The air hockey table game you know and love today was invented in 1969 by a group of Brunswick engineers from Brunswick Billiards. It was initially written up for commercial release, but was shelved. Many years after the initial concept was developed, engineers designed the first air hockey game, including mallets and pucks.

The game was originally played on a table, using a puck and square mallets. The game is now played using round decks. The table is intended to be a table that provides a smooth surface that creates zero friction. Usually, the playing surface is dotted with hundreds of small holes, through which a constant supply of soft air is pumped. The puck then slides on a cushion of air just above the table surface. Some surfaces are simply smooth surfaces with no holes, and the air is generated by a battery-operated air hockey game puck that generates its own cushion of air. It should be noted that these are not regulatory or approved for use in any United States Air Hockey Association sanctioned event, game or tournament.

The game of air hockey gained popularity in the 1970s, as an arcade toy sensation, a staple in the college dorm rec room, and as an amateur sport with tournaments. Tournament began in the early 1980s in Houston, Texas, with the formation of the first professional league, the Houston Air Hockey Association. After the establishment of the Houston group, a Texas Air Hockey Players Association formed and developed formal rules and regulations for the game, qualifying it more as a sport. USAA-approved tables will be suitable for two-player games only, although four-player game tables are available for beginners and recreational use.

The current rules for the sport are now determined by the USAA and include the following rules:

1) At the beginning of the game, a toss of a coin or heads up determines the player who will start the game with the first possession of the puck in play.

2) The first player to score seven points wins the game.

3) Once the puck crosses a player’s zone of the table across the center line, that player has up to 7 seconds to return the puck to the opposing player’s zone, or else he has committed a foul.

4) Other fouls include holding the puck with the mallet, touching a puck with any part of a player’s body, or having the puck leave the table entirely.

Competitive play and tournaments are still played internationally today, with professional tournaments being played throughout Europe and the United States. The USAA is the only known governing body over the sport, in any country or continent, and therefore USAA rules apply to all tournaments played around the world. Despite this level of success, the game of air hockey is still considered a recreational sport among most players, who associate it with arcade and bar games. It is still seen in many arcades and arcades, but is often overshadowed by the presence of video game systems.