Stop what you’re doing right now and go play the Super Pickleball Adventure game created by Andrew Murray.

Murray is a Seattle-based hobbyist game developer who specializes in making short, narrative games for the web. Back in 2022, he released Super Pickleball Adventure, and here I am at the tail end of 2024 having so much fun playing this game.

Featuring a charming pixel art style, this game is nothing but retro and delightful. 

You play an 11-year-old embarking on a pickleball adventure where you battle a cast of whacky characters and genuinely formidable opponents. If you defeat all the local pickleball studs with creative gameplay strategies, you get to join the pickleball league.

I’m not much of a gamer girl, so I have a natural inclination to be utterly terrible at any kind of game. But the instructions made it easy, accessible, and enjoyable once I got the hang of it. 

Murray recommends using Chrome or Edge to play. And all you have to do is follow the link to get started.

On average, the game takes about 30-45 minutes to beat depending on skill level. Unfortunately, I’m still trying to get past that darn teleporting ninja girl. Her ability to basically play a 2-on-1 game has got me stumped, but I’ll come back stronger than ever. 

Best of all, you don’t have to complete the game in one sitting. Your progress is automatically saved into your browser. So that ninja better watch out because I’ll be coming back to the virtual court with a vengeance.

It’s clear that Murray is a pickleball player and loves the sport as much as I do. 

There are even little tidbits from pickleball lore, like a character named Linda who says, “Wow! I can see Seattle from here!” 

He also has a sense of humor. There’s a character who’s hiking on a mountain that says, “Maybe I’m not in good enough shape for this hike. Man, I should have played more pickleball, then I’d be in shape.”

And I can't forget about the graffiti wall in town that spells, “Tennis sux.” 

The creativity is just so fun as well. As the sparky 11-year-old, you get to go up against a scientist who uses teleportation to move the ball around in unexpected locations on the court. 

Then after you defeat him, you travel back in time to an old western town with a cowboy, saloon, and sheriff who uses a pistol to return the ball. How fun is that!

I’ve yet to get past the sheriff because, like I said, I'm not much of a gamer. But my roommate heard me laughing like the best virtual pickelballer there is. 

My only complaint is that I wish the game were longer. But it’s the kind of story that could easily be extended if Murray wanted to continue it.

I couldn’t recommend this game enough if you want something fun to do, so  check it out here and set off on a pickleball adventure. 

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