Firstly, a disclaimer: Some of the tips I’ll be sharing today include checking mains voltages, so if you are unfamiliar with working with mains voltages I’d definitely advise you ask a qualified electrician to check these areas for you – we want to fix your arcade, not get you electrocuted!

Now that’s out of the way, let’s take a look at what’s wrong with the machine and how we can fix it. Today I’ll be focusing on Jamma-based arcade machines (more on what a Jamma arcade is here). As these are some of the most common types of cabinets in people’s homes, it seems a fair place to start.

If you have a specific problem, here are the issues I am looking at today – click to go straight to the answer:

• Machine completely dead (no sound, no video)
• Sound but no video
• Video but no sound
• Joystick / buttons don’t work at all
• Joystick not working in one direction / button not working
• Machine not accepting coins
• No light in top marquee

Chris – One of our many pool table experts!

Over the next couple of weeks we are going to be interviewing some of the key members of the Liberty Games team here on the blog. To get things started we thought we’d talk to one of our pool tables sales team, Chris Cheverall, who we think knows pretty much everything there is to know about a pool table! Let’s put him to the test…

LG: How long have you been selling pool tables?

Chris: I’ve been working with Liberty Games for around two and a half years now, and working specifically with pool tables for the last 18 months. Here at Liberty each of us on the sales team really try and specialize in one area of what we sell, and for me it had to be pool tables! I’m a super-keen pool player, I play in the pool league at my local pub, and of course have my own table at home (a 6ft Slimline slate bed table).

LG: What have you learnt in that time?

Chris: Well I’ve learnt that there is more to a pool table that meets the eye! Although I’ve always had a good feel for what makes a good table and what doesn’t, I honestly didn’t know there were so many different models out there! There are also differences in cloth, ball size, American vs British and much more!

Still in the pool table department we’ve tried to offer the most popular tables at a great price, meaning that if you just want a slate bed table same as you would find in the pub, then yep we’ve got that, and if you want a massive eight foot pool American style table then we’ve got you covered as well!

We’ve tried to distill as much of our knowledge onto the website as possible to help people make decisions in the middle of the night should the need take them. I was heavily involved in creating our pool table FAQs, and we’re constantly updating this when we are asked a question by a customer that we haven’t covered online. But of course we are always here to answer any questions customers might have, or simply have a chat about what table might suit them best.

LG: What do you find are the most common questions people have when they speak to you about pool tables?

Chris: Generally people just want to double check that the table will fit in their room of choice, and discuss more about the cueing options, in terms of junior cues, mid-sized and so forth. Of course we have all the dimensions online, and our pool table room size video does a pretty good job of explaining what’s going on, but there are some people who like to hear a human say “yes that will fit”, and that’s what we’re there for!

I also deal a lot with people who have some more weird and wonderful requests for where their pool table needs to get to. We’ve made it easy on the website to buy online if your table is going to a ground floor location, or even up or down stairs where access is clear. But when the table has to get somewhere special that’s where I come in!

We have specialist delivery teams here at Liberty Games who can get a pool table pretty much anywhere. Just the other day I had a customer who was undertaking a loft conversion, nothing abnormal there, except the only access was up an extremely tight spiral staircase through a very small door! The customer was able to send me some photos of the area which I was able to share with our experienced installers, and we decided that, yes, we could go for what is known as a ‘dry build’ where the table is assembled from its very smallest parts in the room where it’s going to live. This works great for tight access situations, as normally pool tables are delivered in more assembled parts to minimize installation time.

So yes, any pool table questions, be it about the tables themselves or delivery and installation, or anything in between, you just have to ask!

LG: What would your advice be to someone whose home is a bit tight on space?

Chris: You’d be surprised just how many of our customers don’t have the kind of room size that you’d normally associate as being the ‘correct’ size for a pool table. Let’s face it a lot of us are crammed into flats in cities these days, but that’s no reason we shouldn’t be able to have that pool table we’ve always wanted is it?

