{"id":1666,"date":"2016-11-11T22:08:43","date_gmt":"2016-11-11T22:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/?p=1666"},"modified":"2023-05-01T17:41:51","modified_gmt":"2023-05-01T17:41:51","slug":"best-air-hockey-glossary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/best-air-hockey-glossary\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Air Hockey Glossary"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Watch Closely\u2026<\/h2>\n<p>Air hockey is definitely a game of skill, requiring patience, attention, and fast reflexes. The rules of the game are simple enough, meaning that just about anyone can play; but not all will play well. Beginners will have to overcome a learning curve, testing their patience and dedication to reaching a higher level. This air hockey glossary is a great way for a beginner to learn the ropes.<\/p>\n<h2>Start at the Very Beginning<\/h2>\n<p>Before you try to reach the top of the air hockey food chain, you need to understand some of the basic components of the game. We\u2019ll start by getting familiarized with some terminology.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1667\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Air-Hockey-Table-Layout.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1667\" class=\"wp-image-1667 size-full\" title=\"Top Air Hockey Table Overview Diagram\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Air-Hockey-Table-Layout.png\" alt=\"Air Hockey Table Layout Diagram\" width=\"300\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Air-Hockey-Table-Layout.png 300w, https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Air-Hockey-Table-Layout-150x300.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1667\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Top view of an average air hockey table with colored sections \u2013 Own Work\u00a0(Image under copyright of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/\">GameTablesOnline.com<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h3>Explanation of layout diagram:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Yellow Box<\/strong> \u2013 The edge of the table<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pink Box<\/strong> \u2013 The rail wall surrounding the playing field<\/li>\n<li><strong>Black Line<\/strong> \u2013 The halfway line<\/li>\n<li><strong>Orange Circle<\/strong> \u2013 The halfway circle<\/li>\n<li><strong>Red Dots<\/strong> \u2013 The first rail screws on either side of the playing field<\/li>\n<li><strong>Blue Boxes<\/strong> \u2013 The goal openings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some tables have more lines on either side to further divide the playing surface. These lines are typically used to designate foul lines. There are different difficulties that arise from both the layout with only <strong>1 line<\/strong> and layouts with <strong>2 or 3 lines<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>With <strong>only a halfway line<\/strong>, it is harder to be on the defense, as the opponent has a wider range of motion for more intricate moves. With <strong>more lines<\/strong>, it is harder to be on the offense, as there is less room to be creative with the different types of shots. A professional will be less daunted with these limitations, as they will have a larger repertoire of moves, but the beginner may feel a little restricted.<\/p>\n<h2>Other terminology includes:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Puck <\/strong>\u2013 The disc that is passed between the players<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Mallet <\/strong>\u2013 The thing used to hit the puck<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Knob<\/strong> \u2013 The elevated vertical column in the middle of the mallet<\/li>\n<li><strong>Turnover<\/strong> \u2013 The changing of a player\u2019s role between offense and defense; either gaining control or losing control of the puck<\/li>\n<li><strong>Possession<\/strong> \u2013 Being on the offensive; having control over the puck<\/li>\n<li><strong>Shot<\/strong> \u2013 The hard striking motion against the puck, meant to force it into the opponent\u2019s goal; also known as \u201cslicing\u201d or \u201ccutting\u201d the puck<\/li>\n<li><strong>Banking<\/strong> \u2013 Shooting the puck so that it rebounds off of the rail wall, towards the other player\u2019s goal<\/li>\n<li><strong>Drifting<\/strong> \u2013 Sliding the puck slowly towards the foul line, before performing the hard striking motion<\/li>\n<li><strong>Straight Shots <\/strong>\u2013 Shooting the puck to send it directly into the defensive player\u2019s goal without any banking<\/li>\n<li><strong>Casting <\/strong>\u2013 Setting the puck in play with the hands at the start of a round or after a goal is made<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Professional Shots<\/h2>\n<p>While this air hockey glossary is good for beginners, linking them together can be great for the aspiring expert too. Trick shots are made from combinations of simpler moves that the professionals use to keep their opponents on edge.<\/p>\n<h3>Some of these trick shots are called:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The \u201cOne Two Shot\u201d<\/li>\n<li>The \u201cMoving Puck\u201d or \u201cChase Shot\u201d<\/li>\n<li>The \u201cCasting Cut Shot\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As you might expect, these shots are not easily carried out by beginners, so if you find yourself interested in making them, \u201cpractice makes perfect!\u201d Keep looking for updates to this air hockey glossary, and take some time to read some of our other great air hockey posts!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related Content:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/air-hockey-table-troubleshooting-guide\/\">Air Hockey Table Troubleshooting Guide<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/air-hockey-tables-work\/\">How Air Hockey Tables Work<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watch Closely\u2026 Air hockey is definitely a game of skill, requiring patience, attention, and fast reflexes. The rules of the game are simple enough, meaning that just about anyone can play; but not all will play well. Beginners will have &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/best-air-hockey-glossary\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-air-hockey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1666"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2465,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1666\/revisions\/2465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gametablesonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}