Nowadays you can live out your dream of being a footballer playing a game like FIFA or Pro Evolution Soccer on a games console such as the XBOX 360 or PS3, taking control of the world's best like Messi or Steven Gerrard. In the dark distant past though before computers were so readily available if you wanted to recreate a game of football in your home you would have probably had a Subbuteo set.

I had a Subbuteo set consisting of the basics I would need to have a game but there were countless other accessories and extras you could purchase to make the gaming experience more fun and of course realistic. Firstly you had the pitch which was a large green piece of fabric with the white markings on, this had a habit of creasing which really would prevent the ball from running true and would in turn making having a game almost impossible and so my dad glued my pitch to a massive piece of wood chipboard making it perfectly flat. I had two goals and some balls with two teams. The rules could get a bit complicated but the general idea was when it was your turn to flick your player, whichever one you chose to make contact with the ball, there was a real knack to this. Your goal keeper was on a long stick which you operated from behind your goalposts. The outfield players sat on half sphere bases meaning they could slide easily and within reason wobble a bit without completely tipping over. These players were fairly fragile and could snap easily resulting in needing to be repaired with something like polystyrene cement.

There was such a large catalogue of teams from clubs to countries that you could buy whether that was their home or away strip and the kits could be quite detailed, you could even get small transfers of numbers to stick on to the back of the shirts to identify which players were which. You could get great fun additions like referees, police officers, managers and other tiny plastic representations of people you would see at football matches. If you really had money to spend you could recreate your favourite stadiums by purchasing grandstands and terracing and even battery operated working floodlights.

If you have time to practice and achieve a decent level of skill you could enjoy a really competitive game of this with a friend and even though the toy is not as popular or in the shops like it used to be I get the impression that there is a really healthy second hand market for Subbuteo products, there are loads of interesting bits and pieces on eBay and probably in charity shops and car boot sales you will find the odd item.