Generally if you can’t fit a 7 foot table in then we’d suggest going for a 6 foot model. Although if you play in a pool league then you’ll be playing on a 7 foot table, we find that most people are actually very familiar with playing on 6 foot tables – mostly because many pubs are also a bit short on space so they also go for 6 foot models. The difference in size isn’t that great, and the game is pretty much identical, certainly in terms of the skills it’s no different, so in my opinion 6 foot tables are a great option.

If you haven’t got any room at all, then I’d always advise people to consider a pool dining table. Although it might mean a lucky relative receives your current dining table, it’s a bit of a two-birds-with-one-shot solution. You get a great looking dining table, but whenever you aren’t eating you whip the top off and there you go – a pool table! There’s never a situation where you’d be eating dinner and playing pool at the same time so it works perfectly! These tables don’t even cost that much more than a standard slate bed table either.

If that’s not an option then we also do a great range of folding pool tables from our MDF range, as well as smaller non-folding MDF tables, which work very well for families and pretty much anywhere where the table needs to be moved or a slate bed simply won’t fit.

The Slimline slate bed pool table – the same model Chris has at home

LG: What tables are proving popular at the moment and why?

Chris: On the slate bed front, the Slimline is always a very popular table – it’s a good looking table (works very well in modern looking homes), it’s easy to install in terms of its slim-line body (hence the name), and it’s also our cheapest slate bed table, which helps I guess!

The Supreme Winner is also a very popular table. The styling you see on this table is very much pub style, well exactly pub style actually as these tables are also very popular with pubs and bars. The only difference with the model we sell the most of is that it’s free to play, so you don’t pay for a coin mechanism you don’t need if you are having it at home (although of course we also sell the coin operated model as well !).

In terms of the MDF tables the Strikeworth models are really blowing everything out of the water at the moment. As I mentioned before I’m a proper pool addict, and I know a good slate bed table when I see one, and these tables are even impressing me – so like I said if slate isn’t an option for you then definitely go check one of these out. We’ve got a couple of their models in the office and they do honestly play really well.

LG: What is the most common accessory that people like to buy with their pool table?

Well all our tables come with everything you need to get playing straight away, so cues, chalk, triangle and of course pool balls. Actually instead of one accessory being the most popular, it’s actually our starter pool table accessory kit which is the most popular ‘accessory’ we sell, although that’s probably because we don’t actually sell it, we give it away for free!

We always encourage people to have their tables professionally installed by our expert fitters, not because we make any more money on it really, but more because generally it leads to happier customers. Of course if you want to install your own table then that’s totally not a problem, and unlike other suppliers we use the same team as the installers for our delivery only service, so they will still take it into your room of choice, they just won’t put it together. Pro tip here – many of our competitors send their delivery only tables by a very crude delivery, normally to the curb-side so check first!

Back to what I was talking about, yes if you decide to go for installation then we give you a free pool table accessory kit, with a brush, cover, cue rack, a junior and mid-sized cues. This is just out way of suggesting that pool table installation really is a good idea, as they deal with the whole situation for you, and it’s so much easier.

With that we had better let Chris get back to work… Keep your eyes out for our next target guest.

SEGA have been one of the most influential players in the racing arcade machine market so we’re sure you’ll agree that their history is certainly an interesting one!

Don’t forget that Liberty Games can still source many of the machines mentioned here, so if this gets you feeling all nostalgic then why not give one of our arcade machine specialists a call and we can help make your SEGA dreams come true!

Embed This SEGA Infographic

It used to be the case that games followed a predictable cycle – first came arcade success (if you were lucky), then a home console port and then if you were really luck a mobile or handheld game would follow. But those were in the days when most people were packing feature-phones in their pocket and teenagers were more likely to download a ringtone than a game for their mobile.

Fast forward to 2013 – smartphones have transformed the mobile phone landscape, and smartphone games have made an increasingly large play for the wallets of gaming enthusiasts.

So what is the humble arcade to do to keep up with this trend? Well as we’ve seen many arcade manufacturers have flipped the traditional model on its head and have turned some of the most popular smartphone game successes into arcade machines (as we first sneaked a look at last year with fruit ninja). But the real question is – are they any good? And what can they add to the experience?

First up we took a look at Temple Run. Certainly one of the more popular smartphone games since it’s release in 2011/2012 (depending on if you use iPhone or Android), the game has recently spawned a second mobile incarnation which has again proved hugely popular. So what was the arcade version like?

