Foosball 101 > Serving
Serving The Foosball
Serving, much like a kick-off in football or soccer, starts every game. Prior to November 2015, International Table Soccer Federation (ITSF) tournament rules required you to serve yourself the ball through the hole in the sides of the table. You were allowed to give the ball some backspin in order to make it land on your own middle 5 bar rod to begin the game. However, the new rules for 2016 now state that you no longer drop the ball through the serving hole to start the game. Instead, you manually place the ball beside the middle guy your 5 man rod after the coin toss and ready protocol are performed. This is more true to the rules of soccer where the ball is kicked off at the center of the field. The entire process should go as follows:
Ready Protocol
The ready protocol consists of two steps:
Opening Sequence
After the “Ready!” response, the serving player puts the ball into play by placing it on either side of their center man on their 5-rod referred, to as the restart figure. In order to ensure a fair start to the game, the ball must complete an opening sequence before the ball can be legally passed forward. The opening sequence is a series of contacts that begins with a move by the restart figure, at which point active play begins. After that there must be a contact by another figure, which starts the possession clock. The opening sequence ends with a contact by any figure other than the possession clock figure, so essentially a third man on the 5-rod must touch the ball before it is advanced.
Ready Protocol
The ready protocol consists of two steps:
- The player putting the ball into play asks the opposing player if they are “Ready?”
- The opposing player responds with “Ready!” In doubles, the opposing player may check with their partner before responding “Ready!”. The ready protocol ends and active play begins when the player with possession initiates the opening sequence.
Opening Sequence
After the “Ready!” response, the serving player puts the ball into play by placing it on either side of their center man on their 5-rod referred, to as the restart figure. In order to ensure a fair start to the game, the ball must complete an opening sequence before the ball can be legally passed forward. The opening sequence is a series of contacts that begins with a move by the restart figure, at which point active play begins. After that there must be a contact by another figure, which starts the possession clock. The opening sequence ends with a contact by any figure other than the possession clock figure, so essentially a third man on the 5-rod must touch the ball before it is advanced.
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Since you cannot touch the wall more than twice a possession on the 5-rod, it is important to know the wall contact count remains at zero until the first contact by the possession clock figure.
If a kick-off is performed by the wrong team and the mistake is discovered before the next goal is scored, then the ball shall be given to the correct team for the kick-off. Once a goal is scored no protest shall be allowed and play will continue as if no mistake had been made. After the serving rules were changed, Tornado actually installed a ball drop cap into the serving hole on their T-3000 Tournament foosball table, which is the only American ITSF professionally sanctioned table. Since this hole is no longer needed for tournament play, they thought capping off this hole was a good solution and allowed them to put their logo on this emblem. |
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Classic Serving Techniques
Because there are still a lot of people that don't play at professional tournaments and like to keep it old school, they still use the traditional serving methods to start their games. Because of this, we wanted to share a few pointers below so you can still master this older way of serving the ball. Just note that if you ever want to play in a tournament or find some serious foosball players, they will follow the ITSF rules of play in order to be consistent with the new rulebook.
The serve used to be referred to as the "drop" for obvious reasons as the ball was dropped in from the side of the table. Having the first possession to attempt to pass to your offensive bar will allow you to have an upper hand. This is also why the team that is scored on throughout the game gets to serve the next ball to allow for a fair game back and forth.
Because there are still a lot of people that don't play at professional tournaments and like to keep it old school, they still use the traditional serving methods to start their games. Because of this, we wanted to share a few pointers below so you can still master this older way of serving the ball. Just note that if you ever want to play in a tournament or find some serious foosball players, they will follow the ITSF rules of play in order to be consistent with the new rulebook.
The serve used to be referred to as the "drop" for obvious reasons as the ball was dropped in from the side of the table. Having the first possession to attempt to pass to your offensive bar will allow you to have an upper hand. This is also why the team that is scored on throughout the game gets to serve the next ball to allow for a fair game back and forth.
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How to Serve the Foosball to Yourself
There are a few different techniques that players use to consistently spin the ball to their own men. They all result in the same action on the ball by putting a slight spin to the left as the ball drops into play in order to roll into their own possession on your midfield 5 bar. It will take practice to dial in the proper amount of force and spin to put on the ball so it is easy to catch and gain control of. Before you start any serve, remember to start by using your left hand to go on the other side of the table and block the hole until your ball is inside the hole and ready to be served. This will prevent an accidental drop that would put the ball in play when you are not ready. |
Index Finger Serve - Most people choose this method for their drop because they have most control of their index finger than any other. It consists of placing the ball inside the hole and pinning it against the side wall with your index finger. Your finger should be on the upper right corner of the ball so you can apply a counterclockwise spin to the ball and make it turn left. Next, simply roll your right index finger to the left over the top of the ball and let it drop on the table and roll into your 5 bar.
Thumb Serve - Some people prefer to follow a similar technique, only with their thumb as the finger that pins the ball inside the hole. Once pinned, simply roll the ball in the same counterclockwise direction with your right thumb. Your left hand should be already on the handle of the 5 bar to get ready to receive the possession.
