Attempt 'Hockey Pockey'

What can I use if I don't have a large piece of cardboard, a bottle cap, or drinking straws?

Use a flattened cereal box or shoebox lid for the rink, a plastic jar lid or large button as the puck, and wooden craft sticks or plastic spoon ends instead of drinking straws for paddles.

Why won't the side walls stay up or the puck slide smoothly, and how can I fix those problems?

Make a firmer 1–2 cm crease and tape the folded edges along the underside as the instructions say to keep walls upright, and smooth the playing surface with a sheet of paper or wax paper under the cardboard and slightly widen the goal slot if the bottle-cap puck keeps getting stuck.

How can I adapt Hockey Pockey for younger or older children?

For younger kids, pre-cut the cardboard and straws, enlarge the goal slots and use a ping-pong ball as the puck, while older kids can narrow goals, keep score or set time limits, and add detailed team decorations during the decorating step.

What are some ways to enhance or personalize our tabletop hockey game?

Clip a clothespin or small folded cardboard as a goalie at each goal, add angled cardboard ramps along the long edges for bank shots, and paint team zones or create a paper scoreboard as extensions of the decorate-and-play steps.