Each has a particular character and skill level. The set up over, you can start to take on some of the weirdos. To add extra interest to the game you can also select a blocker which allows you to insert an obstacle between you and the opponent. This involves giving you more bounce from the puck or power in striking. Once into a match you can select attacking or defensive modes for the paddles. The game loads with an animated still of the locals and you can get into a match by clicking on one of the various pug-ugly faces. Wandering into this dive in search of a telephone you find yourself locked in a tournament with eight of the shufflepuck crazies that frequent the bar. The regulars are a pretty mixed bunch, united only by their love of shufflepuck. Played in a cafe somewhere on the furthest reaches of the galaxy, it's a cross between the sleazy bar in Star Wars and Milliways, the restaurant at the end of the universe in Hitchhiker's Guide.
The simplicity of the game is spiced up with a neat scenario which transports it into a sci-fi setting. Should he or she miss the puck the glass is shattered and a point is lost. Instead each player has a glass plate between him and the table to defend. The game is Shufflepuck, which is basically air hockey played without goals. Broderbund's latest offers a sports simulation of sorts, a bizarre set of opponents, good sound, excellent graphics and plenty of variable options yet manages to be less than the sum total of its parts. The player also has the ability to adjust the bounce and power of the paddle in the options menu.There are some games that promise much more than they actually deliver. Biff Raunch: A burly biker type who is extremely competent at the game.Princess Bejin: A mysterious robed woman who occasionally cheats by using her psychic powers to move the puck.Nerual Ttoille: A mysterious alien that copies the player's every move, making him hard to overcome.Eneg Doowtrop: Also known as The General, this military pig alien is aggressive with his returns but can leave gaps in his defense.Starts strong but constantly sips his martini throughout the match, making him less and less effective. Lexan Smythe-Worthington: An aristocratic alien who is always seen with a drink in his hand.Vinnie The Dweeb: An easy-going and languid player that is slow to react.Visine Orb: A small, nervous creature that quickly moves its paddle around but doesn't do much to block the player's shots.Skip Feeney: A nerdy human who is also new to the game.DC3: A waiter robot and an opponent with customizable difficulty levels that the player can practice on.The player faces nine distinct opponents, each with their own strategies and tricks to get past them: The original releases was black and white, while later versions featured color. The winner is the first to score fifteen points. The player must rebound the puck past the opponents paddle, effectively breaking the holographic "glass" at the end of the table. This air hockey game can be played in sessions against one opponent at a time, which the player chooses from a splash screen that features every character, or in a tournament mode where the player takes on every opponent in order of difficulty on their way to the top. It was later adapted to many other home computers.
Shufflepuck Café is a 1988 game that was originally released for the early model Apple Macintosh by Brøderbund Software.