How do you play Air Hockey?
Use your mallet to knock the puck into your opponent's goal while guarding your own. The first player to reach the target score of 5, 7 or 10 wins. It is the arcade table you know from game rooms and amusement parks, right in your browser.
On a real table, air blows up through tiny holes so the puck floats and glides. This game keeps friction very low too, so a good hit sends the puck bouncing off the rails again and again.
What are the rules?
| Table | A tall table with a goal in the middle of the top end and the bottom end. |
|---|---|
| Your mallet | The red one at the bottom. It cannot cross the center line and stays in the bottom half. |
| Scoring | One point each time the puck goes into the other goal. |
| Serve | After a goal the puck is placed in the middle of the side that was scored on, and that player hits first. |
| Winning | First to the target score (5, 7 or 10) wins. |
| Stuck puck | If the puck stays in one spot for more than 4 seconds, it is reset to the middle of that half. |
What is the difference between vs CPU and two players?
vs CPU has three levels, Easy, Normal and Hard. Two players, one screen lets two people play on a single device.
- Easy: the computer reacts late and moves slowly. Good for a first game.
- Normal: it reads where the puck is going, blocks it, and circles behind the puck to aim at your goal.
- Hard: fast reactions, a fast mallet and plenty of bank shots off the side rails.
- Two players: on phones and tablets each player puts a finger on their own half. On a computer one player uses the mouse (red, bottom) and the other uses WASD (blue, top).
Tips to win
- Get behind the puck before you hit it. Pushing from your goal toward theirs sends it forward hard.
- Swing through the puck. The speed of your mallet carries into the puck. A mallet that stands still only gives a soft bounce.
- Use the rails. When the other mallet covers the middle, a bank shot off the side wall often slips in.
- Come back to your goal after a shot. Rebounds return fast. Keeping your mallet near the crease in front of your goal makes saves easy.
Your wins against each computer level are saved in this browser. Turn sound on or off with the 🔊 button at the bottom.