How to score and save in Spot Kick, Games by Zaweba

Under the floodlights, a penalty shoot-out asks you to do two jobs at once in Spot Kick. You step up and take your own penalties, then you go in goal and try to stop the computer's. It sits on the Skill & sport shelf of Games by Zaweba, and a full shoot-out takes only a few minutes, which makes it a good choice when you have a short break and want something with a bit of tension in it.

Everything is done with the mouse. You click to aim, click again to set the power, and in goal you click to dive. That's the whole of the controls, but there's more going on underneath them than you might expect.

Taking your penalty

Every kick starts with a choice of where in the goal to put it. You click on the spot you want to shoot at, and from that moment your aim drifts slightly. Then you click a second time to set the power. The drift is what turns this into a test of nerve rather than a test of pointing: the aim you chose isn't quite the aim you get, so a shot picked right on the post leaves you little margin.

Power is a trade. Hit it too hard and the ball can fly over the bar, which wastes the kick completely. Hit it too softly and the keeper has time to reach it. The best penalties are struck firmly enough to beat the dive without being so hard that they sail over. A shot near a corner gives the keeper the furthest to travel, but it leaves you the least room for the drift, so there's a balance to find between ambition and safety.

Going in goal

When it's the computer's turn, you're the keeper. You click where you want to dive, and you have two ways to go about it. You can guess during the run-up, committing early to one side and hoping the taker picks it, or you can wait and react once the ball is struck. Guessing gives you a head start if you're right and leaves the other side open if you're wrong. Reacting lets you see where the ball is going, with less time to get there.

Mixing the two is a sensible way to play. If you've been reacting and conceding, try committing early for a kick or two. If you've been guessing wrong, hold your nerve and wait for the strike.

How a shoot-out is decided

Each side takes five penalties. If the scores are level after those five, it goes to sudden death, one kick each, until one side scores and the other doesn't. That shape matters. In the first five a single miss can be made up later; in sudden death there's no second chance, so a firm shot to a sensible spot is often worth more than a perfect one into the top corner.

It also means your goalkeeping counts as much as your shooting. One good save is worth the same as a goal at the other end, and in sudden death it can win the match on its own.

Getting more from each go

Like every game in the app, Spot Kick opens on a title card with its rules and controls, and F1 explains the game again if you need a reminder. Esc pauses at any point and F11 makes it full screen, which suits a floodlit stadium rather well. When a shoot-out ends you see your score beside your best, and the app keeps your best score, plays and wins for every game on your own PC.

If you keep coming back to it, star it as a favourite so it's easy to find. It plays well alongside Ten Pin and Table Tennis on the same shelf, which share the same idea of a simple control with something to beat built in: here, a drifting aim and a keeper who can read a soft shot.

There's nothing to sign into and nothing goes online, so a shoot-out is always a click away. Take a breath before the power click, and don't be afraid to stand your ground in goal now and then.