Welcome to the world of Air Hockey!
Let’s start by describing the elements of Air Hockey.
It’s easy because there are only three of them, the ones you see in the picture below: the table, the disk and the… the… the…. what do you think those red things are called?
The table
Large, medium, small, or almost symbolic, like the one in the photograph, they have small holes in their surface through which pressurized air comes out. This air makes the disc move on the table as if it were levitating, simulating the almost frictionless movement of a disc on an ice rink.
The disc
There’s nothing special about it – it’s a piece of hard, tough plastic – if it weren’t for its hypnotic, frantic way of moving across the table when hit hard with a…. with a… are you clear on what they’re called yet?
Decks
Yes, you can stop calling them “stickers”, “hitters”, “rackets”, “throwers” or whatever you called them: they are officially called mallets.
They are usually made of very strong plastic and are designed to protect the player’s hand.
Basic rules for playing Air Hockey
The rules we propose are a basic selection of the official rules of Air Hockey, which we consider necessary and sufficient to play with friends and family.
If you are curious, or want to compete like the pros, you will find below information on the official Air Hockey rules in force in international competitions.
But we insist, to play with friends or family with the rules that we propose below is more than enough.
Players and teams
Players
From 2 to 4 players, from 5 years old. The youngest kids supervised by an adult and with an Air Hockey suitable for their size.
Equipment
The most common is to compete 1 vs 1 or 2 vs 2. If there are 3 players, the most experienced player will compete against the other two.
In our explanation we will assume a 1 vs 1 match.
Location of players
It is not mandatory for the player to be behind his goal. The player can be placed anywhere on the table that is on his side of the field.
Duration of a match
Matches do not have a fixed time duration. The game is played until one player scores 7 goals to become the winner of the match.
Who’s first?
It is decided by flipping a coin, heads or tails.
Match development
Staging
The team that has won the flip of the coin starts the game from its home field.
Valid goal
For a goal to be scored, the puck must enter the goal and fall into the hole or at least be tilted towards the hole. The player receiving the goal shall put the puck in play.
If the disc is in the center
When the puck is touching the center line of the field any player may hit it.
Minor offense = loss of possession
If a player commits a foul, play stops and the puck becomes in the possession of the other player. What actions are fouls? We look at them below:
Actions involving a Slight FOUL FOUL
TAKING MORE THAN 7 SECONDS: once the disc enters one’s own field, one has 7 seconds to make a hit to bring the disc into the opponent’s field. The time starts counting when the puck enters the field.
PUCK OUT: if the puck goes off the table as a result of a player’s hit, the player will be penalized with a foul, even if it bounced off the defender’s mallet, provided that the defender has moved his mallet backwards or sideways in a defensive action. If s/he has moved it forward then s/he will be at fault for the puck going out and the foul will be his/her own.
LEAVE THE MALLET: the gavel may not be left unhanded, much less thrown. Foul for whoever does it.
TOPPING THE DISC: it is not possible to place the mallet on the disc. Foul for whoever does it.
TOUCHING THE PUCK WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE MALLET: while the puck is on the table and in play, it can only be touched with the mallet. If it is touched with the hand or any other part of the body, including clothing, a foul has been committed. If it has also been done to stop a shot on goal then it will be worse, this unsportsmanlike action is considered a Technical Foul, a concept that we will develop below.
And one more very important thing about fouls: if a player commits a foul and concedes a goal in the course of the same play, the goal counts and the penalty is nullified.
SERIOUS foul = penalty
If a player stops a shot on goal in any way other than with his mallet the game is stopped and the infractor is penalized with a free kick, a penalty.
Penalty kick
The penalty taker hits the puck from anywhere in the penalty box without the offender being able to defend the shot, i.e. empty net.
If there is no goal, the puck is immediately considered in play.
And that’s all! With these basic rules, the Air Hockey game is well organized and orderly.
Of course you can make changes to the rules, but whatever you decide, all players must be in agreement and well informed before the game starts so that there is no trouble later! It’s all about having fun no matter how competitive you are!
Official Air Hockey Rules
There is no international Air Hockey federation that establishes rules for official competitions at world level as is the case, for example, with table soccer.
But there are several worldwide associations such as the United States Air Hockey Association (USAA), which has organized the 2022 World Air Hockey Championship. Este enlace te dará acceso a un PDF con las reglas oficiales del Air Hockey.
Tips for playing Air Hockey
Watch out for the other hand!
Many players leave their non-playing hand resting on the edge of the table. It’s not that you can’t or that it’s a bad idea to do it, but watch your fingers! Don’t let them stay inside the table!
Learn to play like a pro
We encourage you to read, learn and put into practice the tricks explained below because even if you have no expectations of winning the next Air Hockey World Championship, you will certainly like to beat again and again anyone who dares to challenge you 😉
7 tips to play Air Hockey like a pro
1 – About the way to hold the mallet
Most people hold the mallet like this:
but a professional does it this way:
As you can see they leave out the thumb and little finger and use only the three middle fingers of the hand. Why? Because in this way the wrist has more mobility, which allows for much faster strokes.
2 – About body posture
To have more stability and reach farther without unbalancing you should have one leg in front of the other. Bring forward the leg on the side of the arm you are playing with. If you play with your right hand, bring your right leg forward. If you are left-handed, bring your left leg forward.
