Best foosball table ?

May 4, 2016 6:35 PM

My lovely husband has a dream of owning a foosball table and covering it with stickers. He's amassed the sticker collection. Help me find the foosball table ?

I know nothing about foosball. I'm willing to spend up to $1000 but only if it's a wicked nice table. The price range on these things is incredible, I'm seeing $200 all the way to $7,000 plus. What should I be looking for in a foosball table ?

posted by pintapicasso to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (7 answers total)

I've found that nothing comes closer to the standard Tornado tables. I've spent countless hours on the Classic version of the table. Couldn't recommend anything other than that though, sorry.
posted by rippersid at 7:08 PM on May 4, 2016

As a person who spent way too many hours in high school and college at foosball tables ... Tornado tables always felt the best to me. To a large degree, you get what you pay for. You want it to be heavy, solid, with wood handles.
posted by falsedmitri at 7:12 PM on May 4, 2016

Do not get anything but a Tornado. If you do it will become a table that junk gets piled on.

Look on craigslist (or similar site if you do not have CL). If you are able to be patient you should be able to find one in great condition for $800-1000 which is a good deal for a good Tornado table. (I sold mine on CL years ago. I still miss it but none of my stupid* friends here in CA play foosball (it moved with me from MN where ALL my friends played.))

*they are awesome in other ways but, man I miss playing foosball.
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 7:20 PM on May 4, 2016

Where are you located? I could maybe sell you a great one.
posted by thebrokenmuse at 12:08 AM on May 5, 2016

They come in both foosball and "table soccer" varieties. I strongly recommend getting one with a single goalie (not another three man line where the goalie should be), angled corners (so the ball doesn't get stuck in a corner), and levelers. So, probably not the $200 option. Aside from that, consider what sort of use it will get. If it will have heavy use, be treated roughly by someone who spins the rods, jerks them around hard and sharply, bangs on the table in frustration, or sits on the table, then get something more on the commercial end of the scale. If people in your household already know how to play foosball well (eg. not spinning the rods) and take care of a foosball table, you can save a little money and get the lighter weight version. I guess if it's going to get covered with stickers, don't spend money for a nice wood veneer, though that does seem to correlate with better designed and more well-built tables.
posted by eviemath at 4:03 PM on May 5, 2016

I got a tornado off of craigslist for $800 and he LOVES IT. Thanks for the suggestions, I couldn't have done it without you !
posted by pintapicasso at 9:41 AM on May 12, 2016

I personally like the Warrior Foosball Tables - we use one at the office where 4 people face off regularly and this thing has been enduring 6 months of solid play without a hitch. The rod guards are apparently a killer feature but I have not yet seen the full use of it since we have no kids running around here, lol
posted by GeorgeRR at 10:33 AM on May 17, 2016