intro to air hockey

A normal air hockey table consists of a large smooth playing area, encompassed by a rail to prevent the puck and mallets from leaving the table, and slots in the rail at either end of the table that serve as goals. On the ends of the table behind and below the goals, there is an area to retrieve the puck after a goal. Also, tables will usually have machinery that produces a cushion of air on the play surface through tiny holes, with the purpose of reducing friction and increasing play speed. Sometimes the machinery is deleted altogether in favor of a slick table surface, usually plastic, generally these are your cheaper models. One thing to note is that there are also pucks that use a battery and fan to generate their own air cushion, but they tend to break so they are commonly marketed only as toys.

USAA (United States Air-Table-Hockey Association) currently approves only the 8-foot tables manufactured by Dynamo for tournament play. Approved tables include the Photon, Pro-Style, older Blue Top, Brown Top, Purple Top or Black Top with unpainted rails.

A mallet is usually nothing more than a handle attached to a flat surface that lies flush with the surface of the table.

Thin discs of lexan polycarbonate resin are used as the hockey pucks. USAA approved pucks must be either yellow lexan, red lexan or the dynamo green