Air hockey is a tabletop sport where two opposing players try to score goals against each other on a low-friction table[1] using two hand-held discs (mallets/pushers) and a lightweight plastic puck.

The air hockey table has raised edges that allow the puck to reflect off horizontally, and a very smooth, slippery surface that further reduces friction by suspending the puck on a thin cushion of air ejected from tiny vent holes built inside the surface.

There also exist pucks that use a battery and fan to generate their own air cushion, but as they are prone to breakage, they are commonly marketed only as toys.

[9] In 1969, a trio of Brunswick engineers – Phil Crossman, Bob Kenrick and Brad Baldwin – began work on creating a game using a low-friction surface.

The project stagnated for several years until it was revived by Bob Lemieux, who then focused on implementing an abstracted version of ice hockey, with a thin disc, two strikers and slit-like goals equipped with photodetectors.

The original patents reference Crossman, Kendrick and Lemieux,[10][11] as well as earlier work on air tables.

The United States Air-Table Hockey Association (USAA) was formed in 1975 by J. Phillip "Phil" Arnold, largely as an official sanctioning body.

In July 2015, the AHPA crowned its first world champion and also the youngest in the history of the sport in Colin Cummings of Beaumont, Texas.

Today, professional air hockey is played by a close-knit community of serious players around the world, with extensive player bases near Houston, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, North Carolina, San Diego, Denver, Chicago, New York City, Boise, and Boston in the United States; Barcelona in Spain; Saint Petersburg, Moscow, and Novgorod in Russia; and Most and Brno in the Czech Republic.

In the late 1980s, Caracas, Venezuela served as a hotbed of activity; three-time World Champion Jose Mora and other finalists originated from there.