Best Hockey Games to Play Free in Your Browser

Few sports translate to a screen as well as hockey. The puck never stops, the boards keep it in play and a single pass can turn defense into a breakaway. The best hockey games capture that speed in a browser tab, with no console, no install and no skates. Here are the ones worth your time, from a modern 3-on-3 game to arcade and home computer classics you can still load today.

What makes a good hockey game

Ice hockey is played on a rink with rounded corners, boards all the way around and a net at each end. A standard North American rink is 200 feet long and 85 feet wide, and the goal is only 6 feet across. That small target is why goalies matter so much, and why passing to open ice beats shooting from anywhere.

A good ice hockey game needs a few things to feel right. Skating should have some momentum, because players on ice glide and can’t stop on a dime. The puck should bounce off the boards so that dump-ins and rebounds become part of the play. And there should be a way to win the puck back, whether that is a body check, a poke or a steal. The games below are ordered from the quickest to pick up to the deepest.

Quick picks

If you want…	Play
3-on-3 hockey vs the computer, right now	Hockey (Dinogame)
A 2 player hockey game on one keyboard	Hockey (Dinogame)
The original two-on-two console classic	Ice Hockey (Activision)
A two-minute arcade game	Hat Trick
Wild hockey with super shots	Hit the Ice
Seasons, trades and line changes	Superstar Ice Hockey
Rules you can switch off	Face Off!
A table game with a puck	Air Hockey (Dinogame)

1. Hockey (play it right here on Dinogame)

Our Hockey is a top-down ice hockey game that runs in any modern browser on a laptop, Chromebook, tablet or phone. Two made-up teams, the Ember Foxes and the Tundra Owls, play 3-on-3 with a goalie each on a full-size rink with real boards, blue lines and nets. There is nothing to download and no account.

How it plays: You control the skater nearest the puck, and control switches on its own when the puck moves, or by hand with a switch key. Skating has momentum, so your player glides on when you let go and needs a moment to turn back. With the puck you can pass to a teammate or shoot, tapping for a wrist shot or holding the button to charge a slap shot. Without it, the same button is a body check, and a clean hit on the puck carrier knocks the puck loose. The puck rebounds off the boards and the back of the net, the computer plays both goalies, and every goal is followed by a faceoff that you win by pressing at the drop.

Games are three periods of 1, 2 or 3 minutes. A tie goes to sudden-death overtime, then to a shootout with three shooters a side before it turns into sudden death. You can play the computer on Easy, Medium or Hard, and your record against each level is saved in your browser, or play a friend on the same keyboard. Controls: Arrow keys or WASD, with keys to shoot, pass and switch, plus a joystick and Pass and Shoot buttons on touch screens. Best for: A full game of hockey online in a few minutes, alone or with a friend.

2. Ice Hockey (Activision, 1981)

Ice Hockey was designed by Alan Miller for the Atari 2600 and published by Activision in 1981. Getting four players on the screen at once was a hard trick on the 2600, and the game was popular enough that a TV ad starred Phil Hartman. The Internet Archive runs the Atari 2600 version in the browser.

How it plays: It is two-on-two, with a goalie and a forward on each side, and the goalie is free to leave the net. You control whichever of your players has the puck or is closest to it. The puck slides along the blade of your stick, and where it sits on the blade when you shoot decides the angle, out of 32 possible directions. You can steal the puck, block shots with your stick and knock your opponent down. Best for: A quick, pure hockey game against a friend or the computer.

3. Hat Trick

Hat Trick is a 1984 arcade game from Bally Sente, later ported to the Atari 7800, Commodore 64 and DOS. The Internet Archive has both the arcade original and the 1987 Atari 7800 version in its browser emulators.

How it plays: Each side has one skater and one goalie, seen from above, and you control both at once. Moving the joystick up and down also slides your goalie across the goal line, so attacking and defending happen together. A game lasts two minutes, and if it is tied when the clock runs out, up to twenty seconds of overtime decide it. At the end of the game, an ice resurfacer cleans the rink. Best for: A short, frantic two-player duel.

4. Hit the Ice

Hit the Ice is a 1990 arcade game by Taito, released in North America by Williams. It is a cartoon take on the sport, with three players a side, a forward, a defender and a goalie, and it later came to several home consoles. The arcade version plays in the browser at the Internet Archive.

How it plays: There are very few rules. Players trip, elbow and kick each other, and fights break out, with the loser left sluggish for a while. Every player can charge a super shot, and a fully charged one can knock the goalie into the net along with the puck. Teams that fall far behind may get a power-up drink that turns every shot into a super shot for a short time. There are exhibition and tournament modes, and two players can face each other or team up against the computer. Best for: Players who want hockey games online that feel more like a brawl than a sport.

