An air hockey table can be one of the best choices for a game room at a bar, restaurant, arcade, or even in your own home. You only need two players, and the game is simple enough that kids and adults alike can enjoy it. Plus, keeping score is fun and easy if you get one with a powered scoreboard.

Things to Consider When You Set Up Your Air Hockey Table

Most air hockey tables won’t require a ton of assembly, but you should be aware that they’re both large and heavy, and that most of the time you’ll only be able to get curbside delivery, so you’ll be in charge of getting the table off of the delivery truck and into your home or establishment. So, when you order your table, plan to be on site when it arrives and make sure that you have a few other people around to help you lift it and get it into position.

Unlike some other gaming tables, like Foosball Table and Billiards table, when you set up your air hockey table, you’ll need to make sure that it’s close to a power outlet. Without power, air can’t be pumped to the surface of the table, and it’ll be a lot harder to send the puck gliding across the table. So, before you set up your air hockey table, make sure that you have a good place picked out for it where people can get to either side of it to play and where no one will trip over the power cord.

Maintaining Your Air Hockey Table

One of the best things you can do to ensure that your table keeps working well is to keep the puck in good shape. Many air hockey tables come with a piece of fine sandpaper with an adhesive back. You can attach this to the side of the table wherever you want so that it’s always available when you need it. When the puck stops gliding quite as easily, sand it until it’s smooth and will fly across the table again.

Keeping the table clean is another good thing you can do when you maintain your air hockey table, but the cleaning process might seem a little bit counter intuitive. With most electronics, you want to turn them off to clean them, but not with an air hockey table. Make sure that the table is turned on and then use isopropyl alcohol or a non-ammonia surface cleaner to wipe it down. You want it to be turned on so that any dirt, debris, or liquids get blown out and wiped away instead of getting stuck inside the table, where they can cause problems.

Finally, keep drinks off of the table, and you’ll avoid a lot of problems. Not only will you not get moisture rings on the rim of the table, but you’ll also avoid people accidentally spilling their drinks onto the table, which could cause it to malfunction.