Air hockey

Air hockey is a Pong-like tabletop sport where two opposing players try to score goals against each other on a low-friction table^[1] using two hand-held discs ("mallets") and a lightweight plastic puck.

Air Hockey

World Champions Ehab Shoukry and Danny Hynes face off at the 2005 National Championships
Years active	1973 to present
Genres	Electro-mechanical, arcade, table sport, bar sport
Players	2
Skills	Dexterity, agility, hand-eye coordination, reaction time

The air hockey table has raised edges that allow the puck to reflect off horizontally, and a very smooth, slippery surface that further reduces friction by suspending the puck on a thin cushion of air ejected from tiny vent holes built inside the surface. This causes the puck to hover and move easily across the table with little loss of velocity, which simulates the lubricated sliding of an ice hockey puck across a well polished rink, hence the name of the game.

Federations

• United States Air Hockey Association (USAA) - 1978
• Air Hockey Players Association (AHPA) - 2015

Air hockey tables

 

An air hockey table in Currier House

A typical air hockey table consists of a large smooth playing surface designed to minimize friction, a surrounding 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 usually a puck return. Additionally, tables will typically have some sort of machinery that produces a cushion of air on the playing surface through tiny holes, with the purpose of reducing friction and increasing play speed. In some tables, the machinery is eschewed in favor of a slick table surface, usually plastic, in the interest of saving money in both manufacturing and maintenance costs. These tables are technically not air hockey tables, since no air is involved; however, they are still generally understood to be as such due to the basic similarity of gameplay. There also exist pucks that use a battery and fan to generate their own air cushion, but as they are prone to breakage, they are commonly marketed only as toys.

 

Air hockey mallet

The only tables that are approved for play and sanctioned by the USAA (United States Air Hockey Association) and the AHPA (Air Hockey Players Association) for tournament play are 8-foot tables. Approved tables include all Gold Standard Games 8-foot tables; some 8-foot tables from Dynamo; and the original 8-foot commercial Brunswick tables. Other full-size novelty-type tables with flashing lights on the field of play, painted rails, and/or smaller pucks are not approved for tournament play. There are also smaller air hockey tables having a size of 1.5, 2, or 2.5 feet, called mini air hockey tables.

A mallet (sometimes called a goalie, striker or paddle) consists of a simple handle attached to a flat surface that will usually lie flush with the surface of the table. The most common mallets, called "high-tops", resemble small plastic sombreros, but other mallets, "flat-tops", are used with a shorter nub.

 

A group of five air hockey pucks

Air hockey pucks are discs made of Lexan polycarbonate resin. Standard USAA and AHPA-approved pucks are yellow, red, and green. In competitive play, a layer of thin white tape is placed on the face-up side. Air hockey pucks come in circles and other shapes (triangle, hexagon, octagon, or square).

Four-player tables also exist, but they are not sanctioned for competitive play.^{[citation needed]}

Rules

The basic rules of play are listed as follows:

• The first player to reach 7 points wins the match
• First possession of the puck is determined by a coin toss
• Players may strike the puck with any part of the mallet, and each player can only use one mallet
• Players have seven seconds to complete a shot towards the opposing goal
• Once scored on, the player has ten seconds to return the puck back into play
• When the puck is in contact with any part of the centerline, either player may strike the puck
• Players can position themselves anywhere around the table as long as they stay on their side of the centerline
• Each player is permitted a ten-second time out each match, and must be called by the player when they are in possession of the puck, or the puck is out of play
• "Palming" or any use of the hand in contact with the puck is not permitted
• Contact with the puck by any part of the player is prohibited
• “Goal tending” or using the hands to prevent a goal is prohibited
• Players cannot hit the puck off the table^[2][3]

Fouls are issued to players who violate any of the rules. The player who receives the foul must turn possession of the puck over to the opponent. Technical fouls are issued for more severe violations, such a goal tending. When a technical foul is called, the opposing player is given a free shot on the offender's goal. The offender is not allowed to defend the shot, but can resume play if the shot misses and bounces off their end of the table.^[2][3]

Gameplay

Competitive (tournament) play is usually distinguished by the following:

