3 ms·

Impressive! Are there always three players in the goalie position? I seem to remember playing with one goalie (1-2-5-3 players), but that’s a while ago.

mithras 2y ago
I've never seen a table with 3 players in the goalie position in my life.
- carimura 2y ago
  3 is tournament play at least in the US if i recall
- cbsks 2y ago
  Image search for “foosball table” shows lots of tables with 3 goalies. The one I played on as a kid had 3 goalies as well.
tectec 2y ago
The tables I've seen with one goalie have raised corners so that the ball doesn't get stuck there. You see it more on budget tables in my experience.
- _notreallyme_ 2y ago
  Or on official tables according to the International Table Soccer Federation. From what I've seen during my travels, there are lot of variations for foosball tables. Each countries seem to have their own variations.
  - rowborg 2y ago
    Official tables can have either style. There are quite a few tables that are considered tournament grade by the various table soccer associations, including ITSF (I think at least six manufacturers at this point?). In the US, Tornado is the most common tournament table by far and has a 3-man goalie bar, but many European tables like Bonzini or Garlando have the 1-man and raised corners.
  - amenghra 2y ago
    Lots of different types. I have even once seen a XXL size in a bar (something like https://www.abbeyroadentertainment.com/rentals-and-services/super-massive-foosball/ https://www.abbeyroadentertainment.com/rentals-and-services/...).
ano-ther 2y ago
Thanks for all the answers. Perhaps it’s a US/Europe thing. At least the official table of the International Table Soccer Federation only has one goalie, and raised corners. https://www.tablesoccer.org/tables/leonhart.php https://www.tablesoccer.org/tables/leonhart.php Now I need to quickly climb out of this rabbit hole before I start to dig into the 41 page rule book. https://www.tablesoccer.org/rules/documents/Standard_Matchplay_Rules_2024.pdf https://www.tablesoccer.org/rules/documents/Standard_Matchpl...
- whywhywhywhy 2y ago
  Surprised any federation would have anything other than a Bonzini table, honestly it's barely even a game IMHO unless you play it on one of those.
  - xanthor 2y ago
    Tornados are better
- rowborg 2y ago
  That's just the Leonhart. There are a number of other manufacturers that are approved for various types of tournaments including Tornado, which is most common in US tournaments and has a 3-man goalie bar. https://www.tablesoccer.org/tornado https://www.tablesoccer.org/tornado
Projectiboga 2y ago
The single goalie w the corner ramps was a late 1970s into the 80s things. Those are now less common as some competive foosball uses the three man rear, but there is one or more exceptions. I did the researh for my coed fraternity reunion, very hard to find the classic ramp tables, as they were made of particle board and degrade. The one company w ramps uses a more gentle slope rather than an added steep corner ramp.
weinzierl 2y ago
It's a speciality of the Tornado tables which are mostly used in the US. It was introduced as a cost saving measure, because four additional figures are cheaper than a curved playing surface. The curved corners in a traditional table are of course necessary to avoid the ball being dead in the corners. With three players you don't need a curved corner and can still always get the ball. Here is a video of the ITSF world cup, where you can see that there is just a single goalie on every side: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3vnrAIOWDwo&pp=ygUOaXRzZiB3b3JsZCBjdXA%3D https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3vnrAIOWDwo&pp=ygUOaXRzZiB3b3J... There is actually a quite interesting documentary out there which tells the rise and fall of foosball in the US which is tightly coupled with the company behind the Tornado tables if I remember correctly. I saw it on Youtube a while a ago, but could not find it now. Might have been "Foosballers" but I am nit sure.

mithras 2y ago

I've never seen a table with 3 players in the goalie position in my life.

carimura 2y ago
3 is tournament play at least in the US if i recall
cbsks 2y ago
Image search for “foosball table” shows lots of tables with 3 goalies. The one I played on as a kid had 3 goalies as well.

tectec 2y ago

The tables I've seen with one goalie have raised corners so that the ball doesn't get stuck there. You see it more on budget tables in my experience.

_notreallyme_ 2y ago
Or on official tables according to the International Table Soccer Federation. From what I've seen during my travels, there are lot of variations for foosball tables. Each countries seem to have their own variations.
- rowborg 2y ago
  Official tables can have either style. There are quite a few tables that are considered tournament grade by the various table soccer associations, including ITSF (I think at least six manufacturers at this point?). In the US, Tornado is the most common tournament table by far and has a 3-man goalie bar, but many European tables like Bonzini or Garlando have the 1-man and raised corners.
- amenghra 2y ago
  Lots of different types. I have even once seen a XXL size in a bar (something like https://www.abbeyroadentertainment.com/rentals-and-services/super-massive-foosball/ https://www.abbeyroadentertainment.com/rentals-and-services/...).

ano-ther 2y ago

Thanks for all the answers. Perhaps it’s a US/Europe thing. At least the official table of the International Table Soccer Federation only has one goalie, and raised corners. https://www.tablesoccer.org/tables/leonhart.php https://www.tablesoccer.org/tables/leonhart.php Now I need to quickly climb out of this rabbit hole before I start to dig into the 41 page rule book. https://www.tablesoccer.org/rules/documents/Standard_Matchplay_Rules_2024.pdf https://www.tablesoccer.org/rules/documents/Standard_Matchpl...

whywhywhywhy 2y ago
Surprised any federation would have anything other than a Bonzini table, honestly it's barely even a game IMHO unless you play it on one of those.
- xanthor 2y ago
  Tornados are better
rowborg 2y ago
That's just the Leonhart. There are a number of other manufacturers that are approved for various types of tournaments including Tornado, which is most common in US tournaments and has a 3-man goalie bar. https://www.tablesoccer.org/tornado https://www.tablesoccer.org/tornado

Projectiboga 2y ago

The single goalie w the corner ramps was a late 1970s into the 80s things. Those are now less common as some competive foosball uses the three man rear, but there is one or more exceptions. I did the researh for my coed fraternity reunion, very hard to find the classic ramp tables, as they were made of particle board and degrade. The one company w ramps uses a more gentle slope rather than an added steep corner ramp.

weinzierl 2y ago

It's a speciality of the Tornado tables which are mostly used in the US. It was introduced as a cost saving measure, because four additional figures are cheaper than a curved playing surface. The curved corners in a traditional table are of course necessary to avoid the ball being dead in the corners. With three players you don't need a curved corner and can still always get the ball. Here is a video of the ITSF world cup, where you can see that there is just a single goalie on every side: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3vnrAIOWDwo&pp=ygUOaXRzZiB3b3JsZCBjdXA%3D https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3vnrAIOWDwo&pp=ygUOaXRzZiB3b3J... There is actually a quite interesting documentary out there which tells the rise and fall of foosball in the US which is tightly coupled with the company behind the Tornado tables if I remember correctly. I saw it on Youtube a while a ago, but could not find it now. Might have been "Foosballers" but I am nit sure.