About Super Air Hockey
Super Air Hockey is a single-player air hockey game played on a 3D table in a neon-lit arcade. You control one mallet and face a computer-controlled opponent across the table, trying to knock the puck into the goal on the far side. There are ten named rivals, six arcade venues, five difficulty levels and several ways to play, from a short tour of quick matches to a 32-player knockout tournament. Prize tickets earned in matches buy new mallets, pucks and table finishes.
The game is free on Smaz Games and runs in the browser on a computer, phone or tablet. There is nothing to install and no account is needed to play.
How a match works
- You serve the first point. The puck sits still on your side until you strike it.
- Move your mallet through the puck to hit it. There is no shoot button: the faster your mallet is moving when it meets the puck, the harder the shot.
- A goal counts when the puck crosses fully into the goal mouth. The player who concedes serves the next point.
- Each side has seven seconds to get the puck over the centre line. The first time a side runs out of time it gets a warning. After that, running out of time hands the serve to the other player without a goal being scored. Touching the centre line resets the clock.
- Most matches are first to seven goals, with no need to win by two. At 6–6 the next goal decides it. Matches in the Quick Game tour are shorter, at first to three.
During a long rally the puck starts to glow and a heat meter fills, but this is only a visual effect. It does not change the puck's speed or the value of a goal. There are no power-ups.
Controls
- Mouse or trackpad (default): click once on your half of the table to grab the mallet, then slide without holding the button. The cursor hides and stays inside the game. Click again to let go. This trackpad mode suits laptops.
- Mouse, hold and drag: turn trackpad mode off in Settings, then click and hold on your half and move the mouse.
- Touch: put a finger on your half and slide to move the mallet. Lift and touch again to reposition your finger.
- Keyboard: the arrow keys or W, A, S and D move the mallet.
- P or Esc pauses and resumes, and M mutes the sound. Some browsers use Esc to release the mouse pointer first, so P is the more reliable pause key.
The game pauses on its own if the window loses focus or you switch tabs. The pause screen has Resume, Settings and Arcade buttons.
Game modes
- Quick Game: the main button continues an eleven-stop Arcade Tour. It starts against Mia and Leo and moves up through the rivals to Ace, each played at their home arcade. Tour matches are first to three. For the first three stops, finishing a match moves you on even if you lose; after that you need to win. The Choose Rival + Arcade option lets you set up a first-to-seven game against any rival at any venue.
- Tournament: the After Hours Open is a 32-player single-elimination bracket of five rounds, from the Round of 32 to the Final. One loss ends your run. Entry is free and the champion earns a 500-ticket bonus.
- League Nights: three knockout leagues of rising size. Block Party has 4 players and free entry; Midnight Metro has 8 players and costs 80 tickets to enter; Coast to Coast has 32 players and costs 360 tickets. Starting a new league while another is in progress ends the old one without refunding its entry fee.
- Arcade Night: Endless Rivals is a winning-streak mode in which each win brings a harder opponent, from Easy up to Pro, at a different venue each round. A loss ends the night, and after at least one win you can choose to finish the night and bank it. Single Showdown is one first-to-seven game against the rival of your choice at their home arcade.
- Free Practice: the far goal becomes a rebound wall, so the puck keeps coming back. There is no score limit, no clock and no tickets. It is the place to practise bank shots off the rails.
Rivals and venues
The ten rivals come in pairs at each difficulty level. Mia and Leo are Easy; Zoë and Kai are Medium; Amara and Raf are Hard; Yuki and Dante are Expert; Nova and Ace are Pro. Their outfits and signature mallets are for looks only. Tournaments and leagues fill out the brackets with other named players who use the same five skill levels.
The six venues are Neon Commons, Boardwalk Replay, Voltage Works, Skyline Social, Prism Parade and Grand Circuit Hall, the championship stage where Nova and Ace play.
Tickets and the Prize Counter
Tickets are the game's only currency and cannot be bought. You earn them by:
- Winning matches, with bigger payouts at higher difficulty: 40 tickets on Easy up to 180 on Pro.
- Beating each rival for the first time, which adds 25.
- Finishing an active match against a computer rival, which pays 20 tickets even if you lose, plus a bonus on each of your first three.
- The daily challenge: score three goals across finished matches in one day for 40 tickets.
- Champion bonuses from tournaments and leagues.
The Prize Counter sells 22 mallets, 18 pucks and 13 table finishes, with a free starter in each group. Every item is cosmetic. Gear has the same reach, speed and power, so buying something never changes how a match plays.
Profile and stats
You can set a gamertag of up to sixteen characters and choose one of twenty portraits. The My Stats screen shows games finished, win rate, tickets earned, best win streak, results by mode, shutouts, one-goal wins, the longest rally, your best Arcade Night streak, time played, head-to-head records against each rival and your last twenty games. The game has no separate achievements list.
Tips for beginners
- Swing through the puck rather than just touching it. Mallet speed decides shot strength.
- Watch the possession clock. Get the puck over the centre line within seven seconds, especially once you have used your warning.
- Start with the Quick Game tour. Its first three stops always move you on, and finishing matches earns tickets even when you lose.
- Use Free Practice to learn how the puck comes off the rails before you face Hard rivals.
- On a laptop, keep trackpad mode on so you do not need to hold the button down.
Tips for advanced players
- Bank shots off the side rails can get past a rival who is guarding the middle of the goal. The rails return almost all of the puck's speed.
- Expert and Pro rivals punish loose returns. Keep your mallet between the puck and your goal after each shot.
- In Endless Rivals, decide when to finish the night. A loss ends the streak, while finishing after a win counts as a winning night.
- Save tickets before entering Coast to Coast. It costs 360 to enter but pays 1,200 to the champion.
Saving progress
Your profile, tickets, gear, tour progress, league runs, settings and stats are saved in your browser on the device you play on. On Smaz Games this game uses browser saves only, not account saves, so progress does not move between devices and is lost if you clear browser data. The game has no online leaderboard and no online services.
Devices and orientation
Super Air Hockey plays with a mouse, trackpad or keyboard on a computer and with touch on phones and tablets. On a touch device held upright, the game shows a message asking you to turn it sideways and waits until you do. Phones need landscape; desktop has no orientation requirement.
Frequently asked questions
Is Super Air Hockey free?
Yes. It is free to play in your browser on Smaz Games with no download. The Smaz Games version has no ads inside the game and nothing to buy.
Can I play against a friend?
No. Every match is against a computer rival.
How many goals win a match?
Seven in most modes, and three in Quick Game tour matches.
Do the mallets and pucks I buy make me better?
No. All gear is cosmetic.
Does it work on phones?
Yes, held in landscape. Slide a finger on your half of the table to move.
What happens if I hold the puck on my side?
After seven seconds you get a warning. Later timeouts give the serve to your opponent.
How do I earn tickets quickly?
Win at higher difficulty, beat each rival once for the first-win bonus, finish the daily three-goal challenge and enter tournaments and leagues for champion bonuses.
Will my progress sync to another device?
No. Progress is stored in the browser you play in.
Who made Super Air Hockey
Super Air Hockey was made by Saratoga Games, an independent studio in Cape Town, South Africa, run by solo developer Sean Wyngaard.
If you like Super Air Hockey, try
For more quick reflex play on Smaz Games, try Squad of One, a top-down action game where your earlier runs fight beside you, or Caveman Taxi, which is about careful helicopter landings. For a slower pace, Fintopia puts you in charge of an aquarium shop.