• The mallet is gripped behind the knob using one's fingertips, not on top of it. This allows more wrist action and helps the player to move the mallet around the table faster.
• For basic defense, the mallet is kept centered at least 8 inches out from the goal. In this position, very slight movements to the left and right will block virtually all straight shots. To block bank shots, one pulls back quickly to the corners of the goal. This is known as the "triangle defense".
• Shots are often hit out of "drifts", where the puck travels in set patterns designed to throw off the opponent's expectations and timing. The most popular drifts are the "center", "diamond", "diagonal", and "L".
• Shots are often organized into groups of shots which are hit with the same apparent delivery but opposite directions, caused by hitting the puck at slightly different locations on the mallet. For example, a transverse motion of the right arm can lead to a "cut shot" to the left corner of the opponent's goal or a "right wall under" (bank off the right wall, into the right corner of the opponent's goal).

History

Air hockey is a game resting on an older technology, the air table. Air tables began as a conveyor technology allowing heavy objects like cardboard boxes to easily slide over a table surface. The original air tables of the 1940s had rather large holes that were plugged by ball bearings. An object sitting on the table would depress the balls, allowing air to escape and lift the object slightly off the table.^[4]

By 1967, this had been refined and repurposed as a tool for teaching elementary physics. The table top was a sandwich of fiberboard or plexiglass sheets separated by a honeycomb structure. The top surface was drilled with a grid of small holes, and the space between the boards was supplied with low-pressure compressed air, just enough to allow "air pucks" to float over the surface.^[5][6]

In 1968, Sega released an arcade electro-mechanical game similar to air hockey, MotoPolo. Based on polo, two players moved miniature motorbikes around inside a cabinet, with each player attempting to knock the balls into the opponent's goal.^[7][8]

Air hockey was created by a group of Brunswick Billiards employees from 1969 to 1972.^[9] In 1969, a trio of Brunswick engineers – Phil Crossman, Bob Kenrick and Brad Baldwin – began work on creating a game using a low-friction surface. The project stagnated for several years until it was revived by Bob Lemieux, who then focused on implementing an abstracted version of ice hockey, with a thin disc, two strikers and slit-like goals equipped with photodetectors. It was then decided that the game might appeal to a larger market and air hockey was marketed and sold to the general public. The original patents reference Crossman, Kendrick and Lemieux,^[10][11] as well as earlier work on air tables.

The game was an immediate financial success and by the mid-1970s there was interest in tournament play. As early as 1973, players in Houston had formed the Houston Air Hockey Association, and soon thereafter, the Texas Air-Hockey Players Association, codifying rules and promoting the sport through local tournaments at Houston pubs Carnabys and Damians, and the University of Houston.

The United States Air-Table Hockey Association (USAA) was formed in 1975 by J. Phillip "Phil" Arnold, largely as an official sanctioning body.^[12] Since its inception, the USAA has sanctioned at least one national-level or World championship each year, crowning 12 different champions over 30 years. In March 2015, the Air Hockey Players Association (AHPA) was announced and is providing air hockey players with an additional organization also overseeing the sport of air hockey.^[13] The two organizations run independently but abide by a similar set of rules and share many of the same players. In July 2015, the AHPA crowned its first world champion and also the youngest in the history of the sport in Colin Cummings of Beaumont, Texas.

Today, professional air hockey is played by a close-knit community of serious players around the world, with extensive player bases near Houston, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, North Carolina, San Diego, Denver, Chicago, New York City, Boise, and Boston in the United States; Barcelona in Spain; Saint Petersburg, Moscow, and Novgorod in Russia; and Most and Brno in the Czech Republic. In the late 1980s, Caracas, Venezuela served as a hotbed of activity; three-time World Champion Jose Mora and other finalists originated from there. By 1999 most of the Venezuelan activity had disappeared.

