Stick Fighter

Two attacks, one block, sixty seconds a round, and the first to two rounds wins

2 player, keyboard
fighting
action
2 player

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About Stick Fighter

Stick Fighter keeps a deliberately small move list: a punch, a kick, a jump and a block. That is the whole thing. No motion inputs, no strings to memorise, no meter to fill. What decides a match instead is whether you can judge distance and pick your moment.

The two attacks are not interchangeable. A punch does 15 damage, reaches about 105 units and is finished in under a quarter of a second. A kick does 20, reaches 130, and takes nearly twice as long from start to recovery, so a kick that misses is an invitation. Both fighters carry 100 health, a round runs 60 seconds, and the first to take two rounds wins.

Against the computer there are three settings, and the honest description of the difference is reaction time and patience rather than cleverness. Two people can also share one keyboard. A full best-of-three is over in two or three minutes, which suits the design: this is something you play five times in a row, not once.

What is different about this version

A fighter who is already reeling cannot be hit again — the hit check skips any target still in stun. That single rule removes juggles and strings outright, so every exchange resolves as one clean hit and both fighters reset to neutral. The match becomes about finding openings rather than about what you can chain off the first one.

Blocking is a crouch rather than a dedicated button, and it is not free: a guarded punch or kick still takes a fifth of its damage off you. The three computer profiles differ in more than speed, too — reaction delay, how often a kick gets chosen over a punch, and how likely the AI is to guard when you step into range all change, so hard plays a visibly more patient game than easy does.

How to play Stick Fighter

Pick easy, normal or hard, or switch to two-player and hand the arrow keys across.
Walk into range. Punch is quick; kick trades speed for reach and damage.
Hold down to block. A guarded hit still bleeds a fifth of its damage through.
Jump to close distance, knowing you cannot block in the air.
Empty the other fighter's 100 health, or lead on health when the 60 seconds expire.
Take two rounds to win the match.

Controls

Desktop	Player 1 moves on WASD with F to punch and G to kick; Player 2 uses the arrow keys with K and L. P pauses.
Phone or tablet	A stick on the left moves, pushed up it jumps and pushed down it blocks, and two buttons on the right punch and kick.
Players	Two people, but both need a keyboard — the second set of controls has no touch equivalent, so this is a laptop game rather than a phone game.

Strategy

The 25 units between punch reach and kick reach is where most of the match is fought. The two fighters are shoved apart if they get closer than about 62 units, so the usable band runs from there out to 130. Sitting at roughly 120 puts you inside your own kick range and outside their punch range, which is the most profitable place to stand against anything but the hard AI.

Recovery is the other half. A punch occupies you for a quarter of a second and cannot be repeated for half a second; a kick takes over four tenths and needs three quarters before it returns. Whiff a kick and you have handed over a clean punch. Kick when you are confident, punch when you are guessing, and punish a missed kick rather than backing away from it.

Blocking has an exchange rate. A guarded punch costs 3 health and a guarded kick 4, which sounds negligible until you remember the clock awards the round on health. Ahead, holding ground and blocking closes out a round; behind, it is slowly losing. Watch the walls too: when a pinned fighter cannot be pushed any further, the other one gets shoved instead, which is how corner pressure turns into free damage. Against the harder settings the practical answer is to stop attacking on a rhythm: the AI decides whether to guard on a check made the moment you enter its range, so an attack thrown slightly late beats a guard that went up slightly early.

Mistakes that cost you the game

Kicking at punch range. You are committed for twice as long for 5 extra damage.
Blocking as a resting position. The bleed-through never stops, and the clock awards the round on health.
Jumping in to open. You lose the block entirely and land into the one moment anyone can read.
Backing into the wall, where the separation rule stops protecting you.

Tips

Attack as an opponent lands. Landing is the most predictable half-second in the game.
Vary your timing rather than your buttons — the harder settings guard on a check when you enter range.
Watch the health bars in the last fifteen seconds. A small lead is worth defending.
Against easy, just walk at it. It blocks about one time in seven.
Punish a missed kick immediately; four tenths of a second is a long time.

Questions about Stick Fighter

Can two people play on one keyboard?

Yes. Player 1 takes WASD with F and G, Player 2 the arrow keys with K and L, both on the same device. Nothing here goes over the internet.

What happens when the timer runs out?

Whoever has more health takes the round. Exactly level health is a draw and neither side banks a win.

Are there combos?

No. A stunned fighter cannot be hit again, so strings are impossible by design.

How much harder is hard?

It reacts in about three hundredths of a second rather than six, guards roughly six times in ten, and kicks more often.

Does it cost anything?

No. Stick Fighter is free to play, runs in your browser, and needs no download, install or account.

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