Topic: Newbie lookin for a table.

[Steva]

Ok.  A few months ago a friend of mine gave me a foosball table.  Sportscraft.  I had never played foosball before, but since he gave it to me I've become addicted.  And I've really beat this table up with my roomate.  So I think I am ready to move onto a better table.

I know almost everybody loves Tornados and whatnot, but those are a little out of my price range, as I am a poor student with a ***ty job.  But, I have found a Fabi coin op on Kijiji for about 500 bucks.  It is in pretty good condition.  Rods straight, goal isnt chipped and the floor is not warped at all. 

Now I've looked around the board and have seen a few people talk down on Fabi's, but they seem like a solid table to improve myself on before I spend big bucks on a life time table like Tornado.

My main concern is, why is Fabi looked down upon?  Every bar I've been to from here, (Windsor, Ontario) to Toronto has used a Fabi.  And I've loved every single one of them.  But I fear I may be overlooking something that a beginning foosball player would typically overlook.

Any advice is greatly appreciated and I'm glad that I found a forum with a strong following and experienced, active players!!  Hope to see you at the tables one day 

[snake eyes]

2 totally different syles of play.. Tornado is a hard court speed and power table. FABI is similar to Garlando and a few others. From what i understand FABI is very common in your area. Depends on the game you want to play. Will 17 in our forum here has both a Tornado and a Warrior. Ask him what he thinks of the differences between the 3 tables and what he likes about them. $500.00 for a FABI table seems kind of high. Usually you can get a brown marble used Tornado coin-op for that or less. It's made like a tank and will last probly your lifetime.


Snake

[Will17]

If I lived in toronto I would play on fabi, its what the player base there uses. People don't really talk down fabi as much as your implying from my perspective...

I know I got knocked out of a tournament in calgary last year by a guy that was a fabi player originally and he had VERY quick hands, which is really important on fabi tables. That said, the game is a little helter skelter and in my opinion doesn't have the same mental game as playing on tornado, or the same precision. That could just be because i'm no good on a fabi though. 500 is a great deal if it is a coin op fabi, maybe try posting the link on here for us to look at it.

Another option you could consider would be to purchase a warrior table, mine cost about 600 (new in box and delivered from california). Warrior... well just search for the threads on this site, but it is very similar to tornado but much better for learning ball control etc.

The final option, as most people on here usually recommend every time someone asks... wait for the right tornado coin op to come up... Right now there is one selling for $475 http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/tag/956638628.html in chicago, eventually that will happen in every city.

Make sure to register at www.tablesoccerca.ning.com and check out canada's message board. There are some people from toronto that could give you some good advice and maybe play with you on tornado if you are interested in practicing.

[bbtuna]

depends on how you want to play and what you hope to get out of the game in the long run...if you think you might play tournaments, Tornado is the only reasonable choice...Fabi has been around forever and it has the fast full control Euro style game ...I can't help you on finding or buying a Fabi but others here might

if you plan to buy a used Tornado buy the coin op...there have been a bunch of links explaining this but below is the latest just the week before your question...if you have $500 you have enough or save for a couple more weeks and make the right choice the first time

http://www.foosball.com/forum/index.php?topic=2301.0

if you decide to go Tornado and you need more info, feel free to ask...i will direct you to a link or answer brand new

[Will17]

Ya, if you ever plan on leaving toronto to play foosball you would want tornado or warrior. I'm sure tuna meant that warrior would also be acceptable, because they are very similar and the biggest foosball tour in north america is run on warrior now (IFP Tour). Getting either warrior or tornado would be good for that, and I would say whichever is more cost effective would be the decision maker on that.

[Steva]

http://windsor.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-toys-games-Foosball-Table-Fabi-coin-operated-W0QQAdIdZ77624660

this is the link to the Fabi.  only one picture, but I checked it out and it is in solid shape. 


I like the glass surface, telescopic bars and the single goalie on fabi tables.  Most of the Tornados I see are 3 goalies and regular bars.  Are these features optional if buying retail?