Competitive air hockey

Tournament history

USAA World Championships

Source:^[13][14][15]

USAA Air Hockey World Championships by Houston-based United States Air Hockey Association (USAA):

1. World Singles Championship Since 1978
2. World Doubles Championship Since 1995

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Third Place
1978	Jesse Douty	Phil Arnold	Rolf Moore
1979	Jesse Douty	Phil Arnold	Joe Campbell
1980	Jesse Douty	Phil Arnold	Joe Campbell
1980	Jesse Douty	Robert Hernandez	Mark Robbins
1981	Bob Dubuisson	Paul Burger	Jesse Douty
1981	Jesse Douty	Bob Dubuisson	Paul Marshall
1982	Jesse Douty	Mark Robbins	Bob Dubuisson
1983	Bob Dubuisson	Jesse Douty	Phil Arnold
1984	Mark Robbins	Robert Hernandez	Bob Dubuisson
1985	Bob Dubuisson	Robert Hernandez	Vince Schappell
1985	Bob Dubuisson	Robert Hernandez	Mark Robbins
1986	Robert Hernandez	Bob Dubuisson	Mark Robbins
1986	Mark Robbins	Bob Dubuisson	Robert Hernandez
1987	Robert Hernandez	Jesse Douty	Phil Arnold
1987	Jesse Douty	Mark Robbins	Robert Hernandez
1988	Jesse Douty	Bob Dubuisson	Robert Hernandez
1988	Jesse Douty	Bob Dubuisson	Joe Campbell
1989	Tim Weissman	Bob Dubuisson	Jesse Douty
1989	Tim Weissman	Jesse Douty	Robert Hernandez
1990	Tim Weissman	Jesse Douty	Robert Hernandez
1990	Tim Weissman	Phil Arnold	Mark Robbins
1991	Tim Weissman	Mark Robbins	Robert Hernandez
1991	Tim Weissman	Jesse Douty	Albert Ortiz
1992	Tim Weissman	Robert Hernandez	Mark Robbins
1992	Tim Weissman	Keith Fletcher	Vince Schappell
1993	Tim Weissman	Andy Yevish	Keith Fletcher
1994	John (Owen) Giraldo	Mark Robbins	Tim Weissman
1995	Billy Stubbs	Wil Upchurch	Don James
1996	Tim Weissman	Wil Upchurch	Andy Yevish
1997	Wil Upchurch	Tim Weissman	Jesse Douty
1999	Jose Mora	Pedro Otero	Jimmy Heilander
2000	Jose Mora	Pedro Otero	Tim Weissman
2001	Danny Hynes	Tim Weissman	José Mora
2002	Danny Hynes	Ehab Shoukry	Billy Stubbs
2003	Ehab Shoukry	José Mora	Andy Yevish
2004	Danny Hynes	Andy Yevish	Anthony Marino
2005	Danny Hynes	Billy Stubbs	Anthony Marino
2006	Danny Hynes	Wil Upchurch	Davis Lee
2007	Davis Lee	Keith Fletcher	Ehab Shoukry
2008	Danny Hynes	Ehab Shoukry	Jose Mora
2009	Ehab Shoukry	Davis Lee	Keith Fletcher
2010	Davis Lee	Billy Stubbs	Anthony Marino
2011	Danny Hynes	Ehab Shoukry	Billy Stubbs
2011	Danny Hynes	Ehab Shoukry	Billy Stubbs
2012	Billy Stubbs	Danny Hynes	Ehab Shoukry
2012	Billy Stubbs	Ehab Shoukry	Tim Weissman
2013	Danny Hynes	Davis Lee	Pedro Otero
2014	Billy Stubbs	Davis Lee	Danny Hynes
2015	Colin Cummings	Pedro Otero	Danny Hynes
2016	Colin Cummings	Danny Hynes	Brian Accrocco
2017	Jacob Weissman	Vadim Chizhevskiy	Colin Cummings
2019	Colin Cummings	Vincent Sauceda	Jacob Weissman
2021	Colin Cummings	Jacob Weissman	Jacob Munoz
2022	Colin Cummings	Jacob Weissman	Marcelo García
2023	Colin Cummings	Jacob Weissman	Pete Lippincott

AHPA World Championship

Source:^[13]

Air Hockey Players Association (AHPA) - Air Hockey World Championship

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Third place
2015	Colin Cummings	Billy Stubbs	Brian Accrocco
2016	Colin Cummings	Brian Accrocco	Doug Howard
2017	Colin Cummings	Vincent Sauceda	Brian Accrocco
2018	Colin Cummings	Vincent Sauceda	Danny Hynes
2019	Colin Cummings	Vincent Sauceda	Keith Fletcher

