First and foremost, take a look at this image:

That's the list of moves and the buttons you need to press to perform them, which I took directly from the help menu in-game and edited a bit. If you want to see the actual list, go to Help & Options > How to Play > Arena > Ball Game. So now let's see every move in detail.


This move is used to throw the ball in an arc ending in the basket. The way this arc is made and whether it will score or not depends on your position with respect to the basket. The ball won't attempt to traverse obstacles and will bump into them if they are on its way.

The best way to use this move is from the middle of the field and up to three blocks behind that point (depending on the obstacles that might be on the ball's way).



This one's quite simple: throws the ball to your partner if you have one. Otherwise, the ball describes a small arc. Three exclamation signs will pop up above both of your heads when either of you makes a pass. If a team scores after a pass, it is given 3 additional points.


This move throws the ball downwards diagonally while you're airborne (it can't be executed on the ground). A common misconception is that this move is done with Down + Throw, while in actuality, this results in a completely different move, the Kick, which we will see next. The Spike doesn't need any other button pressed along with X / D, so be careful.



The Kick can be both performed on the ground and in the air. The ball is thrown almost horizontally, and is given a bit of vertical velocity. This move is particularly useful for vertically-placed goals, like in this image:



This is arguably the easiest move to execute, but also the easiest to counter, as it is slow and is almost impossible to score with it when someone's defending the net you're trying to score into, and it might as well miss if you're not in the right position.
To successfully score with this move, just stand on one of the edges of the basket (else it might go too far and drop over), facing towards the other edge, and press the button, making sure no one else is interfering. This strategy obviously doesn't work on vertically-placed baskets, and isn't a recommended move for those either. You can also drop the ball with the Suicide/Enter Door button.

Note: this section is gif-heavy, so it might take a while to load.

The following tricks are for the default Ball Game stages, but sometimes, by applying the same logic, they can work for Community Levels too.


Stand on the edge of the central platform, jump, and quickly perform a Spike to bounce the ball to the goal.



Jump over the spikes and do a Spike (no pun intended) to bounce the ball off of them and into the goal. Don't go too far to the side the goal's in (right in the gifs) or else you won't be able to return and you'll fall on the spikes.
You can also Kick the ball into the basket, as shown in the previous section on the demonstrative Kick image:



Just another Kick.


Stand below the outer basket and Shoot against the wall.


Yet another Kick. I find this one of the easiest and fastest ways to score on this level, along with Shoot.

• Observe your opponent's movements to learn new things.
  
• When waiting for the ball to respawn, jump on top of your opponents' heads to gain advantage and get the ball yourself (does not apply to stages where the ball doesn't come straight from above).
  
• Standing on top of your opponents' heads can also be useful to restrict them from doing certain actions, like jumping and/or reaching your goal.
  
• You can push Acid Bubbles downwards by pressing X (XB360 Controller) / D in the air next to them. This is useful for defending your goal.
  
• Try to find the right angles to execute each move, and don't just mindlessly use them. For example, find the height at which you must Kick mid-air to score in a vertically-placed basket, and use that height every time.
  
• Never forget about Shoot. If there are no obstacles and no opponents near the goal, Shoot is an assured score (unless you do it too far or too close to the basket).
  
• Use the Fan to repel the opponents and the ball from your own goal. It can also be used to redirect a variety of weapons (see this guide for more information).
  
• Don't use the Ice Cannon. It's annoying. To opponents AND allies. The same usually applies to the Fireball, unless used properly.

Congratulations, you are now the Messi of Ball Game!

Please add suggestions on how to improve this guide, like more tips, tricks, and even grammar and redacting corrections, as I'm not a native English speaker and some things might be off. Also, add me to play some Ball!