Google's 2017 Cricket Doodle looks like a one-button toy, but its rules are precise once you read the game code. We did exactly that, then ran a timing bot that logged 160 swings at fixed ball distances to see what each timing actually scores.
The headline: swing when the ball is level with the bat. Level swings produced 27 sixes from 30 balls. At the opening speed that window is only about 27 ms either side of the perfect moment, because a shot only lifts off the ground above a set power threshold, and any lofted shot clears the rope.
The safer route is a slightly early swing. It rolls the ball softly and the crickets run three, which happened on 51 of 53 early swings. That 3-run window is roughly 120 ms wide, around four times bigger than the six window.
A few rules worth knowing before your next innings:
- There are six delivery types. The slow loopy ball and the steep bouncer can never go for six, so take the 3 on those.
- The game starts at 0.9x speed and gets 0.01x faster per run, capping at 2.0x at 110 runs. By then the six window shrinks to about ±12 ms.
- You can't be caught. Snails only field the ball, so every wicket is bowled.
- The scoreboard freezes at 999, but the real score keeps counting. Our test innings saved 1002 as the best score in the browser.
The full guide has the delivery table, the controls on desktop and phone, and diagrams of each timing window.
Read the full guide on Gipcus: https://gipcus.com/google-doodle-cricket-tips-high-score/
