Air Hockey is a game between two players trying to outscore each other by sinking the puck on the opponents' goal. Air hockey is played on a special table: the Air Hockey Table.
Typically, an air hockey table is a platform with a very large and smooth surface. Rails surround it on all sides to prevent the puck and the strikers from leaving the table. It has a slot at both ends that serves as the goal where the players try to sink the puck. The slots usually have a puck return behind and below the goals.
Air hockey tables will typically have a machine that will provide the air on the surface of the table that produces air cushion. The puck then is not really lying flat on the air hockey table but is actually floating. This reduces the friction on the play surface facilitating a very fast exchange of pucks and strikes that is one of the main excitements of the game. Playing on air hockey tables develops to very large extent eye and hands coordination and the skill to fast "on the feet" thinking.
Often, in the interest of saving money, the option for machinery that produces air are replaced in favor of slick and very smooth plastic playing surfaces. These may approximate the thrill of playing air hockey, but note that it is not quite the same as air hockey tables as no air is used. Because of the similarity of the game play they are also generally accepted as air hockey tables.
To play air hockey needs strikers for each player and a puck. The strikers are flat surfaces that lie on the table connected to a handle. The puck is a slim plastic disc about half an inch thick and a couple of inches in diameter.
To play the game, two players stand at the opposite end of the table with one player serving by hitting the puck to the opposite end until the puck goes into a player's goal and a score is made. The player who lost the point is entitled to serve. The goal of both players is to score 7 points although time limit is often set on the length of time that the game will be played. A player who has the most points when the time runs out wins the game. If both players have the same score when the time runs out, the game is a draw.
During the game, the players are not allowed to place their strikers on top of the puck. They are also not allowed to leave the playing area. No contact with the puck should be made in any circumstances other than the striker. Only on certain conditions can a player be allowed to physically come into contact with the puck like hand serving when the puck enters his goal. The player is given only seven seconds to strike the puck after it passes his end after the centerline. When the puck is on the centerline, any of the players can hit the puck.
An automatic mechanism in Air Hockey tables registers a valid goal.
The air hockey is a game played competitively all over the world. There is an at least one world championship event held every year.
In 1978, the United States Air Hockey Association was formed to oversee the conduct and rules of the game.
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