Regarding the hand that does not hold the mallet, most professionals rest it on the table to improve its stability, but with the fingers out of the court!
3 – About the way to hit the disc
Hit the disc with a quick flick of the wrist. It is not necessary to move the whole hand, let alone the whole arm. What’s in it for you? Several things: the movement is much faster and requires less effort, we also give less clues to the opponent regarding the direction in which the puck is going to come out after our shot and it even allows us to execute very fast movements to make the opponent believe that the shot is going in one direction and at the end correct the movement and throw it towards another to catch him off guard, as if it were a soccer dribble.
4 – About puck control
Most amateur players just stick the puck as soon as they have it within reach, but professionals usually take possession of the puck and then decide what kind of move to make depending on how the opponent is defending.
To control the disc they cushion the blow against their mallet with a small backward movement just when the disc reaches the mallet.
You can do the same. Try it! As long as you can control the puck, the probability that your next play will result in a goal is higher.
5 – About the surprise effect
After controlling the puck you can just hit it, but professional players don’t usually do that. What do they do? They move the puck in their own half of the field one or more times before taking their shot on goal.
Sometimes it is a simple overtaking of the puck just before hitting it, like a small auto-pass.
Alternatively, they may bounce the disc repeatedly against the sides of their field before executing the shot.
The objective in both cases is to mislead the opponent and surprise him with a shot he is not expecting.
6 – About shots on goal
Most beginners always shoot aiming directly at the goal. But the pros score many of their goals after bouncing the puck off one of the sides of the opposing side of the field.
A professional always evaluates the three options: direct shot, rebound on the right side or rebound on the left side and decides the best option according to the position in which the opponent is defending. You can do it too!
7 – About the best way to defend
When it is time to defend the opponent’s shot, most amateurs put the mallet in the center of their goal, right in front of it. But the professionals, with many hours of playing time and many games behind them, know that this is not the most optimal position.
The best position to defend all three types of shots is further forward. You must align the mallet with the center of the goal but bring it forward about a couple of feet.
In this video you will see how two professional players put into practice the tips we have given you before. This is a clip from the 2019 World Championship final. Enjoy! It is an amazing show.
Guía de compra y consejos para comprar un Air Hockey
For those who don’t have the time, energy or skill to build their own Air Hockey, there are two options: go to an arcade and pay for its use or buy one to play at home.
If you are considering buying an Air Hockey for your own use or as a gift, read on because we are going to give you some very good advice.
Let’s start by explaining the types of Air Hockey available in the market.
Types of Air Hockey available on the market
1 – Tabletop portable Air Hockeys
They are the most common in homes and are characterized by being small and portable, ideal for placing on a table or countertop. They are suitable for all ages because they are available in all sizes.
2 – Fixed floor Air Hockeys
They are larger and heavier than tabletop units, and are usually placed on the floor in a permanent location. They tend to have a more robust construction and are ideal for playing in a living room or game room.
3 – Folding floor Air Hockeys
Halfway between the tabletop and the fixed ones, we have the foldable Air Hockey. They are usually small or medium in size and incorporate wheels for easy transport from the play area to the storage area.
4 – Professional Air Hockeys
Used by high level players and in competitions. They have advanced technical features and are logically more expensive.
5 – Multi games with Air Hockey
For those who want to make better use of space and have more games for the same price, logically at the cost of size or quality of materials because a large and quality multigame can be as expensive as a professional Air Hockey.
How to build a homemade Air Hockey
Creating a functional and sturdy homemade Air Hockey is not a quick or easy DIY job. We are sorry if we disappoint anyone with this “reality check”, but we don’t like to create false expectations.
You just have to think about the time it takes to create all the holes through which the air has to come out. Do you know how many holes need to be drilled for a small table of 60 cm x 40 cm? If the distance between one hole and another is 1 cm, a total of 2,301 holes must be drilled. And if the table is large, 200 cm x 90 cm and we space the holes 1.5 cm, we are talking about 8,000 holes!
Despite this, there are brave people who have dared to take the plunge. On YouTube we have found dozens of videos with proposals of all kinds and we offer you here what we consider to be the best.
Creating a homemade Air Hockey with cardboard
This version of homemade cardboard Air Hockey is the best we’ve found on YouTube. It is affordable and creates an end product that works well and is very well finished.
Creating a homemade Air Hockey with wood
We prefer Japanese Yohei Fukuma’s proposal for four reasons:
- Use recycled materials.
- Provides measurements and step-by-step instructions.
- It gets the whole family involved in the construction, and we love that.
- It offers a realistic approach to building a large Air Hockey with DIY tools we all have at home.
If you don’t intend to invest in an Air Hockey skip the Buying Guide below! But don’t miss the last section “Fun and/or surprising things” that we hope will bring a smile to your face.
Fun and/or surprising things
DanCreator is an artist who creates cardboard replicas of everything from a car to a beverage vending machine. And of course, also an Air Hockey.
An Air Hockey match between a human and a robot? An attractive proposal that you can experience firsthand in many science museums.
And that’s all, which is no small feat!
Thank you for reading.
Have a nice day, and a better night. 😉