Well firstly, and most obviously, the action takes place on a much bigger screen, although it does seem as if the graphics were just scaled up somewhat and not completely re-designed for the larger screen. Compared to some of the beautiful HD graphics we saw elsewhere Temple Run’s graphics seemed somewhat basic in comparison.

Still the graphics were acceptable, and we’re here for the game play anyway, so how did it play? The developers made a good call choosing a track-ball interface for controlling the game, as this seems to fit very naturally with the game play, perhaps even more so than the touchscreen interface, so full marks there.

As far as the rest of the game goes, it’s pretty much identical to phone/tablet version, except you have to pay to play it. Will it be a success? Only time will tell.

Next up we have Doodle Jump. Again another hit from the App Stores gets translated into an arcade version, but with the same question – is it any good?

Well first off the cabinet makes much more of an impact than Temple Run, most probably due to its large illuminated top-flash and gorgeous gigantic HD display, which really seems to bring the game’s cutesy graphics to life, and certainly does what all good arcade machines are designed to do – attract your attention so you come over and play!

As for the game play, this machine uses a sliding controller to move the character around, which again works very well – you wouldn’t miss your touchscreen.

But again the question is, if you already own this game on your iPhone would you be tempted to part with your hard-earned money to play it on a bigger screen? Again time will tell – perhaps the lure of having your high score up on the big screen will do it for people.

One of the slightly more dubious crossovers that we saw was the Cut the Rope claw grabber. While Cut the Rope was undeniably a smartphone classic game, and has had huge success, the link to what is – in essence – a branded claw machine is tenuous at best. Sure there are things dangling from a rope (or electric cable), but that is where the similarity ends.

Perhaps if they put some of these in the grabbing area of the crane we’ll have the ultimate smartphone game mash-up!

So from what we’ve seen the hot properties of smartphone gaming are definitely making their mark in today’s arcade – but will their simple yet addictive nature pay off in a pay-per-play world? The arcade manufactures sinking vast sums into the licenses and manufacturing costs for these machines certainly seem to think so.

First off we saw Pac-Man Battle Royale – a game we actually sell the little brother to – but this time in a much bigger enclosure. It follows along the same lines, up to four players turn Pac-Canibal to devour each other and move on to the next round. This is certainly an interesting twist on the Pac-Man game concept, and works so much better as a multi-player game than the original Pac-Man. We even get to see him in different colours!

Next up we have Pac-Man Basket – a basketball hoop-shooter similar to many others on the market. Although the colour scheme used was definitely pac-inspired, and the machine produced some very familiar sounding wacca-wacca noises, that’s about where the connection ends.

Unfortunately the basketballs didn’t even look like Pac-Man, which was a bit of a disappointment, and the Pac-Man on the top flash of the machine looks like he has just stubbed his toe. However if you love basketball and love Pac-Man then you wouldn’t go far wrong with this.

Up next is Pac-Man Ghost Bowling, which is eerily reminiscent of Pac-Man basketball in that it feels like the franchise has just been tacked on to an existing arcade game. Actually scrap that, it doesn’t just feel like it, that’s exactly what has happened. Still that said the game is fun enough, if you like that sort of thing, however it isn’t exactly bringing the yellow fellow into a brand new genre-defining game.

Still once again there are a few familiar wacca-wacca noises that emanate from the machine from time to time so we’ll give a few points for that.

After seeing one of his video game counterparts make the move into the air hockey business, it can’t have been long until the video game industry’s new corporate play-thing made the move himself!

Still this time there is more that a tin of yellow paint involved in this transformation, Pac-Man Smash is actually a really great game!

Sure we’re not actually sure what it has to do with Pac-Man (a Pac-Man air hockey puck would have been such an easy win), but then as this game is so much fun we’ll let him off. The play-field of the table is marked out like a Pac-Man game field, but that’s pretty much where the similarity ends.

The fun really comes when multi-puck mode gets going, with ten mini-pucks being released onto each side of the table, which is surprisingly entertaining – want to see for yourself? Check out these overly enthusiastic teens.

