DejiIn the exciting game of air hockey, 2 players compete against each other on a low-friction table. To play this game, you need an air-hockey table, 2 player-held strikers as well as a puck.
From the time when the first Air Hockey World Championship tournament occurred, which was held in a hotel in New York City in 1974, the city still holds on to some remaining tables.
But you’ve got to search to locate where you can pick up a mallet and relish the click-clack puck sound.
Therefore, if you’re an air hockey supporter and are in the NYC area, there are some places you can go to.
If you’re an air hockey pro player or just want to try your skills and have an excellent time with your friends, there are some awesome places in the NYC area that you can claim a table.
Though I can’t assure you of the condition of each table since the period of putting this article together, I can try to create a brief description of each location to offer you an excellent idea of what the destination is like.
Air Hockey Dive Bars in NYC
These are the kinds of bars in New York in which there’s no need to waste $20 on a craft cocktail; the bartenders and staff are very friendly, and the guests are mainly local.
Brownstone Billiard’s Oceans 8
This laid-back sports bar can be found in Brooklyn at Park Slope on Flatbush Avenue.
But they’ve gone beyond billiard tables and also offer tables for air hockey that can be rented by the hour.
During limited hours, the place is child-friendly. That way, the adults can play after the sun goes down.
Nevertheless, it can be your finest family-friendly choice on the Brooklyn side.
Ocean’s 8 is an outstanding bar for some air hockey in New York City, and on Friday and Saturdays always open until 4 am.
Kings Beer Hall
When you’re in Brooklyn’s Park Slope area, you can go to 5th Ave. There, you’ll locate King’s, Beer Hall.
Equipped out with public tables where food such as pretzels and bratwurst are served, it’s a great place to play one or two games of air hockey in NYC.
However, the table has fallen into a state of decline, so anticipate some “dead spot” where the air won’t move the puck.
Notwithstanding, it’s a lovely place to chill out with friends and have a great time.
Manitoba’s
With the walls adorned with boxing memorabilia and torn leather sofas, this bar in the East Village bar takes you back to a punk scene of the 80.
And to discover that punk rock legend Richard “Handsome Dick” Manitoba of the Dictators is the owner, would come as no surprise (although Manitoba is generally reminiscent of the Canadian province where the city of Winnipeg spat out some groundbreaking punk bands).
And how punk rock began as a concealed music scene; that’s what you’re headed for, to the basement of the bar, where the air hockey table is located.
Ontario
Canadians love their ice hockey.
So, it’s not surprising that this bar at Williamsburg has an air hockey table. This bar is a humble, hole-in-the-wall with cheap Canadian brewers that is casual and inexpensive for the Brooklyn area.
There’s no need to go downstairs for the air hockey table.
Instead, throw a few coins into the jukebox and listen to some music over the puck’s back & forth sound.
And keep this in mind: While the bartenders are friendly to anyone passing through, try to forget that you’re in the territory of the New York Rangers.
Family-Friendly Air Hockey at NYC Game Centers
Perhaps a weakly lit dive bar is simply not for you.
It could be that you, as a parent, who wants to teach your son or daughter in private lessons in air hockey, doesn’t plan to drink at all.
If so, here are a couple of family-friendly game centers in NYC (additionally to Ocean’s 8 sports bar) for everyone to enjoy.
Chinatown Fair Family Fun Center
Located in Chinatown is the Chinatown Fair Family Fun Center.
And though it’s merely an arcade with different types of games, like Dance Dance Revolution, Mario Kart, Skeeball, there’s an air hockey table.
It’s not the nostalgic old-school style of the 1970s, and it contained black lights and neon-colors, particularly if you want to only hop in for a short practice game without wasting time and money at a bar in a full afternoon.
The Chinatown Fair Fun Center, an institution as far as arcades are concerned, was the subject matter of the 2016’s documentary, “The Lost Arcade,” which deals with an interesting history, including its Tic-Tac-Toe chickens and acclaimed dances.
So, although it’s modern, it still has an origin.
Bowlmor
Bowlmor is a sports bar chain, which is, of course, best known for bowling.
But if you pass by the shoe rentals and the series of 48 bowling alleys, an arcade can be found there.
There are many additional games in this arcade, such as pools, air hockey, and shuffleboard.
Air hockey is billed per game and not by the hour, which can be quite expensive. That’s too bad.
However, if you and the children are just there and spending extra money on, maybe, chocolate shakes substituting for their 123 oz., Dunk Tank Cocktail for two seems like a drop in the ocean in comparison.
For your entertainment, there are two places in the Manhattan area, including Bowlmor Times Square and Bowlmor Chelsea Piers.
And, of course, both sites are perfect for birthday parties. It doesn’t matter if you’re a kid.
Concluding Thoughts
In conclusion, the bars or game centers above are the best places in New York City to play air hockey and maybe get an ice-cold beer.
A suitable place to locate a fully operational air hockey table in NYC is becoming less and less. At the period you’re reading this, another might not function anymore.
So call before doing the hike just for air hockey.
Also, if you encounter another out of sight air hockey hidden deep within the four walls of a dive bar, do inform us!