[Steva]

And I am not sure if I have the patience to wait for a great deal on a great table.  Since I've started playing, it really has become an addiction almost.  My grades dropped, my social life has dropped.  I've had parties at my apartment just for the sole purpose of getting some foos action going.  I invite people over that I dont even like just to play foos with them.  I read how to's on 5-bar defence and how to perform certain shots, and practice them alone.  I have even turned down sex because I wanted to keep playing. 

[Will17]

OK. it sounds like you want to get good at foosball. you sound like me. well... probably like most people on this board. You have some passion for the game. the problem is, its not even worth reading the how to's on tornado(which all the how to’s are about) if you are playing on something that isn't a tornado or warrior. The rods are not telescoping on tornado and that is crucial to the way it plays. Also crucial is the shape of the men, the ball, the handles, the playing surface, size of nets and many more things. A person that is VERY good on fabi or garlando would struggle to beat an average tornado player on tornado. A person good on tornado would struggle to beat a fabi player on a fabi… that is why this is an important decision.

If you have any real goals with foos other than just to be able to beat your friends then you should want to play on tornado or something different. Fabi experience helps… but it is ONLY used in Toronto and Italy. its not an official table(warrior isn’t either) which can be checked on the itsf web site, www.table-soccer.org and you will see the list of the 5 official tables. fabi is kind of close to the garlando, with a glass surface and telescoping rods. So getting good on fabi would help for play on that table, and help a little for play on a tornado.

If you ever plan on going to a tournament, check http://www.foosball.com/schedule/ for tournaments in the past and future. You will see that in north America everything is on a select few tables, mostly warrior, then tornado, then bonzini. Nothing else exists.. If you want to play on fabi or garlando you would have to go to Europe. The player base in Toronto is good, I think about 70 people in Toronto can be playing some nights. But that is the only place in canada and north America.

My advice, get a warrior, or a cheap tornado coin op. get good at foos. you should want to get good at tornado/warrior foosball primarily, but also try to get good at the other tables, in my opinion.  You will find several tournaments that you can get to easily on tornado and warrior, one or two a year very close to you. Ottawa had a big one in September this year on warrior.. if you had been looking then you could have got a warrior for 400 bucks that was new before the tournament(they sell off the tables after tournies)

If your goal is to just get good on fabi then that is fine, but don’t plan on playing any significant amount of foosball on it because it won’t take you far.

Trust me on this, it is worth it. Get a warrior/tornado, get good, go to a tournament. It will change your life.

[Will17]

the table looks like its in good condition and everything... if thats what you want then go for it because it is a good deal, offer 350 first and see how cheap he'll go, note that there have been other fabi coin's sold in toronto for as low as 250 in the past year, however not in great shape.

The difference between single or 3 man goalie thing is the biggest misconception in foosball. Once you have played even a tiny amount of foosball you won't even notice the difference. I personally like the 1 man goalie better but I would NEVER take that into consideration when buying a table.

[bbtuna]

good posts Will very good advice

I will only add...I love warrior but the only table available right now is the first run home model and the build quality (sturdy long-lasting) isn't good enough for me to recommend a brand new player to spend nearly the same money on that as a good used Tornado coin-op which is indistructable

the transition from Tornado to Warrior is quite short, in less than a day you can make all changes needed in your game to do what you need at a tournament AND you will be able to do some other things you weren't able to do on the Tornado

so, until the build quality improves, I can not with a good conscienous recommend the Warrior (at $400 and above)...i totally love the way Warrior plays and I know some people who have picked up the tournament used ones from people who won them for $250 to $300 and if someeone can get one for that money I say it is a steal

so if you are going to lay down $500 t $550 dollars on a table, I say get the one that will last the rest of your life and which you can learn 98% of everything you need to that you can do on a Warrior if you go to an IFP tournament...the only thing you can't do on Tornado you can do on Warrior is banks and those aren't perfect on Warrior because of the curve on the front of the foot...vastly better than Tornado but not like playing old TS or other tables with men that have a straight edge

[Will17]

I certainly agree that the warrior is not made to the same standard as a tornado yet, and I don't even think the BIGGEST supporter of warrior would tell you it is. I still like the table more because I think the pro's outweigh the cons. Either way I think your doing well, but stick with either a warrior or tornado instead of the fabi, unless you want to be a fabi player