Penalty Games

In penalty games (soccer penalty kicks) everything comes down to one shot: you choose where to aim and how hard to kick, then hope the goalkeeper guesses wrong. There are around 70, all free and with nothing to download, and a full game takes just a few minutes.

A penalty is taken from 12 yards out (11 meters), with only the goalkeeper in the way. In a shootout, each team takes five kicks in turns. If they're still tied, it goes on one kick at a time until one team scores and the other misses. A lot of these games copy that format, scoreboard included.

Types of games

The most direct are the shootouts: Penalty Fever, Penalty Shooters 2, Penalty Challenge and Penalty Champs 21. Cup games like World Cup 2010 Penalty Shootout, Penalty Shootout: Euro Cup 2016 and Penalty Shootout Multi League add the setting of a specific tournament.

Free kicks are a separate group. They look similar, but with one big difference: there's a wall in front of you and the ball has to get past it. Soccer Free Kick, Super Free Kicks and 3D Free Kick World Cup 18 go that way. If you'd rather have characters and a story, try Pk Winx Attack to Magic or Inazuma Eleven Goal Street. And going by its name, Penalty Challenge Multiplayer has a multiplayer mode.

How to score more

• Don't shoot at the same spot every time. The game's goalkeeper learns to anticipate you, or at least seems to.
• Corners are harder to save, but also harder to hit. Aim near the post, not right on it.
• If there's a power bar, stopping a little below the maximum is usually safer. Too much power sends the ball over the crossbar.
• Keep the same kicking motion for a few shots in a row. Once you understand how the controls respond, you can change only the direction.

To start, Penalty Fever or Penalty Challenge are good picks, with a simple idea and a name that says it all. If you want more of a tournament feel, try World Cup 2010 Penalty Shootout.