Hoops is a one-button basketball shooting game. Your blob stands at the line with the ball over its head and a power meter beside it. Hold to fill the meter, and let go when it reaches the green band to shoot. The ball flies on a real arc and really bounces: a perfect shot drops through clean for a swish, a near miss can rattle around the rim and fall in, and a bad one clangs off and away. You have three balls. Every miss costs one, and so does letting the shot clock run out. The hoop moves to a new spot after every shot, and later it starts sliding and bobbing while you aim.
How to play Hoops
- Hold anywhere on the screen. The power meter fills while you hold, then falls back if you hold too long.
- Let go when the meter is inside the green band. The band moves with the hoop: closer or lower hoops need less power.
- Make the basket to score. Miss, and you lose one of your three balls.
- Shoot before the shot clock above the hoop runs out, or that costs a ball too.
Tips to get a high score
- The meter speeds up as you score, so start watching the green band before you press, not after.
- Three swishes in a row puts you ON FIRE: every swish after that also drops a coin for hats.
- A shot that rattles in counts, but it breaks your swish streak.
- When the hoop starts sliding, the green band slides with it. Release on the band, not where the hoop is now.
- A tap that's too short doesn't shoot at all, so you can't waste a ball by brushing the screen.
How the hoop fights back
Your first two shots always go to the same easy spot, so use them to learn what a good release feels like. After that the hoop jumps somewhere new after every shot, and the spread of spots widens as you score: it can sit closer, farther back and higher up.
The meter gets quicker too. At the start it takes about 1.3 seconds to fill. By around 26 baskets it fills in about 0.7 seconds, which leaves a much thinner slice of time inside the green band.
From your 7th basket the hoop slides side to side while you aim, and from your 15th it also bobs up and down. Both movements get wider and faster as your score climbs toward 26.
Swishes, rattles and your three balls
Every basket is worth one point, whether it drops clean or bounces in off the rim or the backboard. A swish only matters for your streak: three in a row puts you ON FIRE, and each swish after that drops a coin for hats. Coins don't add to your score.
Your three balls are the real resource, and they never come back. So a long run is about not missing, not about shooting pretty. A calm release in the middle of the band beats a rushed one at its edge.
The shot clock gives you about 5.5 seconds per shot and warns you at about 3.5. It only runs while you're waiting, not while you hold. On a moving hoop, use that time to watch one slide before you press.
Reading the meter on a moving hoop
The meter doesn't stop at the top. Hold too long and it falls back down, then climbs again, and the green band works the same in either direction. So if you miss it going up, you get another chance on the way down. Hold for a full seven seconds and the ball shoots on its own, wherever the meter is.
On a sliding hoop the band moves along the meter, because it always shows the power that drops the ball through the middle of the hoop right now. If the band is moving toward the meter's level you'll meet it sooner. If it's running away, it can be easier to let the meter turn around and catch it on the way back.
A shot a little long catches the back rim or the backboard, and a little short catches the front rim. Either can still fall in, but any contact breaks your swish streak. Aim for the thin line in the middle of the band, not just anywhere inside it.
Daily levels and ghost races
Today's Hoops level is the same for everyone, and you race the ghosts of other players' runs. How daily levels and challenges work.
FAQ
Why did a perfect-looking shot bounce out?
The ball is a real circle hitting a real rim. If it arrives a little long it catches the back of the rim, and a little short catches the front. The middle of the green band always goes in clean.
How does the run end?
You start with three balls. Each miss or shot-clock violation takes one away, and the run ends when they're gone. Your score is the number of baskets you made.
Is it free?
Yes. Every Tapamine game is free to play in your browser with no download and no account.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. Tapamine is built for phones first: portrait, one thumb, and it works offline after your first visit. It also works with a mouse or the spacebar on a computer.
How do challenges work?
After a run, tap “Challenge a friend” to send a link. Your friend plays the exact same level and races your ghost — a replay of your run — to see who wins.
Add Hoops to your site
Hoops is free to embed on your blog, class page or website. Paste this code:
<iframe src="https://tapamine.com/embed/hoops/" title="Hoops: free one-tap game" width="360" height="640" style="border:0;border-radius:16px;max-width:100%" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; web-share" loading="lazy"></iframe>