Skateboard Games

Skating Sensation

Have you ever longed to roll down the streets with the wind blowing through your hair? Or to show off at the local skate park with a series of the sickest tricks? If so, then online skateboard games could be the perfect type of game for you! It doesn’t even matter if you can skate in real life: maybe you never had the time, or maybe you could never quite get the hang of the balancing side of it all. No matter—skateboard games are beloved by anyone with an interest in skateboarding, whether you're a pro or a novice.

The Beginning

Skateboarding, unsurprisingly, originated in the United States. The first skateboards consisted of wooden boxes or boards attached to roller skate wheels. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Californian surfers began “sidewalk surfing” when the waves were too flat, bringing about the skateboarding we know today. By the time the 60s came along, a few surfing companies were starting to create skateboards (which looked like mini surfboards) in Southern California. The activity started to gain popularity and it soon became its own sport, with the first ever National Skateboarding Championships being broadcast in 1965. Since the 1970s, skateboarding technology has only advanced, with new developments in wheels and boards—as well as the introduction of various exciting tricks. With its ever-increasing popularity, skateboarding even made its way into the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Skateboarding Terminology

If you’re an am (amateur) you might feel a little lost with all the lingo you hear tossed around at the skate park or dotted throughout your games. Fear not, as this short glossary is enough to help you fake it ‘til you make it.

Alley Oop: An aerial transition trick where your body moves in the opposite direction to the direction you are rotating in.
Bail: Stepping off the board safely when the trick goes wrong.
Brain Bucket: A helmet.
Caballerial: Invented by Steve Caballero, this trick involves a 360-degree ollie in a ramp while riding fakie and not grabbing.
Fakie: Riding your skateboard backwards.
Grab: Holding the board with your hands during a trick.
Ollie: A trick where the skateboard is pulled into the air using the skater’s feet.
360: A complete body and skateboard rotation.

Skateboarding Games

In 1986, Atari released the arcade video game 720°. In the game, the player skated around a neighborhood performing jumps and tricks, eventually gaining enough points to compete at a skate park. 720° had an added layer to the game, as the longer the player went without skating at an event, the more likely they were to be attacked by killer bees. You needed to complete sixteen events in order to win, but you could only advance by performing stunts. The game was incredibly unique for its time, and became very popular as a result, paving the way for other skateboarding games.

Things really kicked up a gear when Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater burst onto the screen in 1999. This 3D skateboarding video game allowed you to control many famous skateboarders, completing missions and performing tricks along the way. With tons of levels and modes, you didn’t have to compete in this game to have fun—you could simply skate around with no objective to speak of. You could also play the game in multiplayer mode, where you would compete with friends to discover who was the greatest pro skater of all.

Maybe you aren’t able to ride a real skateboard—and most people wouldn’t dream of being able to pull off an ollie or a kickflip—but you can still live out your skateboarding fantasies online.

Skateboarding Games on GamePix

We've already established that skateboarding games can be pretty irresistible, which is why GamePix has so many to choose from. You can play by yourself, trying to perfect your fancy footwork, or you can take part in races and competitions and get sucked into a fascinating story-based game. Maybe you lack the equipment or the confidence in real life to go down to your local half-pipe and start hanging out with all the cool kids, but that doesn’t matter at all when you’re playing online! Thanks to GamePix you can roll up to the skatepark from the comfort of your favorite gaming chair and waste no time showing off your skills. And the fun doesn’t stop after you nail that difficult trick you’ve been practicing—you can always rise up through the levels, try out more difficult flips and skate after the highest scores.

In Skate Hooligans you need to zoom away from the police on your skateboard. Take control of one of the colorful characters and skate your way through the city, collecting coins and avoiding oncoming traffic. Perform tricks as you go in order to build your score, but don’t forget to evade the cops or it’s game over!

In Skateboard Wheelie your main objective is to execute a wheelie for as long as you possibly can. Keep your balance and avoid obstacles to gain more points. The poses will get harder to pull off as you progress through the levels, so make sure you don’t lose concentration and wipe out!

The Popularity of Skateboarding Games

Since Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater shot to skateboarding fame, interest in the sport has only increased, year after year. He was one of the most influential skateboarders of all time, so it’s easy to understand why his game was so popular when it finally arrived. As a genre, skateboarding games can be incredibly addictive, especially when you’re determined to pull off that one specific trick you’ve been working on for so long. Online skateboarding games appeal to skaters and non-skaters alike, so anyone can play without specific advantages or disadvantages. Many people out there long to challenge themselves, while others would love to have the opportunity to show off in front of their friends. Skateboarding games allow you to accomplish these goals without spending money on skateboarding equipment and without the possibility of injury. Skateboarding games are addictive, exciting and effortlessly cool.

FAQs

Can I play skateboarding games for free?

Here at GamePix, we’ve got your four-wheeled ambitions covered—completely free of charge! Who says you need to buy a board to have fun skateboarding? We have a whole range of online skateboarding games for you to play—all you need is a device with a compatible web browser and you’re good to go. So, channel your inner Tony Hawk and start perfecting your kickflip!

How can I play skateboarding games?

Our entire catalog of skateboarding games are available online, and all you need to play them is a device with a compatible web browser. This means that all of our free skateboarding games can be played wherever and whenever you like! You don’t need to buy or download any other software to play them, which means that if you can get online, you can channel your inner skateboarding pro!