Boleivol Beach

Boleivol Beach is a cheap Spanish PC release from the early nineties, and beach volleyball here looks nothing like the real sport: it is played one against one. No pairs, no setting up a partner — a single figure stands on each side of the net and has to handle defence and attack alone.

The controls are minimal. Four arrow keys move your player, one key covers both hitting and jumping, and that is the whole scheme. The match runs on fixed rules you cannot change: five sets to fifteen points, one opponent, one beach. There is no difficulty setting, no tournament, no choice of rival. If you finish your first match wanting something different, there is nowhere to go.

In the game's defence, the ball and the players move smoothly and it is playable. The trouble is that you beat the opponent before you have worked out what you are actually doing, and the hitting is unpleasantly vague — often you cannot tell why the ball went where it went. The sound consists of two beeps, one for a hit and one for a point. Animation is stiff, and the beach atmosphere is used up by the first look at the screen.

One thing survives: two people at one keyboard. That is good for a few minutes, because the rules are simple and matches are quick. As a sports game Boleivol Beach is a poor relation of the bigger titles of its day and there is no point pretending otherwise — it is a curiosity from the Spanish budget scene, not a forgotten gem.

On oldgame.cz you can try it directly in your browser, with nothing to install.