The Mesoamerican ball game was an important feature of ancient Mesoamerican life, and the ball courts in which the game was played are found at many Mesoamerican sites. The ball court at Chichén Itzá is the largest in Mesoamerica.

Although the Maya are best known for the ball game, called pok-a-tok, other cultures from the Olmec to the Aztec played variations of the game. Today, the game is still played by Mayan people for fun and enjoyment, but in ancient times it also had ritual and political purposes, and was often a matter of life and death.

The Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Maya, tells the story of the mythological Hero Twins who played pok-a-tok against the gods of the underworld. The Maya were likely reenacting the story of the Hero Twins every time they played the game.

Political and power relationships in Mesoamerica were often negotiated through the ball game. The game was sometimes employed as a substitute for warfare, and major polities fought their enemies and either won or lost in the ball court. In some cases, the members of the winning team, or sometimes the losing team, were decapitated and their heads were displayed on a tzompantli, or skull rack.

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