So now you’ve played basket-ball, gone bowling, played air hockey – what if you want a souvenir to remind you of your pac-tastic day at the arcade? Well don’t worry, he’s got your back there too.

If you’ve got the skills, then you and the crane arm can bring you home your very own Pac-Man and matching ghosts, just don’t blame us for any loss of earning incurred through trying to grab that last blinky that just won’t budge.

So there we have it – proof that a license is never really dead so long as you get your thinking hat on. That said most of these games are generally fun, and the bright Pac-Man yellow (which really needs to be a colour in the paint catalogues) does help to attract the eye, which is at the end of the day what the arcade business is all about.

To that end today we thought we would ask one of our members of staff at one of our central distribution hubs to take a few photos so we can share them on our blog.

The centre we are looking at today is based in the Midlands, making it easy to deliver tables around the UK. This centre deals almost exclusively with pool tables, both slate bed and boxed tables, as well as a few other items such as air hockey tables.

As you can imagine warehousing these large and often heavy items presents its own challenges.

Above you can see some of our boxed pool tables awaiting distribution. We have huge stocks of these tables (this is only one little corner!) to ensure we can meet demand at all times of the year. Having the tables in stock means that we can (unlike many of our competitors) have your table with you in super-quick time, often within 48 hours.

For out Slate Bed pool tables, we hold what we think is the largest stocks of slated bed tables in the country!

What this means is that whereas with most other retailers you would have to wait for your pool table to be built to order, we hold the component parts ready-made in stock, and once a table is ordered our warehouse staff assemble the component parts (slate, main table body, legs, cushions) with the correct finish and colours, ready to be delivered as soon as possible.

We are completely transparent about what we do and don’t have in stock, so please check the product listing which will tell you which tables we can get to you quickly and which have to be built to order – as much as we would like to with around 10,000 different combinations available across our pool tables we can’t keep everything in stock at once!

Some of our larger brand new items, such as Fast Track air hockey tables are also handled in this warehouse. These are heavy enough to make a slate bed pool table look light (which trust me they aren’t), so require special handling (our health & safety manual must be one of the biggest around).

Liberty Games have specialist training and expertise in moving around these bulky items with the minimum of fuss, as well as being able to ensure that no damage happens to the product or your premises.

We hope you have enjoyed this little peak into the maybe not ultra-exciting but nonetheless crucial world of our delivery centres. Next time we’ll be taking a peak behind the scenes of our arcade refurbishment operation.

As always if you have any questions about how your pool table, or any other item, will be delivered by Liberty Games, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our sales advisers free on 0800 612 8180.

That announcement is that Stern, the current last remaining pinball manufacturer on planet earth, are producing a home model of one of their most popular machines, Transformers!

Why is this important?

Current pinballs are all built to a commercial standard, in that they are built to withstand the worst that the general public can throw at them – meaning they are heavy to move and made from commercial grade materials, to minimise damage. Combine this with a coin mechanism (which are surprisingly expensive) and you’ve got yourself a product which might well be over-engineered for the job it needs to do.

However at home most people are more likely to take good care of their pinball machines, so there probably isn’t the need for every aspect of the commercial build. That’s why Stern have stripped out what the machines needs to survive it’s tough life in the arcades and have left behind just what makes the game great – the game itself.

We’re not going to lie – the home model doesn’t have exactly the same iconic look as the original, it’s certainly a tad smaller and the back board isn’t as impressive – and there is a smaller LED score display, which we are a little disappointed with.

Still given that we are looking at a significantly lower price than for the commercial version, if it’s the game you love, then this looks like a great new product.

As always we’ll keep you updated as soon as we know when we’ll be able to get our hands on these in the UK.

For now, take a look at this interview with Stern CEO Gary Stern at CES 2013:

If you’d like to discuss this pinball machine, or any of our other great brand new or reconditioned models then please give one of our sales advisers a call free on 0800 612 8180.

Pictures and tip courtesy of engadget.

