Penalty Kick Online Shooting Guide: Swipes and Goal Zones

How a shot is decided

When you take a kick in Penalty Kick Online, the game reads one swipe. You press on the ball, drag, and let go. The direction of the drag sets where the ball goes, and the length of the drag sets how far from the middle of the goal it travels. The drag length is capped, but a long swipe can still send the ball wide or over the bar. The publisher's own instructions say the same thing: if you swipe too far, you can miss.

The ball also flies straight. The game's striker code sets the ball's spin to zero at the moment of the kick, so drawing an arc with your mouse or finger does not bend the shot. Aim with a short, straight drag toward the spot you want.

The 15 goal zones

The game splits the goal mouth into a grid of 15 zones: five across and three high. In matches against the computer, each zone has a fixed chance that a shot landing there beats the goalkeeper. These numbers come from the game's own settings (AREAS_INFO in the main script):

Row	Far left	Left	Centre	Right	Far right
Top	100%	80%	60%	80%	100%
Middle	75%	60%	50%	60%	75%
Bottom	80%	65%	70%	65%	80%

A few things follow from this table:

• The two top corners always score against the computer if the ball lands in them. They are also the zones closest to the edge of the frame, so they are the easiest to overshoot.
• The dead centre is the worst choice. A shot into the middle zone goes in only half the time.
• The bottom corners are a safer middle ground at 80%, because a low shot is less likely to clear the crossbar.
• A shot that misses the frame is not in any zone, so it never counts as a goal.

When the shot is going to score, the computer keeper dives in a direction that does not cover your zone. When it is going to be saved, the keeper's animation goes to the ball. So the keeper's dive is a result of the roll, not something you can read before you kick.

Why your first goal matters most

A match has five rounds. In each round you kick once and then defend once. If your regular kick goes in, the game shows a math question with four answers. Answer it correctly before the timer runs out and you get a bonus shot, which can add a second goal for that round. A wrong answer or a timeout means no bonus shot. Bonus shots are not offered after a bonus shot, and not when your goal has already won the match.

That makes the regular kick worth more than one goal: it is also your only way to unlock the bonus kick. On the regular kick it often makes sense to aim at a bottom corner (80%) instead of a top corner, if you tend to overshoot the top ones.

Practical routine

1. Wait until the swipe hint appears, then press and start the drag from the ball.
2. Drag in a straight line toward a corner. Keep the drag short at first and lengthen it a little each time until you find where the frame ends.
3. Release cleanly. Do not try to draw a curve; it has no effect.
4. After a goal, move to the math question straight away, because the timer is already running.

The stats screen in the main menu keeps a "hot zones" grid for your own shots, showing the percentage that scored in each area. Check it after a few matches to see which corners you are actually hitting.