Auto-Return Ping Pong utilizes a sloped floor that redirects wayward ping pong balls to a flat area at either end of the table where players stand.

A ball dropped anywhere in the room will, by force of gravity, roll to the feet of one or the other player.
-- nuclear hobo, Jun 18 2007

Funny, I was going to post a similar idea, except that mine was based on side-netting attached to the table; balls off the end would still have to be retrieved manually. The two ideas could probably be combined, and that would reduce the proportion of the floor space that would have to be reconstructed. [+]
-- pertinax, Jun 18 2007


...and I thought that a little car would bring your balls back to you. +
-- xandram, Jun 18 2007


It takes a big, red high-powered car to do that, [xandram] ;)
-- pertinax, Jun 18 2007


Hmmm. Not convinced. Like a car on an adverse camber, you'll end up getting funny strains as you play...

... especially if the floor were concave!
-- Jinbish, Jun 19 2007


How about a net that goes around your waist, and around the edge of the table, and attaches to the walls at a higher level than the table surface. The net material around your waist would be elastic so that you can move around and still keep it taut.

This way you wouldn't even have to bend down to retrieve the ball.
-- BJS, Jun 20 2007


[Jinbish], the floor is flat at each end of the table where the players are. The rest of the floor slopes towards those flat areas.
-- nuclear hobo, Jun 20 2007



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