By Tyler Landow

A foosball table may cost a little too much for some game enthusiasts. However, a good number of people buy these tables just so they can enjoy a good game with a friend or a family member. And primarily because of its worth, it’s very important you properly maintain your table.

Here are suggestions on what you should do to keep your foosball table in tiptop condition:

1. Apply a few drops of silicone on the rods.

A few drops of silicone are all you need to ensure that your rods work well in and around its bearing. Silicone is the primary lubrication solution for foosball tables. It stops the snickering of the rods. Apply silicone at least once in a month.

2. Clean the entire foosball table with the right cleaner.

Most foosball tables don’t have a cover so it is prone to dirt and dust. To be sure your table is sparking clean, use a specialized cleaner. There are commercial brands available on the market today.

3. Glue all loose parts.

Frequently check to see if any components, parts, or foosball men have become chipped or has worn. For any chipped or broken part, glue them immediately. Failure to do so can make your foosball table become even more damaged. Many commercial superglues can do the job. However, make sure you avoid getting glue on the playing surface.

4. Don’t expose the foosball to the weather.

One thing that can do extreme damage to a foosball table is extreme weather and temperatures. Rain, sun, snow, and moisture are the fiercest enemies of a foosball table. Foosball is meant to be played indoors. Don’t leave them outside overnight if you have to use it in the garage or in the lawn.

Just follow these four tips and you should many long years with your foosball table. Tables can be major investments so make sure you take care of your investment, and it will take care of you.

Tyler Landow is a product director at Foosball Central. The company has a wide range of foosball tables.

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By Tyler Landow

Foosball can be a very challenging game. And for those who want to turn into a professional foosball player, there are some skills and techniques that need to be mastered. These techniques fall into three main categories – shooting, passing, and defense.

Shooting

It’s very important that you know which type of shot to take and when to take it. Your choices of shots include the push shot, pull shot, snake shot, and the kick and pull shot. Each of these shots generates a different effect on the ball. For beginners, it is best that you start with simple shots that are easy to learn and execute. Push and pull shots are your best choice. Advanced players can proceed to learning more complex shots along the way. And as each shot technique is learned, it is essential that players identify which shot is best used in a given situation.

Passing

Passing is a foosball technique that requires both skill and patience. It is quite hard to pinpoint where exactly in the playing field the ball will land. Therefore, you are going to need a lot of practice to master all the foosball passing techniques. Brush up and brush down techniques are two essential passing techniques an aspiring foosball player has to learn. Mastering these passing techniques is a good start.

Defense

In foosball, defense and not offense is what makes you win. A good line of defensive stances against your opponent, which effectively keeps him or her from scoring, should be enough to control and set the tempo of the game. Each shot has a corresponding defense counterpart. You can effectively block a rollover shot and a push shot if only you know the simple techniques. You can even defend the elusive bank shots with ease. Play both sides and you’ll surely win.

Learning foosball techniques is not enough to get better in the game. You also have to master each and every one of them. And that requires a little sacrifice on your part. You have to allot time and energy to be a good foosball player.

Tyler Landow is a product director at Foosball Central. The company has a wide range of foosball tables.

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By Paul Bowers

Foosball matters. It can win you respect or condemn you to derision. It is played in bars in front of friends and onlookers. Dummy a shot with the left-hand striker only to power in a clinical finish with the right-hand man to emerge victorious and you are a hero to your friends and look good to the ladies. Score an own goal that dribbles at a snail’s pace from your midfield past a flailing goalkeeper and you are a loser, mocked by men and pitied by women.

As a man who has frantically swapped hands and titled tables to stop the back pass ending up beating my own goalie, I want to spare others the ignominy. So here are the tips I’ve acquired from my friends – who can whack in a 9-0 drubbing at will – and from the BFA (British Foosball Association) – who ought to know a thing or two about how to play the game.

• Wrist-flick

Spinning the bar is inaccurate and the shots are straight and predicable, it results in fewer rebound opportunities, is often banned, and makes you look like a complete novice. Use the wrist-flick instead. Use your stronger hand, and hold on to the handle throughout the shot. ‘Forget’ about your arm and hand and focus on forcing your wrist hard down past the right-hand side of the handle. Your wrist will stop abruptly because of your grip on the handle, but the ball will travel fast and true and you will look like you know what you’re doing.

• Stagger players

Get your defender in the way of the direct shot, but put your goalie a ball’s width to the side to substantially increase your coverage of the goalmouth. In open play, defend the near post

• Oscillate your defenders

Don’t let a gap open up for any substantial amount of time. Good players will pass the ball along the line of attackers and penetrate a gap. Move the bars in and out – in an unpredictable manner – so that they can’t get a clear shot

• Tilt your players

Tilt the attack and defence bars slightly forward (heads towards opponents goal) so that when you block you keep possession. Tilt midfield and goalie the other way to get attacking rebounds and more saves respectively

• Use defenders against midfield and defender shots

When your opponent shoots from range there aren’t many angles from which he can do so. Position your midfielders and attackers to try to block more angles, then get your defenders in the gaps. They will have to be very good to beat a well-organised defense.

