An all time classic despite a few flaws (Subbuteo)

Member Name: joerobo

Product:	Subbuteo
Date:	26/06/09 (15 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun and requires you to move around

Disadvantages: Hard when you first start, players easily broken

Subbuteo is the table top football alternative to bar football. For those that don't know, it is played on a large mat (which really needs to be nailed down onto wood chip) and miniature players which all stand on semi spherical bases. The game is played with a miniature football which you move around by flicking players, in order to 'kick' the ball.

There are both advantages and disadvantages to the game. Starting with the positives, the game flows very well. It is strictly speaking turn based, but there is no waiting time and this means that the game plays very freely and can appear as if it is not turn based at all. This means that there is no shear chaos with miniature figures flying all over the place whilst also it is not very slow.

Next, it can be quite energetic which is good if you are not a board game type person. It requires you to actually move about which in turn prevents it from being boring. Finally, it is really original and can become very competitive which again ensures that not much boredom kicks in.

As for the negatives, they are not too major, but there are one or two. Firstly, the game can be frustrating when you first start since it requires a reasonable amount of skill. Secondly, unfortunately the little players break rather easily. Finally the mat does really need to be perfectly flat, and it can be hard to achieve this on a kitchen table for instance, resuslting in large bumps on your playing field.

Summary: Don't spend a lot on this, but if you find a set for cheap, grab it