US Championship

^[13]

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Third place
1983	Jesse Douty	Mark Robbins	Bob Dubuisson
1984	Jesse Douty	Phil Arnold	Mark Robbins
1998	José Mora	Pedro Otero	Tim Weissman
2004	Danny Hynes	Ehab Shoukry	Don James
2007	Wil Upchurch	Davis Lee	Keith Fletcher
2009	Danny Hynes	Ehab Shoukry	José Mora

European Championship

^[13]

Year	Champion	Finalist	Third place
2006 (Singles)	Goran Mitic	Michael L. Rosen	José Luis Camacho^[NB 1]
2007 (Singles)	José Luis Camacho	Sergey Antonov	Sergio López
2006 (Teams)	Spain	Czech Republic
2007 (Teams)	Russia	Spain

Texas State Open

^[13]

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Third place
1998	Tim Weissman	Jose Mora	Wil Upchurch
2000	Jose Mora	Danny Hynes	Jimmy Heilander
2002	Jose Mora	Danny Hynes	Anthony Marino
2003	Anthony Marino	Jose Mora	Danny Hynes
2004	Danny Hynes	Ehab Shoukry	Anthony Marino
2005	Danny Hynes	Ehab Shoukry	Anthony Marino
2007	Tim Weissman	Vince Schappell	Joe Cain
2008	Danny Hynes	Jimmy Heilander	Syed Rahman

Catalan Championship

^[13]

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Third place
2003	Pedro Otero	Emilio Araujo	Marc García^[NB 2]
2004	Marc García	Sergio López	José Luis Camacho
2005	José Luis Camacho	Sergio López	Marc García
2006	José Luis Camacho	Marc García	Javi Navarro
2007	Marc García	Mauro Sturlese	Javi Navarro
2008	Sergio López	José Luis Camacho	Mauro Sturlese

Russian Open

^[13]

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Third place
2006	Mauro Sturlese	Igor Masloboev^[NB 3]	Sergey Grishin
2007	Pedro Beles	Sergey Grishin	Nikita Vaganov
2008	Cláudio Barimbetche	Vadim Chizhevskiy	German Vargin

Notes

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Air hockey.

1. "European champion"
2. "Catalan champion"
3. "Russian champion"

See also

• Table football
• International Table Hockey Federation
• Pong
• Table hockey
• ITHF table hockey
• Novuss
• Park golf
• Carrom
• Crokinole
• Pichenotte
• Pitchnut
• Chapayev (game)
• Golf Billiards

References

1. "Everything You Need To Know About Air Hockey". AirHockeyPlace.com. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
2. "Let's Play AIR HOCKEY" (PDF). olhausenbilliards.
3. "OFFICIAL AIR HOCKEY RULES". Bubble&AirHockey.
4. George E. Lamb, Conveyor, U.S. patent 2,315,627, granted Apr. 6, 1943
5. Thomas W. Williams III, Air Table, U.S. patent 3,415,478, granted Dec. 10, 1968.
6. Thomas W. Williams III, Air Table, U.S. patent 3,429,544, granted Feb. 25, 1969.
7. "セガ60周年スペシャルインタビュー。伝説の筐体R360や『バーチャファイター』などアーケード開発者が開発秘話をたっぷり語る！" [Sega 60th Anniversary Special Interview: Arcade developers of the legendary chassis R360 and "Virtua Fighter" tell a lot of development secrets!]. Famitsu (in Japanese). 28 June 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
8. "Arcade Developers Talk Sega's History of Taking On Challenges". OneMillionPower. 28 December 2020.
9. . Brunswick Billiards. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
10. US 3773325, Crossman, Phillip E.; Kenrick, Robert G. & Le Mieux, Robert W., "Air cushion table game", published 1973-11-20, assigned to The Brunswick Corp. 
11. US 3927885, Crossman, Phillip E.; Kenrick, Robert G. & Le Mieux, Robert W., "Puck and bat for an air cushion table game", published 1975-12-23, assigned to The Brunswick Corp. 
12. "The History of Air Hockey". airhockeytablereviews.com. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
13. . Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
14. http://www.airhockeyworld.com/

External links

NCAHP (North Carolina Air Hockey Players) website