Ice Clash
A fast air hockey showdown against the computer. Read the angles, out-quick the AI, and be first to seven goals.
Control the bottom half
Move your mouse or finger — your paddle follows within the bottom half of the rink.
Strike the puck
Speed and direction transfer into the puck on contact — quick flicks hit harder than slow pushes.
Defend your goal
The computer gets faster the longer the puck stays near its side. First to 7 goals takes the match.
Reading the computer's defence
Ice Clash rewards puck placement over raw speed. The computer paddle tracks the puck's horizontal position, not its trajectory, which means a puck moving diagonally at moderate speed is often harder for it to intercept than one fired straight and fast — the AI has to cover more lateral distance in less time to react. Angled shots toward the corners consistently outperform straight shots down the middle once you're past the first couple of goals.
Because speed and direction transfer from your paddle into the puck on contact, a short, sharp flick generates more transferred velocity than a long, slow push — even at the same paddle speed on contact. Practising short flicks from a stationary paddle is a faster way to build power than skating the whole width of your half before striking.
The computer's reaction speed scales up the longer the puck lingers on its side of the rink, so rallies that stay near the centre line for a long time favour the AI, not you. If you find yourself in a long neutral exchange, that's the moment to commit to a decisive angled shot rather than waiting for a better opening — the opening gets worse, not better, the longer you wait.