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Introduction to Dome Hockey

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Dome hockey is a two-person arcade game similar to foosball. The board is a miniature hockey rink, and the game is played and scored as a traditional hockey game, with each player controlling six small figures—three forwards, two defensemen, and one goalie. These figures are attached to rods; the player moves the figures forwards and backwards by pushing and pulling the rod and twists the rod to spin the figures. Except for the goalie, who only moves side to side, the figures can only move forwards and backwards.

The most common American version of table hockey is called dome hockey because a plastic dome is placed over the rink to prevent the puck from escaping. Also called bubble hockey, this version of the game most often appears in arcades. True table hockey, however, is especially popular outside the United States and the rink has no plastic dome. For the most part in America, however, the terms “dome hockey” and “table hockey” (not to mention “rod hockey”) are used interchangeably.

Table hockey goes back to the 1930s, when a Canadian named Don Munro is said to have invented it. Today, many versions of the game feature figures that represent different teams from the National Hockey League (NHL). The most popular incarnations of dome hockey, however, feature international teams, often the United States versus Canada or the United States versus Russia.

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