Air Hockey

How to Play

• Each player can only move their mallet in their own half of the table.
• Knock the puck into the goal slot on your opponent's end to score a point.
• After a goal, the puck is served from the half of the player who conceded.
• The first player to reach seven goals wins the match.

Strategy and Tips

• Move through the puck rather than just tapping it: your mallet's speed adds to the shot.
• Bank shots off the side walls are hard to read, especially when the puck comes in at a steep angle.
• When you're not attacking, sit in front of your goal and track the puck up and down.
• Don't chase the puck deep into a corner; you'll leave your goal wide open.

Controls

Player 1 on the left moves with W, A, S and D; player 2 on the right uses the arrow keys. Playing alone, move your mallet with the mouse, a finger, or either set of keys. With two players on a touch screen, each drags a mallet on their own half.

Background

Air hockey was developed by Brunswick Billiards engineers in the late 1960s and early 1970s, using a table that floats the puck on a thin cushion of air. It became an arcade and games-room fixture because it is fast, simple, and always played face to face.