Seven ways to play
Classes
Every class has its own size, pace, stamina and shot, and one ability on a single button. You start as the Standard and unlock the other six by beating challenges.
Balanced all round
Standard
Where everyone starts, and the yardstick for the rest: every star on the other cards is measured against the Standard's 3s. It has no real strength or weakness, and its ability is for getting the ball past the player in front of you.
- Size
- 3 of 5
- Speed
- 3 of 5
- Sprint
- 3 of 5
- Stamina
- 3 of 5
- Recovery
- 3 of 5
- Power
- 3 of 5
Ability
Chip
9 s cooldown“Lift the ball over the next man. It can't score from the air.”
- A softer kick than usual that flies over every player's head for half a second, then lands and rolls on.
- It can't score from the air: still in the air at the goalmouth, it comes back off the bar.
- Press it as the ball comes to you: it waits a moment for the ball to reach your foot.
- If no ball comes, the cooldown is only 1 second.
Unlocked
From the start
Every new account starts as the Standard.
Quick and slippery
Dribbler
The smallest token on the pitch and the quickest off the mark. The Dribbler reaches the ball from a touch further away than anyone, but has the softest shot of the seven and a smaller sprint tank.
- Size
- 2 of 5
- Speed
- 4 of 5
- Sprint
- 3 of 5
- Stamina
- 2 of 5
- Recovery
- 2 of 5
- Power
- 1 of 5
Ability
Hook Turn
8 s cooldown“Snap the ball onto a new line in one touch.”
- One touch sends the ball the way you are steering, up to 120 degrees off the line from you to the ball, at one and a half times your walking speed.
- Hold no direction and it kills the ball dead instead.
- Press it as the ball comes to you: it waits a moment for the ball to reach you.
- If no ball comes, the cooldown is only 1 second.
Big, heavy, hits hard
Gorilla
The biggest token in the game, twice a Standard's weight, with the hardest shot of all seven. It has a good sprint tank, but the tank refills slowly, and nobody sprints slower.
- Size
- 5 of 5
- Speed
- 3 of 5
- Sprint
- 2 of 5
- Stamina
- 4 of 5
- Recovery
- 1 of 5
- Power
- 5 of 5
Ability
Ground Pound
12 s cooldown“Slam the ground: the ball in the ring flies away from you.”
- You stop and plant yourself while an amber ring fills round you and an arrow shows where the ball will go, about 0.4 seconds in all. No kicking meanwhile.
- Then the ball, if it is in the ring, is knocked straight away from you: up to twice as hard as a Standard's normal kick close in, softer towards the ring's edge.
- It moves only the ball, never a player.
- You walk at half pace for a moment after.
One enormous burst
Meteor
About a Standard's size, with a slower sprint and a smaller tank. Its pace is all in the Comet, a straight run at two and a half times walking pace.
- Size
- 3 of 5
- Speed
- 3 of 5
- Sprint
- 2 of 5
- Stamina
- 2 of 5
- Recovery
- 3 of 5
- Power
- 3 of 5
Ability
Comet
12 s cooldown“Ignite, then one blazing straight run.”
- A fifth of a second of ignition: flames, and an arrow on the grass the length of the run.
- Then one run at two and a half times walking pace, for up to 0.9 seconds. You can bend it only a little.
- It brakes before it hits a player, and once you have the ball you go no faster than your sprint. A kick ends it.
- A short burnout after, below walking pace.
Slow to start, never stops
Lakaka
Three and a half times a Standard's weight and the slowest off the mark, and it glides: changing direction takes it about four times as long as anyone else. Once it is going it has the highest top speed of the seven and the biggest tank. It is also the slowest to refill.
- Size
- 4 of 5
- Speed
- 1 of 5
- Sprint
- 3 of 5
- Stamina
- 5 of 5
- Recovery
- 1 of 5
- Power
- 4 of 5
Ability
Ice Trail
13 s cooldown“Leave frost behind you: opponents on it slow down and can't turn.”
- For 1.5 seconds you leave a trail of frost behind you, about one and a half players wide.
- Each patch starts working half a second after it is laid and melts 8 seconds later.
- An opponent on the ice slows to a crawl and can hardly start, stop or turn. Your teammates are not affected.
- There is never ice in a goal area.
Immovable, turns on a coin
Disruptor
Bigger than a Standard, twice the weight, and the quickest of all seven to stop and turn round. Its other numbers are a Standard's, give or take a slower sprint, and its ability makes it so nobody can move it.
- Size
- 4 of 5
- Speed
- 3 of 5
- Sprint
- 2 of 5
- Stamina
- 3 of 5
- Recovery
- 3 of 5
- Power
- 3 of 5
Ability
Juggernaut
7.2–12 s cooldown“Nobody can move you: bulldoze through anyone in your way. Tap again to stop.”
- After a short stomp, for up to 2.5 seconds you weigh twelve times as much: nobody can push you, and you shove whoever is in your way.
- You keep walking and steering, a little faster than walking pace. Sprinting does nothing meanwhile.
- Tap again after half a second to stop early. The sooner you stop, the shorter the cooldown: 7.2 seconds at the least, 12 at the most.
- Started in your own goal area, it lasts 1 second at most.
Gone in a flash
Phantom
Small, a touch quicker than a Standard at walking pace, and with one of the harder shots. But it has the smallest sprint tank in the game, and it refills more slowly than a Standard's.
