Foosball
THE GAME OF FOOSBALL AND Table Soccer
Foosball, aka Table Soccer, is a game played on a table that has 8 rods and table soccer figures allover, some handles and a ball. There is a goal that is placed on each end and a serving point in the middle of each side. Every player/team uses their handles to maneuver their men to strike the ball on the opposing team’s goal. One always goes on their right and defends on their left. The tables are strategically built to provide different kinds of rods with different spacing between them. The game is hilarious, fast and everyone cheers to it. One can play for a very long time; even years and never get bored of it.
The English names that are mostly common are table football, foosball, footzy and bar football. Table soccer in some instances is also used.
The objective of the game is simple; just use your figures for passing the ball and shooting it to your opponents’ goal while blocking the ball from getting into your own goal. You serve/foos it, pass it and try to score, but always remember to shoot on your right.
An ordinary foosball game is played to 5 points but it is not necessary. A match would be best 2 out of 3 matches.
BASIC RULES OF FOOSBALL
There are three golden rules if you want to play but do not want to deal with many technicalities.
1. The table has 9 balls so you play best out of 9 of which the winner will have 5 goals.
2. When a ball enters the goal, it is normally a point, no matter how the ball got in.
3. No spinning the rods.
Advanced rules.
These are more rules that can be used while playing foosball.
1. Toss a coin to see who serves first.
2. After a goal, the team scored upon serves the ball next.
3. In case the ball stops and you cannot reach it, it’s a “Dead ball”, give it to the team last scored upon.
4. When you have the ball, you can call for time out.
5. Before you call time in, make sure your opponent is ready.
6. You cannot reach into the table for the ball when in play.
7. No swearing, just have fun.
8. You can only hold the ball for 15 seconds at one place.
Foosball as a Sport
When the game starts, the ball is usually served through a hole at the table side, or placed by hand at the feet of the figure in the centre of the table. The team that serves first is decided by tossing of a coin. Players use figures mounted on the rotating bars to kick the ball into the opponent’s geol. “Spinning” is considered to be illegal, instead of someone using a wrist stroke when kicking the ball using a mounted figure. The rules may vary, in some; the keeper is allowed to spin while in others, as long as a player scores a goal from a position which is controlled, rotations of the rod after striking the ball are allowed.
A winner is declared when one team scores a number of goals , normally five, ten or eleven.
Foosball Tables
A number of different tables exist. They also vary in size, but a standard table is about one hundred and twenty centimeters long and sixty one centimeters wide. It normally contains 8 rows of foos men and each team has 1 or 2 human players who control 4 rows of foos men.
Differences in the tables influence on how one plays. Most tables have one goalie whose movement is limited to the goal area only. Some tables usually have corners that are sloped to return the ball in to play, while others have three goalies, one in the centre and one in each corner to reach the ball. Another difference in table types is found in the balls, which are made out of wood, plastic, marble, or even metal. Table football has various English names: footzy, bar football and foosball, table soccer is also used. Quite a number of companies have also created luxurious tables for table football. One of them is a 7 meter table called Stadium that takes 11 players to a side.
