A hockey game for your rink

Updated October 9, 2026

Rinks have a lot of people waiting: siblings, parents between periods, a whole team two hours early for a 7 am game. Put a TV in the lobby, open brudvighockey.com/?bar=1 on a laptop or mini PC, plug in two to four controllers, and they can play hockey while they wait for hockey. It's free.

What you need

• A screen. Any TV with an HDMI input. A smart TV's own browser can run it, but read the controller note below first.
• Something to run it. A laptop or a mini PC on HDMI. Anything from the last six or so years with Chrome or Edge is fine. A Windows mini PC is the usual pick: it sits behind the TV and nobody steals it, or at least nobody has yet.
• Internet. Wi-Fi or a cable. The game loads once and then needs very little, but phones join through brudvighockey.com, so it has to be online.
• Two to four game controllers. USB or Bluetooth: Xbox, PlayStation (DualShock 4 or DualSense), Switch Pro, or any generic one that works in a browser. Wired is the least drama.
• Optional: phones. Customers can play on their own phones by scanning the QR code on the screen. No app.

A smart TV's browser usually does not see game controllers, and some are slow at 3D. Phones still work there. For controllers, use a computer.

Setting it up

1. Plug in. The computer to the TV with HDMI, and to power. Not the battery. A laptop on battery saver plays hockey like it skated here.
2. Open Rink Lobby Mode. In Chrome or Edge, go to brudvighockey.com/?bar=1, or open brudvighockey.com and press Rink Lobby Mode on the menu. Bookmark it. A reload keeps it in Rink Lobby Mode.
3. Go full screen. Click once, or press any key or controller button. Rink Lobby Mode goes full screen and asks the screen to stay awake.
4. Connect the controllers. See the next section. Each one joins by pressing A (any face button works, ✕ on PlayStation).
5. Walk away. With nobody playing for a minute, it runs a computer-vs-computer demo with PRESS A TO PLAY on it. Any button stops the demo and that controller is in.

What Rink Lobby Mode does: the main menu only, no links out of the game, controllers join from a big panel, phones join with the QR code, and after each game the post-game counts down from 20 and goes back to the lobby by itself. To leave it, hold Esc or a controller's Back button for 3 seconds, or press the small EXIT in the corner and confirm.

Step by step with a diagram and the exact controllers and hub we use: local multiplayer with controllers.

Pairing the controllers

• USB: plug it in. Done.
• Xbox (Bluetooth): on the computer, open Bluetooth settings and Add device. Hold the small pair button on top of the controller until the Xbox logo blinks fast, then pick it.
• PlayStation DualSense or DualShock 4: hold Create (or Share) and the PS button together until the light bar flashes, then pick Wireless Controller in Bluetooth settings.
• Switch Pro: hold the small sync button on top until the lights run, then pick Pro Controller.

A browser only sees a controller after its first button press, so press one. In the lobby: stick left or right picks a side, up or down picks the team, A is ready, B leaves, LB and RB change the arena. One player alone plays the computer. Two to four split however they like, up to four a side, and phones can fill in.

Buttons feel wrong? In the lobby, press Y (△ on PlayStation) on that controller and press each button in turn. It's saved on that computer for that kind of controller.

Leaving it running all day

• Sleep: Rink Lobby Mode asks the browser to keep the screen on, but the computer's own settings win. On Windows: Settings, System, Power, set screen and sleep to Never when plugged in. On a Mac: System Settings, Lock Screen, turn display off: Never.
• The TV: turn off its eco mode, auto power off and "no signal" sleep, or it will helpfully switch itself off at 4 pm.
• Kiosk mode: Chrome has one with no address bar and no tabs. Make a shortcut to chrome.exe --kiosk https://brudvighockey.com/?bar=1. For Edge: msedge.exe --kiosk https://brudvighockey.com/?bar=1 --edge-kiosk-type=fullscreen. Alt+F4 closes it.
• Start on boot (Windows): press Win+R, type shell:startup, and put that shortcut in the folder that opens. Set the PC to turn on after a power cut in its BIOS if it has the option, and have Windows sign in by itself only if the machine is somewhere staff can see it.
• Updates: set Windows Update active hours to your opening hours so it restarts at night, not mid-overtime.
• Sound: the speaker button in the top corner mutes it. The TV remote also works, and is the one staff can find.

Phones as controllers

The lobby shows a QR code and a six-letter code. A customer scans it, picks a side and taps Ready. Their phone becomes a stick and four buttons, and they can watch the big screen or their own. Phones and controllers play in the same game. Up to eight players a game, three a side. Nobody needs an account or an app, and nothing on the phone needs to be on your Wi-Fi.

Where it works at a rink

• The lobby. A TV on the wall near the benches. The demo runs when nobody's playing, so it never looks like a broken screen.
• The pro shop. Something to do while someone hears about skate sharpening. Short games, about seven minutes.
• Birthday parties. Four controllers and a few phones, up to eight a game. The printable bracket makes the party a tournament.
• Tournament weekends. Teams sit around between games. Phones mean nobody has to wait for a controller. Each side can pick its own team, or argue about it.
• Learn-to-play. No icing or offside in the game, but positions and passing matter. Hockey rules and positions covers the real thing.

What it costs

Nothing. No license, no subscription, no account, no per-player fee. The game is free in any browser, and Rink Lobby Mode is the same game with the kiosk parts switched on. Your costs are the screen, the computer, the controllers and whatever the controllers cost to replace after someone celebrates a goal.

Questions, or want to tell us where it's running? Contact us. The full controls are on the controls cheat sheet, and the phone-only version is play on your TV.