• Shoot with your strikers

Statistically, very few shots from the midfield will score against a good player. If you can see an opportunity, don’t be afraid to pass the ball from the 5 on the midfield bar to your 3-man strikeforce. You then have a much better chance of scoring

• Control before you shoot

An instant snap-shot may be required, but usually try to get the ball under control in attack before your shot. It gives you a better chance to deceive defenders and strike the ball cleanly

• Sideways movement

When the ball is under control in attack, flick it between the 3 players. The quicker you can do this the better; you will find yourself with a gap in which to shoot. Push the ball with the side of one man to another to hit a first-time shot at the goal

www.foosball.com/learn/howtoplay/#Chapter1.

By Paul Bowers, I write articles about fashion, lifestyle and fun pieces. My particular interests are designer lingerie, corsets, designer shoes, perfume, swimwear and luxury pajamas.

I also write niche articles about mastectomy bras and big cup bras.

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By MJ Marks

There are a lot of great foosball tables on the market today, but some people just like to do things themselves. My husband is one of them, and once researched making a foosball table for our family.

The first thing that Jeff did was look at high quality foosball tables, play on a few of them and decide what features he liked best. This is what he came up with:

• Center ball return on both sides of the table
• Off center serving holes (the holes are off center to the center line, this way the serving side serves the ball slightly closer to their own men.)
• Textured surface
• Thick side walls

The table has to be very solid and sturdy, weighing around 350 pounds, this way the table will not move when play gets exciting. A 3/4″ plywood works best, it is heavy and less expensive than solid wood (especially a heavy hard wood like maple), though even it will still need to be doubled up in areas. Besides birch plywood and particle board some other basic materials that you will need from your local hardware store include wood screws and glue, nuts and bolts to attach the legs, four adjustable table feet, a sheet of Plexiglas to cover the play surface, clear spray adhesive, hinges, and some veneer strips for giving the table a finished look.

From a foosball store (easiest found online) you will need 13 foosball men each in two different colors, rods and bearings, handles, a high quality ball, and play field trim strips. The rods and handles are probably the most expensive single purchase, running up to $300 (which can double the final price of your foosball table) depending upon the quality you purchase. If you can salvage any of these parts from an old table, you can save quite a bit of money.

The dimensions of most foosball tables are very similar. Here are the basic dimensions for making your own table.

• Table length, width and height: 55.5″ x 30″ x 36″
• Play field size: 48″ x 27″
• Play field depth: 4.25″
• Side walls: 1.5″ thick
• Back walls: 3.75″ thick
• Goals: 8.375″ x 3″ (with rounded top corners)
• Rods: 6″ apart from center, 3.125″ up from surface
• Goalie rod: 3″ from back wall

If you are a woodworker, then most of the construction can easily be figured out. There are only two parts to the table that may need a bit of explaining. The first part is the ball return, and the second is the play field. The lower and upper halves of the foosball table are made separately and then assembled together with hinges so the the ball return can be accessed if necessary. With a ball return on both sides of the table, there is a simple “L” shaped ramp going from each goal to its respective return (the person who is scored on gets the ball).

The table top play field may take a bit more explaining. The base is 3/4″ particle board with a paper playfield attached on top (either draw your own or you can find plans online). Then using the clear spray adhesive, secure the 1/8″ Plexiglas on top. Some people like a smooth surface, but many of the top tables have a textured surface which makes for better ball pinning. To texturize the surface, use 60 grit sandpaper to roughen up the Plexiglas. This gives you a great play surface for around $30, but if money is not an issue, you can put out about $250 and purchase a play field.

Well, that is the basic information for building your own foosball tables. Jeff likes drawing up his own plans, but you can find more detailed instructions online if you do not enjoy that aspect of woodworking. Good luck!

MJ writes for ClickShops Inc., where you can find a great selection of foosball tables at http://www.foosballtables.us.com.

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Chicago Gaming Signature Foosball Coffee TableChicago Gaming Signature Foosball Coffee Table

The Signature Foosball Coffee-Table is an elegant centerpiece that’s also quite the conversation piece. Constructed from solid hardwoods, the coffee table’s elegant frame is a stunner in any setting. If you’re looking for a coffee table with a little kick, check out the Signature Foosball Coffee-Table.

