Vintage Puck

Vintage Puck

16-bit hockey, the way you remember it. Fast, loud and a little dirty. Play a quick exhibition game or a full 84-game season, or just sit back and watch the CPU battle it out.

10 coolest features

1. Momentum that you can feel. Three straight shots on goal light a fire under your team. A player who just scored skates, shoots and checks 40% harder, and up to 60% when his whole team is rolling. The crowd claps along, but one opposing shot or one big hit kills it.
2. Dynamic Duo. When two linemates keep connecting, they become a duo. One carries the puck behind the net, where nobody can strip him, and feeds his partner for a deadly one-timer.
3. Real fights. When a team loses hope late in the game, the gloves come off. Players box, wrestle or both until the linesmen step in, and both get five for fighting.
4. Full VPHL season. 84 games with 1990s rules (two points for a win, ties allowed), then 16 teams battle in best-of-seven series for the VPHL Cup. Standings, scoring race and goalie stats included.
5. Pull the goalie. Trailing late, teams send out a sixth attacker. Delayed penalties work the real way, and empty-net goals happen.
6. Every penalty in the book. Hooking, slashing, tripping, boarding, high-sticking, too many men and more. You’ll hear a long whistle, and home fans boo after two straight calls against their team.
7. Hat tricks rain caps. Score three and the ice fills with hats thrown from the stands.
8. Intermission show. The ice resurfacer clears the scratched-up ice while game facts and the period-by-period scoresheet roll by.
9. Pregame entertainment. A sponsor car parade, a fan shooting contest, a figure skater, the league anthem or the mascot with a T-shirt cannon.
10. Living, breathing ice. Players stumble and wave their arms to keep their balance. Sometimes a player goes down hard, loses his helmet or stick and heads to the bench.

Also in the game

• 26 fictional teams from hockey-hungry cities, with 416 players and full rosters
• Play home, play away or watch the CPU play itself (1×, 2×, 4× speed)
• Touch controls for phones and tablets, plus keyboard controls
• Hold the shoot button for a slapshot, aim with the stick, and hit or hook on defense
• Power plays with an umbrella setup, penalty kills with a box
• Offside, touch icing, goaltender interference, net knocked off its moorings
• Penalty shots on hooked breakaways, overtime and shootouts
• Corner scrums, dump-ins, rebounds, over-the-glass clears
• Team goal horns, organ riffs at faceoffs and an original chiptune theme
• Three stars of the game, mid-period stat pop-ups and a scoresheet after every period
• 2, 4 or 8 minute periods
• Season progress saves in your browser

All teams and players are fictional.