When thinking of arcade based racing games, for most people, only one company comes to mind: Sega. From the domination of early title Out Run through Virtua Racing, Sega Rally and other evolutions of perfecting the genre, Sega have been there every step of the way, not forgetting what many predict to be the highest grossing of all arcade titles ever, Daytona USA.Already famous in Europe for the success of the 8-bit Master System and Mark III in Japan, Sega gained widespread popularity in the home console market with the release of their 16 bit console. Known as the Mega Drive in Europe and Japan, thanks to popular sport titles and the legendary Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega finally conquered the North American market, renaming the product as the Genesis.The fact Sega had such a hard time breaking the American market with their home console division is steeped in irony, as most do not realise that the company was actually an American start-up, created in 1940 as Standard Games. Standard Games was formed to create arcade style amusement machines for the American armed forces, and were quickly renamed Service Games, or Se-Ga for short. Arcade games in the 1940s of course contained no computing power, but by the 1960s, the sophistication of the machines gave them the appearance of a “video game” long before such things were possible. In 1968 Sega released Drivemobile, their first racing simulator machine. Drive mobile had a simulated “screen” with a scrolling backdrop, and included a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, scoring system and sound effects, setting the mould for arcade based racing games from that moment on. Other Electro-mechanical games from the company included Grand Prix (1969) and Night Rider (1970).Arcade cabinets that could truly be described as “video games” appeared in the 1970s, using TTL-based discrete logic boards long before CPUs were used for arcade games. Sega produced several popular arced racing titles in this time, including Moto-Cross in 1976 which would be re-branded as Fonz using the character licensed from the popular Happy Days television show, one of the first arcade franchise licences. Other TTL based race games from Sega included Manx T.T. (1977) and Monaco GP (1979) which would both go on to have far more advanced and successful sequels in the future.

1979 saw the release of Sega’s first racing game with a CPU based standard system, Head On using the VIC Dual board, but they really set new standards with the superior VCO hardware the following year with Turbo. Sega’s Turbo was revolutionary and brought many innovations that are still used in racing games today, including the first use of a third person perspective with colour graphics, scaling sprites, multiple landscapes, different times of day, and varying weather conditions. Course design was highly varied for the time, and was the first to introduce hills to the terrain of a game, and also first to mix city, beach and countryside racing, and to use bridges and tunnels. By this time Sega had expanded to Japan for development of games, and in 1984 CSK bought the company, making it temporarily a Japanese only brand. The company would eventually set up a separate “Sega of America” division, but this was mostly for their console efforts and the majority of their arcade games would continue to be developed in Japan.

While Turbo was ground breaking in many ways, the following year rival company Namco developed a more popular racing game, Pole Position. This game was more polished looking and smoother to control, but was missing many of the features of Sega’s game. Sega’s arcade division invented a board with far more powerful “Super Scaler” sprite technology and 16-bit CPU to create a smoother pseudo 3D effect, first utilising it with 1985′s Space Harrier, and a highly successful motorbike racing game Hang-On.

The true successor to Turbo used an upgraded version of the Space Harrier board, and in 1986 Sega perfected the 2D Sprite Scaled arcade racer with the hugely successful Out Run. Out Run took the polish and smoothness of Pole Position and added back the missing features from Turbo, with many varied colourful landscapes and wildly undulating terrain. The new graphics engine allowed far bigger, smoother and more colourful sprites than had been seen before and punters around the world flocked to race an open topped Ferrari through sunny beach roads. Two innovations that Out Run introduced that go a long way to explaining its sustained popularity are the ability to tune your radio at the beginning, essentially making the background music a stand out feature, and adding forks in the road to allow multiple paths to complete the game. Courses were not simple circuits, but instead vast terrains which would eventually lead from one area to another in a continuous road race.

A pseudo-sequel to Out-Run was released in 1989. Turbo OutRun was a more serious affair, and was less popular than it’s predecessor, however it did introduce race rivals and the concept of trying to impress the girl riding in the car with you, both of which would be used as features in the well received Out Run 2, eventually released in 2003 as a high-tech homage to the original classic. In between these releases was OutRunners, which was a fun high action game developed for the System Multi 32 hardware, but it’s 1992 release date meant the 2D sprite scaled graphics were starting to look old hat, as Sega had moved on to 3D hardware.