Carrom Agean Foosball Table

For many people, foosball is a fun recreational pastime. For others it is a sport played competitively, even for money prizes. Sometimes it is played with strictly defined rules and other times it is played casually with only minimal rules. I have only played foosball for fun with friends and family so I’m not really up on all the technicalities of the game. However, being the history buff that I am, I thought it would be interesting to do some research on the game and see if I could learn about some of the companies making the game as well as some of the history of the foosball game itself to share with you.

Foosball tables vary widely in quality and features. For an example of one of the companies that produce high quality tables, Carrom foosball tables are made in America by a dedicated group of American workers. The Carrom company has been at it for over 100 years. Their tables have solid cabinets that make for steady game play. The triple plated chrome rods they use are heavy duty, and the playing surfaces are designed to withstand heavy use and abuse. With other quality features like rubber leg boots and premium self aligning bearing assemblies with real ball bearings, game play is taken to a whole new level, even for the recreational user. Excellent engineering and quality features make Carrom foosball tables something that will last for years and years to come.

Carrom Signature Foosball Table (Moroccan)

It turns out that foosball is a word derived from the German word fussball , which literally means foot ball. It is sort of funny, but the original name for foosball was babyfoot. Makes sense I suppose. Some people call the game table soccer, but most just call it foosball. Speculation seems to exist about the actual origin of the game. The fact that organized soccer didn’t really become a mainstay until the mid 1800’s would lead to the obvious conclusion that foosball developed after that time. I discovered that the earliest patent in the United States for a foosball table wasn’t until 1901. Most agree that the game originated in France, and was invented by a guy named Lucien Rosengart, who lived a long healthy life from 1880-1976. Long enough to see his game rise in popularity and become established in today’s culture.

Carrom Burr Oak Foosball Table

The way the game is played competitively in Europe has been established for much longer than in America. However, American foosball has a pro tour with a million dollars in prize money. This is something the European players don’t enjoy, but more and more of them are beginning to play on American tables, like the Carrom foosball tables. The big money prize is quite an incentive for them to become expert on the American table, and familiar with the American rules.

As long as the money prizes are big and growing, more and more people will continue to enter the sport, so the outlook is good looking into the future. For many people, however, playing just for fun with friends and family will be good enough.

Example Foosball Table

Whether you are planning to buy your Foosball Table from the Internet or from a local store, the following tips will help you to get the best deal when it comes to buying your foosball table. Most importantly, don’t just arrive at a store and pick out whichever table catches your eye first. There are major concerns that need considerable attention when looking for a foosball table. Following this guide can help you to ensure that you get more than just any old table, but one that is tailored for you and will give you maximum enjoyment for years to come.

1. Foosball Players

The people that must be first consulted when it comes to the choice foosball table are of course its players. Do they have specific preferences? If it’s you who’s going to be one of the most frequent players on that table, by all means, list what you want with your table. You can start with your favorite color. If it’s not you who’s going to play the foosball mostly, then consider the players’ height, age and hand strength level.

Tabletop Foosball Table

2. Safety Concerns

If it will be the children who will mostly use the foosball table, safety should be one of the major considerations you have. There are tables with traditional solid rods that go through the sidewalls. These can poke the children’s faces if they are not that tall. In this case, telescopic rods are more advised since they are safer to use and they can also be maneuvered more easily.

3. Feel of Play

This is commonly known as playability or how the players can maneuver the rods and play figures easily to efficiently control the movements of the ball in successfully obstructing the defence of the other player and doing various tricks. These can be manipulated through the following design details:

- gap between the playing field and the tip of the foot – footshape and its front and back and its both sides’ surface – weight of the rods – markers on the pitch – ease of gripping the handles – lubrication – coverage overlap of the playing figures – field and ball surface – ball material

4. User-Friendliness

Hear are the other indispensable foosball table features that should provide more ease for the players:

Figures’ balanced weight They should be placed easily in a horizontal position so that their feet do not block the shots from the back field

Field’s side slopes on boths sides This will allow the ball to roll off towards the center to make the ball not get stuck on the side.

Sturdiness of the Table and the Durability of the Parts How will you enjoy playing with the foosball table if it is damaged easily or when the table is rocking while you are playing?

Aesthetic Impact Never buy a foosball table just to have something entertaining in your house. It should be a distinct artistic centerpiece in your game room. The style and paint color of the room you are planning to embellish with a foosball table should be given some thought.

7. Budget

Setting a budget will further encourage you to look for the best deal when it comes to looking for that quality foosball table for you and your playmates. Shopping around will be one of the best way to get more from your money. Brands should not fool you. Research more on the foosball table that catches your eye and that agrees with your budget.

8. Resell Value

If you are buying one foosball table in the hope that in the near future you can resell it at a higher price, you will surely not opt for the lower end types of these game tables. Auction sites and foosball table sellers may be consulted to be better armed if you are planning to resell your foosball table.