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Have you ever played with magnets? Put two sides together, and they stick - but if you flip one, suddenly they don't want anything to do with each other. They repulse each other, instead of attracting each other.

Imagine that on a bigger scale. With very powerful magnets, you could technically ride on something magnetic being replused by another magnet. That's how the hoverboard works: the surface it rides over is magnetic, and pushes the hoverboard (which is also magnetic) up. The problem with this? The hoverboard ONLY works on that special surface - it doesn't work on a random sidewalk!