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Hockey is any of a family of sports in which two teams compete by trying to maneuver a puck (a flat, 6 oz. rubber disc) or a hard ball into the opponents' goal, past the goalie, using a stick. The major forms of hockey are:

• Field hockey, that used to be played on grass with a ball but now is more frequently played on sand or water-based astroturf.
• Ice hockey, played on ice with a small rubber disc called a puck.
• Rink hockey, played indoors with a ball.

Field hockey and ice hockey both developed independently from an earlier form of the game. In most countries field hockey is the game referred to by the word hockey on its own. Where ice hockey is played more commonly (especially Canada, the USA and Scandinavia), hockey on its own refers to ice hockey. In south European countries (such as Spain, Portugal and Italy and certain South American countries especially Brazil and Argentina) hockey refers to Rink hockey. Field hockey sticks are smaller than ice hockey sticks and have a hooked blade, whereas ice hockey sticks have a long blade that can lie flat on the playing surface when the stick is held upright. Rink hockey sticks have a curled "L" shape, and are about the same size of those in field hockey.

There are also a number of other derived games:

• BandyBandy is a winter sport, where a ball is hit with a stick. It is an ancestor of ice hockey. It likely descended from shinty and in turn field hockey. Bandy is played outdoors on a sheet of ice, and has rules that are similar to soccer. It is now played in is played on ice with a ball on a football (soccer)Football is the most widely played and watched team sport in the world. The game is often known as soccer or occasionally association football to differentiate it from other codes of football. Football is a ball game played between two teams of 11 players size field, typically outdoors. It is in many ways field hockey played on ice.
• FloorballFloorball is an indoors team sport played with plastic sticks where the aim is to put a light ball into the other team's goal. The game is most popular in Sweden, Finland and Switzerland, and is also played in several other countries, such as Norway and C is played in sport halls.
• Roller hockey is a variant of ice hockey that is played on concrete or asphalt using in-line roller skates.
• ShinnyThe game of shinny is an informal type of hockey, either on ice or as street hockey. There are no formal rules or specific positions, other than the goaltenders, and the goals themselves may be marked simply by found objects. Bodychecking and lifting or r is an informal version of ice hockey.
• Air hockeyAir Hockey is a game for two competing players trying to score points in the opposing players goal. Equipment Air hockey requires an air hockey table, two strikers, and a puck. A typical air hockey table consists of a large smooth playing surface, a surro and table hockeyTable hockey is a table game derived from ice hockey. The game consists of a representation of a hockey rink on which two players compete by trying to score goals by manipulating, through rods underneath the playing surface, representations of hockey play are played on tables indoors.
• Underwater hockeyUnderwater hockey is a sport played with two teams composed of six players swimming in a pool competing to maneuver a puck sliding on the bottom of a swimming pool into the opponent's goal with a short stick. The players wear masks, snorkels, fins, colour is played on the bottom of a swimming pool.
• Road hockey or street hockey is a version of ice hockey played (most typically) on residential streets with or without roller blades, on ice or on bare pavement. Games are usually informal with no referee and no set teams. Because the game is played in the middle of the road, it is often interrupted by traffic, at which point someone will yell "car" and players stand to the side of the road to allow the vehicle to pass.
• Ringette is an ice hockey variant that was designed for female players; it uses a straight stick and a rubber ring in place of a puck.

Sometimes roller hockey is the name given to rink hockey. When that happens, the designation for roller hockey is inline hockey