Air Hockey Terms

Know your air hockey lingo

Air Hockey - A competitive game where players attempt strike a puck, which floats across a table on a cushion of air, into his/her opponent's goal. Brunswick Billiards owns the term "Air Hockey", so varying terms such as "Air Table Hockey" have recently become more common.

Attacker - This player is in control of the puck.

Bank Shot - Shot which strikes a side rail on its way toward the opposing goal.

Block - Preventing the attacker's shot from entering the goal by intercepting the puck with the mallet. Also known as a "save."

Center Line - The horizontal line visible on many air hockey tables, that divides the table into equal halves.

Charge - An aggressive tactic where the defender lunges ahead to intercept the attacker's shot as it crosses the centerline in an attempt to quickly score.

Chase Shot - When a player moves outward and strikes a puck that has just rebounded off of his own back rail toward the centerline.

Cross-straight Shot - A straight shot which does not impact any rails but "crosses over" from one side of the court laterally to the opposite corner of the defender's goal.

Cut-Shot - A straight shot that is hit so that the motion of the mallet and the direction of the puck are opposite. This involves "slicing" the edge of the puck when making a shot.

Defender - The player that does not have possession of the puck.

Drift - The controlled momentum of a puck on the attacker's side of the table. Drifts are used to disguise attacks by striking the puck at angles that differ from the drift. The "Circle (diamond) drift" and "L-drift" are two of the most commonly used drifts.

Interference Defense - Aggressive maneuvering for the purpose of getting the puck or scoring. When an opposing player controls the puck, the defensive player charges or chases off-goal shots.

Face-off - Placing the puck in the middle of the air hockey table. Both players attempt to either gain possession or score a quick goal.

Goal - One of the two gaps on either side of the air hockey table where points are scored.

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