen game

Cricket — guidebook

A short single-player match in which you both bat and bowl against the computer. Each regular innings lasts six overs or four wickets, whichever comes first. Fielding is automatic. Ties are settled by repeated three-ball mini-overs under the house rules below.

Begin the match

Choose Bat first to set a total and then defend it, or Bowl first to restrict the computer and chase its score. You play both innings. Six overs means 36 legal deliveries; wides and no-balls do not use one of those deliveries.

The scoreboard shows runs/wickets, overs, remaining legal balls or the chase target, the current batters and recent deliveries. An asterisk marks the striker. Overs notation is not a decimal: 2.4 means two completed overs and four balls, so the next two legal balls complete the third over.

Four wickets ends a regular innings even if balls remain. The second side wins as soon as it passes the first side's total. For example, after a total of 42, the target is 43. If the chase finishes on 42, the match is tied.

Batting: time the shot

Choose Ground or Loft and a placement: Straight, Off side or Leg side. Press Deliver, watch the red ball travel toward the batter, then press Swing as it reaches the white ring. Ground shots are safer; well-timed lofted shots can go for six, but poor timing can lead to a catch. Good contact can produce singles, twos or a boundary. Poor contact can produce a wicket or extras.

Space performs Deliver/Swing when the game itself is focused. Normal focused buttons still respond to Space as buttons. You may also use mouse or touch throughout.

If a delivery is wide, leaving it alone is safer than swinging. Swinging at a wide can lead to a stumping. This is simplified arcade timing and fielding, with no LBW decisions.

Run an extra single—or hold

After a non-boundary outcome without a wicket, the game may offer Run +1 and Hold. The status states the risk before you decide. R tries the extra single; H holds. When the game itself is focused, Space also safely holds during this decision.

A successful attempt adds one run. A failed attempt can run you out, including on a wide or no-ball. If you were already entitled to runs from the shot or an extra penalty, those remain; the interrupted additional run is not added. The game stops offering a risky single when the runs already earned have reached the chase target.

For example, a wide gives one penalty run. Successfully sneaking a run makes two in total, with no legal ball used. Failing that extra run can cost a wicket while the penalty run still counts.

Bowling: control the release

Choose a line, length and pace, then press Start bowling. Release while the moving needle is in the gold zone. The computer plays its shot and fielders act automatically.

A very early release risks a wide. A very late release is a no-ball. Accurate release and varying your line, length and pace help; repeatedly delivering the same combination makes the reply a little easier for the computer. This is an arcade model, not a simulation of every cricket delivery or dismissal.

Extras and the free-hit house rule

On a free hit, a failed risky run is interrupted without adding the extra run, and you remain safe. The FREE HIT badge and FH delivery marker identify that protection. These house rules are the rules of this game; they are deliberately spelled out rather than assumed from another cricket competition.

Ties and mini-overs

When the regular match ties, each team plays a mini-over of three legal balls with a maximum of one wicket. Losing a wicket on the second ball ends the innings immediately; the third ball is not played. The original first-batting team bats first again.

Before each tied round, choose two batters and one bowler from the eligible roster. They must be three distinct people. The computer chooses its own eligible three. Names identify participants and their required rest; there are no individual player-skill ratings in this edition.

The highest score wins. If tied again, all three participants from the previous round rest for the next round only, regardless of which batting role they actually used. Players from round 1 may return in round 3. The selectors mark resting players as unavailable. This repeats until one side wins. The same extras and free-hit rules apply.

Pause, results and replay

Use Pause or P to stop. Resume or P continues; other game actions are blocked while paused. Moving to a hidden tab pauses an active match. The run-choice screen waits for your decision.

The scorecard records completed innings, including mini-over rounds. At the result, Play again returns to the starting choices. New match asks before replacing the current match and pauses an active delivery while you decide. Keep playing preserves the ball and score and leaves the match paused; press Resume when ready. Game hotkeys are ignored while that confirmation is open.

There is no mid-match save. Reloading starts fresh. This release has only the six-over/four-wicket format; T10, online multiplayer and other match lengths are not included.

A short playbook

Start with ground shots and learn the timing before relying on lofts. Read the running risk and the match situation: preserving a wicket can matter more than a speculative single when only four are available.

Do not turn a harmless wide into a stumping chance. Use the free-hit badge to recognise when you can attack without losing a wicket under these house rules. When defending, accurate bowling avoids giving away both runs and extra deliveries. Change your delivery choices rather than repeating one pattern.

In a mini-over, one wicket ends the innings. Balance the need for quick runs against that shorter safety margin, and remember that your three selected players will be unavailable in the immediately following tied round.

Install, offline and help

Load the complete standalone game online once. Install uses the browser's Install app/Add to Home Screen action where supported; iPhone/iPad Safari uses Share, then Add to Home Screen. Installation is optional. The game and guidebook work offline after that complete first online load. Embedded installation belongs to the host site.

The full guidebook opens in a separate tab; return and Resume if the game paused. Use browser Print to print or save a PDF. Physical-phone performance and installation have not been verified on a device.

If the main button is unavailable, wait for the ball/result animation or resume play. If Space does something unexpected, check which button currently has keyboard focus. If a mini-over selection is rejected, pick three different eligible players. After clearing offline browser data, load the page online again.