Until 1992, the original Out Run arcade machine was still the most popular and profitable arcade racing game around, an impressive feature considering it’s 1986 release. Sega finally topped this success with the release of it’s highly impressive Model 1 arcade architecture, powering the highly popular Virtua Fighter, Star Wars Arcade, and Virtua Racing. Virtua Racing was the first truly successful arcade racing game to utilise “real” 3d graphics, using polygons. Rival Namco had created Winning Run in 1988 and Atari released Hard Drivin’ the following year, but Sega chose to wait until the power of the technology existed to really create something hugely impressive. The amount of polygons used in Virtua Racing is actually higher than several Model 2 games, including Daytona USA, but the lack of texture mapping means that these could be thrown around to an impressive degree by the Model 1 hardware. It introduced multiple camera views that could be swapped at will, including a helicopter style massively overhead view, which really showed just how many polygons could be handled at once by the machine, all whilst maintaining an incredibly smooth frame-rate, insuring a realistic experience unlike anything the public had experienced before.

The release of Virtua Racing was an event, with impressive deluxe racing cabinets introducing wide-screen variations and all cabinets being able to be linked to allow up to 8 people to race simultaneously. Around the world it was a common sight for arcade owners to run tournaments and “real” Grand Prix events using linked machines, and Virtua Racing is credited with convincing most within the games industry that Polygonal graphics were the future of the games industry. Unfortunately a flaw in most of the monitors shipped with the machines meant that they burned out out after a few years, and Virtua Racing cabinets are not anywhere near as common a sight as they once were, but the legacy of the game can be seen in nearly every racing or driving simulator since released. Home conversions at the time were pale comparisons, not able to match the arcade technology, but Sega’s 16-bit system did receive it’s only game to incorporate Sega’s SVP chip, the intended rival to Nintendo’s Super FX which debuted with Star Fox. A more accurate conversion was the 32X version, which although it has a lower poly count, had an accurate reproduction of the game-play and handling, and even added extra vehicles and courses.

1993 and 1994 saw the face of arcade racing games change forever with the limited then wide release of Sega’s Daytona USA. The game was the first to utilise Sega’s Model 2 hardware, meaning smooth 60fps, fully texture-mapped polygon graphics. Even thought there were slightly less polygons on screen than in Virtua Racing, the texture mapping meant a level of detail never before seen in arcade gaming and Daytona USA’s graphics were a real pull for crowds, and the catchy attract music sang “Daytonnnnaaaa” ensuring that no-one visiting an arcade in the 90s could fail to remember the title of what would become predicted to be the highest earning arcade based video-game of all time. Daytona USA’s handling, especially the drift mechanics, and the genuine huge improvements to lap times made possible by mastering manual gear changes over automatic would give a learning curve and a level of balance not before seen in racing games, and which many feel has never been mastered. Like Virtua Racing before it, up to 8 cabinets could be linked, and multi-player Daytona races remain popular in arcades even today.

With the huge popularity of Daytona, the home console launch of the Sega Saturn was highly anticipated. Unfortunately a combination of the console being underpowered compared to the top of the range arcade machine and the rushing of the product to the market meant that the home console version was not up to par, especially when compared to the rival Playstation’s version of Namco’s Ridge Racer, an arcade racer which paled in comparison to Sega’s offering in the arcade, but was technically far superior as a home conversion. Sega partially redeemed themselves with Daytona CCE for the Saturn and the updated Daytona USA for the more powerful Dreamcast. Both these games were excellent but still didn’t quite recreate the feeling and experience of the arcade perfect Daytona.

Sega’s arcade racing division went from strength to strength with the enormously popular Sega Rally adding different handling for different types of terrain, and repeating everything that made Daytona such a classic. As the hardware improved, There were well received sequels to both Sega Rally and Daytona, and technically excellent offshoots including Scud Race, the hugely popular Crazy Taxi, and eventually an amazing “true” sequel to the original Out Run. However, to this day, Daytona USA remains the crown jewels in Sega’s racing collection, and its enduring popularity is evident in the recent arcade re-release Sega Racing Classic, and an HD online conversion for Xbox 360 and PS3 finally meaning that console gamers can experience the ultimate in arcade racers at home.

