Air Hockey > 101 > History
History of Air Hockey
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The concept of air hockey was invented by a small group of Brunswick Billiards employees with a passion for hockey in 1969. As you can imagine, the late 60's and 70's were a peak time in the table gaming industry with pool and foosball halls in their prime. The idea was to create a miniature hockey game that involved a frictionless surface that a puck could almost float around on. Knowing that using ice was out of the question, the team decided to use an existing technology for an air table.
The game was pushed out in the early 1970s to the public market and was an immediate success. Regional air hockey associations were quickly formed in Texas after gaining initial popularity. The official US Air Table Hockey Association (USAA) was formed in 1975 to ensure the integrity of the game and rules were established for the sport. They are still the sanctioning body of the sport today and maintain relationships with many of the manufacturers.
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Today, most people probably think it is simply a game that some people have in their basement. This is because the game took a huge hit with arcade and video games that entered the market in the 1980-1990s. However, there still is a professional air hockey circuit within large cities of some very serious players that still travel for tournaments.
Our hope isn't that everyone try to become a professional air hockey player, but we think it is an important part of history and a fun game that we should all play and teach our children. The more you learn about the sport the more fun it becomes and we encourage you to help keep it alive!
Our hope isn't that everyone try to become a professional air hockey player, but we think it is an important part of history and a fun game that we should all play and teach our children. The more you learn about the sport the more fun it becomes and we encourage you to help keep it alive!