- Size
- 2 of 5
- Speed
- 3 of 5
- Sprint
- 3 of 5
- Stamina
- 2 of 5
- Recovery
- 2 of 5
- Power
- 4 of 5
Ability
Flash Step
13 s cooldown“Blink a short step in any direction.”
- A flicker of lilac shimmer, then a blink: a short step, about one and a half players across, the way you are steering.
- The step is over in a sixth of a second, at more than three and a half times walking pace.
- If the ball or a player is in the way, it brakes to walking pace before it reaches them.
- A short recovery after, a little under walking pace.
How to read a class
Six stats and one ability
Every class has the six stats its card shows in the game, and one ability. The classes are close on purpose, the quickest walker is only about a tenth faster than the slowest, so most of the difference between them is in the ability.
The stars
The class cards in town and in the locker rate each stat out of 5. A 3 is always the Standard's.
- Size
- How big your token is.
- Speed
- How much ground you cover in your first second from a standstill.
- Sprint
- Your top speed when you sprint.
- Stamina
- How long your sprint lasts.
- Recovery
- How fast your sprint refills.
- Power
- How hard your power shot is.
The ability
- Every class uses the same button: E or F, or the middle mouse button.
- Each ability has its own warning on the pitch, so everyone sees it coming.
- A small tube at the bottom right of your token fills in your class colour as it cools down, and the ability is ready when the tube is full.
- Abilities are off during the countdown and for 3 seconds after every kick-off.
- They're on in every match, bot game and town pitch. The five drill challenges are played without them.
Compare
All seven side by side
The abilities and how to get each class, the stars from the cards, and the numbers behind them.
| Class | Ability | Cooldown | Unlocked by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | ChipLifts the ball over the next player | 9 s | Every account starts with it |
| Dribbler | Hook TurnSends the ball onto a new line in one touch | 8 s | Cone Slalom |
| Gorilla | Ground PoundKnocks the ball in the ring away from you | 12 s | Goal Cannon |
| Meteor | CometOne straight run at 2.5 times walking pace | 12 s | Sharpshooter |
| Lakaka | Ice TrailFrost that slows opponents to a crawl | 13 s | Pass Master |
| Disruptor | JuggernautNobody can push you; you shove them | 7.2–12 s | Bot Duel |
| Phantom | Flash StepA short blink the way you steer | 13 s | Cross & Finish |
| Class | Size | Speed | Sprint | Stamina | Recovery | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Dribbler | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Gorilla | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Meteor | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Lakaka | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| Disruptor | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Phantom | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Out of 5, as the class cards show them. 3 is the Standard's.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Class | Across | Weight | Walk px/s | Sprint px/s | Sprint lasts | Refills in | Power shot px/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 54 px | ×1 | 139.7 | 213.6 | 1.86 s | 17.2 s | 644 |
| Dribbler | 48 px | ×1 | 150.5 | 213.1 | 1.61 s | 18.7 s | 571 |
| Gorilla | 69 px | ×2 | 137.5 | 196.9 | 2.29 s | 22.8 s | 748 |
| Meteor | 52 px | ×1 | 139.7 | 197.9 | 1.59 s | 17.6 s | 649 |
| Lakaka | 63 px | ×3.5 | 151.1 | 218.9 | 3.10 s | 28.4 s | 677 |
| Disruptor | 60 px | ×2 | 140.2 | 205.3 | 1.92 s | 17.8 s | 644 |
| Phantom | 50 px | ×1 | 145.2 | 212.1 | 1.33 s | 19.5 s | 676 |
In the game's own units: sizes in pixels, speeds and shots in pixels a second, on a 1v1 pitch 1232 pixels long. Weight is against a Standard's. These are tuned on the server and can change between updates; the stars are what the game shows you.
Challenges
Unlocking the classes
New accounts start as the Standard. Each of the other six is unlocked for good by its own challenge: earn one star on level 1 and the class is yours.
- They're on the play menu's Challenges card, and you can play them in any order.
- The locker's Class tab padlocks the classes you haven't unlocked, names the challenge and has a button that takes you there.
- The five drills are played without abilities, so they're fair for every class. The Bot Duel is a real 1v1 match with abilities on.
- After level 1 there are four more levels, each harder than the last, with gold for every star.
One star on level 1
-
Unlocks the Dribbler
Cone Slalom
Dribble the ball through the gates of cones, in order, then into the goal. Against the clock.
First star65 seconds or less
-
Unlocks the Gorilla
Goal Cannon
Keep goal against the cannon: twelve shots, each one faster and wider than the last.
First star7 saves
-
Unlocks the Meteor
Sharpshooter
Score past the moving keeper from behind the line, as many as you can in a minute.
First star5 goals
-
Unlocks the Lakaka
Pass Master
Pass the ball into the moving rings from behind the line, as many as you can in a minute.
First star5 rings
-
Unlocks the Disruptor
Bot Duel
Beat a bot one on one in a two-minute match. Each level's bot is stronger.
First starA win
-
Unlocks the Phantom
Cross & Finish
Your teammate crosses from the wing: get on the end of it and score past a defender and the keeper.
First star3 goals from 10 crosses
You can change class whenever you are not in a match or a challenge: on the play menu, open the Locker and its Class tab, or in town, walk into the changing room, stand at a class card and hold.
Free to play
See you on the pitch
Karoball is free. Download it for Windows, make an account in the game and you're in a match in a minute.