5. Superstar Ice Hockey

Superstar Ice Hockey is a 1987 game developed by DesignStar Consultants and published by Mindscape for the Commodore 64, DOS, Amiga, Apple II and other computers. It was one of Mindscape’s best-selling Commodore games. The Internet Archive runs both the DOS and Commodore 64 versions in the browser.

How it plays: You play as either the center or the goalie, and the computer handles everyone else. Two players can go head to head or play together, one at center and one in goal. The game has a single action button: press it to swing your stick, which shoots if you have the puck and can knock nearby players down, often drawing a penalty. Between whistles you can make coaching calls such as line changes, and between games you create, train and trade players, who age and slow down over the seasons. Best for: Players who enjoy managing a team as much as playing.

6. Face Off!

Face Off! is a 1989 hockey game by MindSpan, the studio behind the HardBall baseball games, published by Gamestar for DOS and the Commodore 64. The DOS version is playable in the browser on the Internet Archive.

How it plays: Most of the game uses a side view of the rink, but whenever someone shoots, it switches to a special Shot Cam view of the shot on goal. You can play an exhibition, a full season or go straight to the playoffs. Rules can be set to realistic, relaxed or none at all, and you can change the number of players per team, the difficulty and the period length. Nasty fouls sometimes turn into a one-on-one fight, and the loser goes to the penalty box. Best for: Players who like to tune the rules to their taste.

7. Power Play Hockey

Power Play Hockey is a 1988 Commodore 64 game published by Electronic Arts, built around a game between the USA and the USSR. The Internet Archive runs it in a browser Commodore 64 emulator.

How it plays: Before the game you choose one-on-one or five-on-five and a period length of two, twelve or twenty minutes. On the ice you can take wrist shots and slap shots, win faceoffs, drop pass and body check, while roughing and cross-checking draw penalties. Best for: A retro free hockey game with a full set of moves and an old rivalry to settle.

8. Slap Shot

Slap Shot is a 1990 Sega Master System game developed by Sanritsu Denki and published by Sega. It plays much like Nintendo’s Ice Hockey and Konami’s Blades of Steel, and the Internet Archive runs it in the browser.

How it plays: You pick an exhibition match or a tournament. There are 24 national teams split into three pools, which work as difficulty levels, and you can only face teams from the same pool. It also adds a Shot Cam Replay. Best for: A console-style hockey game with plenty of teams to work through.

9. Air Hockey (the table version, on Dinogame)

Air hockey is a different game, but it shares the puck, the goals and the bank shots off the rails. If you want something even faster between hockey matches, our Air Hockey is a full table in the browser.

How it plays: Your paddle follows your mouse, finger or keyboard, and a moving paddle hits harder than a still one. Play the computer on Easy, Medium or Hard, or a friend on the same device, with matches to 5, 7 or 10 goals. Best for: Quick reflex games with a puck.

How we picked these hockey games

Every one of these free hockey games runs in a standard web browser, either directly or through the Internet Archive’s emulators, and none needs a download. We favored games where skating, passing and the boards feel like hockey and where there is a real opponent to beat. A few, such as Hit the Ice and Face Off!, bend the rules but keep the spirit. For more games like these, see our guide to the best browser sports games.

Field hockey on Dinogame

Every game above is played on ice or on a table. For the grass version, our Hockey Game is a top-down field hockey game, 6 a side on a full-size pitch. You dribble, pass and hit shots, and goals only count from inside the shooting circle. Win an 8-team tournament with a group stage and knockouts, play a quick match, or take an 8-second penalty shootout, at Easy, Medium or Hard.

Frequently asked questions

Can I play hockey games online for free?

Yes. Our Hockey is free in any modern browser with no download or account, and you can play the computer or a friend. Classics like Ice Hockey, Hat Trick and Superstar Ice Hockey are also free to play in the browser on the Internet Archive.

What is the best 2 player hockey game in a browser?

Our Hockey has a 2 player mode on one keyboard, with one player on WASD and the other on the arrow keys, and both control their own team at once. Activision’s Ice Hockey and Hat Trick are also strong two-player choices.

Is there an ice hockey game with overtime and shootouts?

Yes. In our Hockey, a tie after three periods goes to sudden-death overtime. If nobody scores, the game ends in a shootout, three shooters a side and then sudden death.

Do these games need a controller?

No. The Internet Archive games map their controls to the keyboard, and our Hockey works with a keyboard or with on-screen touch controls on phones and tablets.

What was the first great hockey video game?

Activision’s Ice Hockey, designed by Alan Miller for the Atari 2600 in 1981, is one of the earliest hockey games still worth playing. Its two-on-two format, with a forward and a goalie on each side, set the template for arcade games like Hat Trick.

Drop the puck

Hockey rewards quick hands and quicker decisions, and every game here gets you on the ice in seconds. Start with a 3-on-3 game against the computer, then try the arcade classics for a taste of where hockey games began. When you need a break from the rink, the Chrome Dino game is waiting with nothing but a jump button.