]]> http://www.libertygames.co.uk/blog/the-complete-history-of-sega-racing-arcades/feed/ 0 http://www.libertygames.co.uk/blog/how-to-pick-the-right-furniture-for-a-pool-dining-table/ http://www.libertygames.co.uk/blog/how-to-pick-the-right-furniture-for-a-pool-dining-table/#comments Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:54:12 +0000 Jamie Stanford http://www.libertygames.co.uk/blog/?p=795 The dual usage achieved by a pool dining table has proved an extremely popular choice for customers who don’t necessarily have the space for a dedicated games room. A pool dining table is built using the slimmest body shape possible whilst still allowing a ball return system to operate.

With pool tables available at such reasonable prices these days and with such a strong range of colours, finishes and sizes, you would be hard pressed to find a standard dining table for less.

To ensure the pool dining table carries out its dinning function well the choice of furniture to go round the table is of great importance. Below we take the example of a popular British spec pool dinning table and a popular American spec pool dining table to guide you through the key measurements and considerations.

The Windsor Slate Bed Pool Dining table has been one of the best selling models of 2012. At just £695 for the table (2012 price list) and with a superb range of finish and cloth colours this table represents a quality and flexible piece of furniture within a reasonable budget. At 7ft in overall length we have tested up to 10 people seated around this table.

The measurement to take into consideration on this table is the distance between the floor and the underside of the pool table. In the case of the Windsor the measurement is 59cm. With this in mind when choosing an appropriate dinning chair it is best to consider what is a comfortable gap for your legs to fit in. In our opinion weather you have the thighs of a 10,000 metre runner right through to a professional Rugby player a gap from the seat to the underside of the table should be approximately 12-13cm. We have tried and tested chairs with a seat height between 46 and 47cm cm and for the majority of shapes and sizes these work well. For the Windsor we can most strongly recommend the Liberty Dining Chair Set (seat height 47cm).

The second table featured is the Longoni Red Devil, this is an extremely elegant pool dining table hand crafted in Italy. This larger table is 8ft in Length and can seat 12 people at a push.

Fortunately for the furniture choice, the distance from the floor to the underside of the table is just 61cm. We found that a seat height of 47cm worked perfectly with this table and you could even get away with a 48cm seat height if required. Once again the Liberty Dining Chair Set is the recommended choice.

But is that the end of the story? Well if it was then this would be a pretty short blog post!

At Liberty Games along with our impressive range of pool accessories, table football accessories and pretty much everything else games room accessory related we also stock what we believe is the UK’s largest range of air hockey accessories – we’re talking pucks and pushers!

For those of you new to air hockey a pusher (sometimes called a mallet) is what you hold in your hand, and the puck is what you hit with the pusher and which with a bit of luck is what will go into the goal at the other end.

Today we are going to look at some of the air hockey pucks we sell here at Liberty Games. Perhaps you’ve managed to loose your current pucks, maybe you’ve got a couple of chips in the puck (which can affect it’s ability to hold a cushion of air and hence travel properly on the table) or maybe you are after something a little different to play with! Either way we are here to help…

	The Red Puck This red pusher is a workhorse of the air hockey industry and comes in a couple of sizes – one for 6ft tables and one for 7ft tables – don’t worry these don’t have to be exact sizes, but are more of a guide. Why different pucks for different tables? Smaller tables generally have less overall air flow passing through them (as they are smaller) so are unable to hold up pucks designed for bigger tables.6ft Model – Click Here7ft Model – Click Here
	The ‘Twister’ Air Hockey Puck The twister is a commercial standard air hockey puck which just so happens to look really cool at the same time!With a dual layer recess this puck floats like a gem as well, oh and it’s available in two colours!Orange – click here White – click here
	The Twister Low Noise Puck Some people really like the click-clack sound of air hockey being played, it sounds like an arcade! Some people, well some people don’t. If you fall into the second camp then the twister low noise puck is here to help!How is it lower noise? It’s made of a softer material than most pucks so it doesn’t make as much noise on contact – simple but very effective!

So there we have it – three of our most popular air hockey pucks!

Don’t forget if you have any questions at all about which puck is right for your table, or anything else air hockey related don’t hesitate to give one of our full trained air hockey specialists a call free on 0800 612 8180.