Your first
little rivalry.

Your first shot

1. Open the H.O.R.S.E. card on the game selection screen. Choose Practice to find your touch without taking turns.
2. Tap an ivory shooting spot on the wooden court to move the ball. You can change spots while choosing a shot; a matching challenge locks its required spot and call.
3. Touch the basketball and flick upward toward the hoop. Your direction controls lateral aim; the flick’s strength controls power. Lift your finger to release immediately.
4. Watch the result, then try again. Short taps do not shoot. Only one ball can be in flight at a time.

Set up your Duo court

Stand the Duo partly open with the fold running between the upper hoop and lower court. Set it on a stable, level surface. Keep it standing while you play; folding is the setup, not a repeated shooting gesture.

The app adapts to the usable screen areas around the fold. Ordinary iPhones and fully open layouts use a single-screen court. Moving or closing the device during play can pause a match; use the readiness action when you resume.

Explore the view-only Duo preview ↗

The H.O.R.S.E. house rules

1. The setter picks a spot and call, then shoots. A successful shot sets the challenge.
2. The matcher gets the same spot and call but chooses their own aim and power.
3. A failed match earns the matcher the next letter: H, O, R, S, E. A successful match earns no letter.
4. After the matching attempt, the original setter sets the next challenge. If the setter misses or fails their call, the other player becomes setter instead.
5. The fifth letter ends the game immediately. There is no last-chance attempt.

Call your shot

• Any make: a legal basket. Rim and board contact are allowed.
• Bank: the ball must touch the backboard before scoring. Rim contact is allowed.
• Swish: score without earlier board or rim contact.

A floor bounce before the basket is a miss. A basket that fails the selected call is a failed attempt. In Practice, that legal basket still counts toward basket accuracy, while the result explains the failed call.

Practice and Arcade

Practice has unlimited attempts, all five spots, all three calls, optional guidance and session statistics. Reset Session is in Shot options.

Timed Arcade starts with a three-second countdown and gives you 60 seconds. Every legal basket earns two points. A ball released before the buzzer may finish once; no new shot can start after it. Choose Solo or a two-player contest on the same phone. Both players receive the same round settings.

Bring someone to the court

One phone

Open H.O.R.S.E. and tap Play on this phone. Your game starts immediately with remembered, optional names. Leave the device standing, take turns, and tap the large Ready action at each handoff. This mode works fully offline.

Two nearby phones

1. Both players open H.O.R.S.E. and tap Play Nearby. Keep Wi-Fi enabled and allow Local Network access when asked.
2. One player taps Create Game. The other taps Join [friend’s game], which appears automatically under Games near you.
3. Meet in the waiting room. The guest taps Ready; the host taps Start Game. You can both see the players and difficulty before starting.

After each shot, connected games advance turns automatically. At the end, one player requests a rematch and the other accepts. Names, difficulty and the connection stay together.

If no game appears, confirm that the host’s waiting room is still open, both apps are current, Wi-Fi is enabled, and Local Network access is allowed for Flick and Field in iOS Settings. A shared Wi-Fi network is a useful place to try again. Disconnection pauses play and preserves the last accepted score. Reconnect from the waiting room, or continue on one phone; an unfinished shot can be retried without adding a letter.

A friend online

Tap Invite a friend online and choose a friend through Game Center. Both players need internet access, the app and distinct Game Center players. The invitation sender hosts the waiting room. The guest taps Ready, then the host starts the game. If invitations are unavailable, check Game Center sign-in, account restrictions and Screen Time settings. Cancelling sign-in leaves local modes available. Online and Nearby are H.O.R.S.E. modes; Arcade contests use one phone.

Make it your court

Choose Easy, Standard or Pro in the basketball hub. A H.O.R.S.E. match or Arcade contest keeps the same level for both players. In Practice, change difficulty between shots through Shot options.

Settings offers Blank, Color and Audience backgrounds. Sound and haptics are independently optional. Crowd sound has a separate switch and volume and also follows the master Sound switch. Reduce Motion reduces decorative movement, and VoiceOver labels describe the controls and results.

Pause or backgrounding freezes local play. A saved match can be resumed from the game selection screen. If the process ended during an unresolved local shot, it can be retried from the locked conditions with no added letter.

Still a little out of bounds?