British Foosball Association

How To Play Table Football - The Rules

Foosball Rules

These rules contain the key aspects that top players consider vital for high quality play without the detail required for full tournament use. Consequently they are ideal for pubs, clubs, college leagues etc.

Please note print versions can be downloaded here - pdf(1.2MB) or here - ppt(2.5MB).

Kick Off

• At the start of the game, teams toss a coin for choice of kick-off or side of table
• The team awarded the kick-off gets possession of a stationary ball on the (midfield) 5-bar
• The team with the kick-off must ensure that the opposing team is ready before starting play. The ball must be passed between 2 players on the 5-bar before being played forward
• At kick-off a team cannot score direct from the 5-bar and any ball that goes in to the goal, or is deflected in off an opposition player will be restarted. The shooting restriction only applies to the 5-bar of the team kicking-off and is lifted once the ball has touched any player on any other bar
• After a goal is scored, the game is restarted with a kick-off to the team that conceded the last goal

Passing

• A ball that is stationary on the 5-bar cannot be passed directly to a player on the 3-bar, but must touch two players on the 5-bar and be in motion when the forward pass is played. Players can shoot from a stationary ball except at kick-off as detailed above

Scoring

• Goals may be scored at any time from the (attacker) 3-bar, the (defender) 2-bar or the goalie bar
• Goals may be scored during open play from the 5-bar, but not direct from kick-off as detailed above
• If the ball enters the goal and bounces out it counts as a goal and the game is restarted with a kick-off to the conceding team as usual

Restarts

• If the ball leaves the table, play is restarted by a 5-bar kick-off by the team who last kicked off.
• If the ball goes dead (cannot be reached by any player) then play is restarted as above, unless the ball is in one of the defensive areas behind the 2-bar, in which case the restart goes to the nearest 2-bar
• In the event that a restarted ball goes dead before entering open play, then possession of the subsequent restart is forfeit to the other team.

Time Limits

• There is a time limit per bar of 15 seconds on the 3-bar or defender bars, and 10 seconds on the 5-bar. The goalie bar and 2-bar are treated as a single bar for time limit purposes
• Time limits start as soon as the ball comes within touching distance of a player on any bar. Time limits are reset if the ball leaves touching range of that rod.
• Penalty for exceeding time limit is a midfield kickoff to the opposing team
• Time-outs can only be called for distractions (notably people pushing past, nearby smoking etc)

Fouls

• Spinning of the rods is a foul. A spin is defined as the rotation of the rod by more than 360 degrees before or after striking the ball. Single-rollover (i.e. “snake”) shots are allowed.
• No table jarring, shouting or otherwise distracting opponents while the ball is in play.
• Penalised team concedes either: midfield kickoff; or play continuing from place of infraction; or play continuing from current position - opponents’ discretion