Nok Hockey

http://www.amazon.com/Carrom-2-01-Champion-Nok-Hockey-Standard/dp/B00003G1U1/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1358794563&sr=1-1&keywords=Nok-Hockey

I need to start this post by taking a trip down memory lane. When I was a small gamer I participated in a Summer day camp program. I have very few positive memories from these day camps. I just didn't enjoy the other kids. Many of the positive memories have to do with this game. Nok Hockey is like regular air hockey only there is no air and the pucks are shaped differently and a goalie is provided.   

It is really hard to explain why this game is so much fun. Honestly for the price of one of these table (between $30 and $70) you could buy an entry level air hockey table that required batteries and made noise.

This game is just simple, plan fun. Chances are if you ever owned one of these you still own one of these. They don't break. The batteries never die (because there aren't any). There is something special about the basic blue and red colors and the printed hockey guy. Whoever originally designed this thing did a great job the puck slides well and bounces off stuff well.

If you have one of these things barred in your closet pull it out and plop it on top of your coffee table you might find yourself enjoying it.

This brings me to my discussion of the importance being earnest. Nok Hockey is not air hockey. It is not the big fancy air hockey table I play at the arcade. It also isn't trying to be. The problem I have with mini versions of games is that they often times try to be just like the larger version of a game even though they are not. Be yourself. Take things people like about larger expensive games and apply those characteristics in your own smaller version of a game.

Nok Hockey and pub billiard games, which I've talked about in older posts, are great examples of being similar to full size games (have some of the same characteristics as their full size counterparts) while still doing their own thing and doing their own thing well.