Who Invented Air Hockey? A Short History
Air hockey was invented by a group of Brunswick Billiards employees between 1969 and 1972. Engineers Phil Crossman, Bob Kenrick and Brad Baldwin started work on a game played on a low-friction air table in 1969, and Bob Lemieux later turned it into the hockey-style game we know. Brunswick sold it to the public, it was an immediate success, and organised tournaments followed within a few years.
Before the game: tables that float things on air
The idea behind air hockey is older than the game. Air tables, flat surfaces with air blown up through many small holes so objects glide on a cushion of air, were used for years before anyone played hockey on one. In the 1960s physicists built air tracks and air tables to show motion with almost no friction in teaching labs, and the Ealing Corporation developed tabletops of this kind by the late 1960s.
That frictionless glide is what makes air hockey feel the way it does: once hit, the puck keeps moving at nearly the same speed, bouncing off the rails until somebody stops it.
Brunswick's engineers, 1969 to 1972
In 1969, three engineers at Brunswick (the billiards and bowling company), Phil Crossman, Bob Kenrick and Brad Baldwin, began working on a game that used a low-friction surface. The project stalled for a while until Bob Lemieux picked it up again and steered it towards an abstract version of ice hockey: two players, two goals, a puck and a mallet each.
The original patents name Crossman, Kendrick (spelled that way in the patents) and Lemieux, are assigned to Brunswick, and also refer to Ealing's earlier work on air tables. By 1972 the game was finished. Brunswick decided it could appeal to a much wider market, and air hockey was marketed and sold to the general public.
It was an immediate financial success. Today you'll find full-size tables in arcades and game rooms, and smaller ones are made for homes, down to tabletop minis between one and a half and two and a half feet long.
From a game-room hit to world championships
Serious players followed quickly. As early as 1973, players in Houston had formed a local air hockey association, and in 1975 J. Phillip "Phil" Arnold founded the United States Air-Table Hockey Association (USAA) as an official sanctioning body. The USAA's rules are the standard for tournament play, including games to 7 points and a seven-second limit for keeping the puck on your side.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1969 | Brunswick engineers start work on a game played on a low-friction air table. |
| 1972 | The game is finished; Brunswick goes on to sell it to the public. |
| 1973 | Players in Houston form an air hockey association. |
| 1975 | The US Air-Table Hockey Association (USAA) is founded. |
| 1978 | The USAA World Singles Championship begins. |
| 1995 | A World Doubles Championship is added. |
| 2015 | The Air Hockey Players Association (AHPA) is announced and crowns its first world champion. |
The USAA has held at least one national or world championship every year since it began. Official tournament tables are 8 feet long; the smaller tables in many game rooms and homes are fine for fun but aren't used in sanctioned play.
The pieces: pucks and mallets
Tournament pucks are made of Lexan, a tough polycarbonate plastic, and the standard approved colours are yellow, red and green. Mallets go by several names (strikers, paddles, goalies), and come in two main shapes: high-tops, with a tall handle you grip like a knob, which is the most common type, and lower flat-tops.
The equipment is simple, but the physics isn't. A mallet passes its speed to the puck, every rail bounce mirrors the puck's angle, and a skilled player uses both to build bank shots that come at the goal from the side.
Air hockey on screens
Because the rules are so simple, air hockey moved to screens easily. Touchscreens suit it especially well: your finger becomes the mallet, and two people can share one phone or tablet, each defending one end.
GameLake's Air Hockey keeps the classic rules (first to 7, your own half, a serve to whoever was scored on) on a lake table, with a lily-pad mallet and a pearl for a puck. You can play Hop the frog on three levels or a friend on the same device, switch on a Classic look for a white arcade table with air holes and an LED scoreboard, or turn on Teach me to have Hop show you where to stand and which shot to take.
Frequently asked questions
Who invented air hockey?
A group of Brunswick Billiards employees between 1969 and 1972. Phil Crossman, Bob Kenrick and Brad Baldwin started the project, and Bob Lemieux turned it into the hockey-style game.
When was air hockey invented?
Work began at Brunswick in 1969, and the game was finished by 1972, after which Brunswick sold it to the public.
Is there an air hockey world championship?
Yes. The US Air-Table Hockey Association has run a World Singles Championship since 1978 and a World Doubles Championship since 1995, and the Air Hockey Players Association crowned its first world champion in 2015.
How big is an official air hockey table?
Sanctioned tournaments use 8-foot tables. Smaller tables, down to tabletop minis, are made for homes and casual play.
What is an air hockey puck made of?
Tournament pucks are made of Lexan, a strong polycarbonate plastic. Approved pucks come in yellow, red and green.