Topic: Dead Zones, Europe vs US, ball size

[LB52]

Hi, my employer got a Tornado foosball table for Christmas and recently sent me this following comment expressing his irriation. How do I answer him?!

..."We read the part in the play book about what to do when a ball hits the dead zone.    In fact I think I commented to you about that.   The question remains, is this a property of the US versions, or am I remembering wrong about the ones that I used in Europe.   In addition, we would still like to know if they do have different sized balls, or do they really consider these dead zones to be an important part of the game.   For unskilled players it’s very irritating."

[BillV]

All tables have areas between the rods where if the ball stops it can't be reached. It probably seems more apparent since tornado uses textured balls that slow down faster and roll truer than many designs. A hard slick out of round ball on an uneven table won't stop too often before that spinning rod gets to it.

As for what to tell him, try: Play for a week and you will forget dead zones are an issue. You will like the extra control.

BillV

[bbtuna]

if you mean by "dead zone" an area where the ball stops between players out of reach of a man then that happens on all tables

I don't know what rules Tornado is packing in with their tables these days but the "Official" rules, the ONLY "Official" rules in the US or any other country can be found at the link below...these were adopted and adapted from the US tournament rules 4 years ago this month I believe

this link is part of the website of an organization called the ITSF (International Table Soccer Federation)

http://www.table-soccer.org/rules/documents/ITSFRulesEnglish.pdf

the rules are easy to access online at this link and it would be good to save them as a favorite as you get used to playing with them - if you need help interpruting a rule, me and others on this site will be more than happy to clarify what we can and we have access to key Officials if there is clarification needed beyond our knowledge/experience (not likely much )

if you are asking about ball size thinking to compensate for the gaps so that you never have a dead ball there are no balls large enough used on any recognized table that would help make that happen and frankly you would not want it anyway --- a ball that large would be nearly impossible to score

"Official" rules are often an annoyance for the casual player who has played their own set of rules as they were introduced to the game...just a couple thoughts about that

first, everyone plays by some rules...either ones they or someone they know have made up or by some "Official" set...either way, you have rules - best to recognize that and embrace that fact

second, i am of the opinion, even if you are a casual player, you might as well play by the Official rules...they have been developed over 35 years of competitive play and all are there for good reasons even if you don't understand the logic on the surface...trust those who have gone before you...they aren't perfect and as with all things some people argue about one rule or another and how it should be dealt with but all in all, the Offical rules are really really really good

now, with that said, playing by your own rules or making up your own games is totally fine...the idea is for you all to have a good time and your own rules are fine just recognize that they are just random decisions by you and/or your friends and don't force them on other people when you play at a bar and don't expect them if you decide to try out a tournament...when you go to a bar, try and find what rules they are playing by or is a team by team thing and you work out your aggreements before the game starts

this is the advantage of Official rules everyone can go see any time but still, again, foosball should be fun for you and your friends so do what is fun understanding you are making things up

hopefully this gets at your questions, if not, let us know and me or someone here will try and clarify

[Vaggeto]

I believe dead zones are impossible to avoid. The only way to stop them would to allow both men to each a ball at the exact same time, which would have other effects or by extending the length of men nd then they would hit the ball at the same time but also hit each other when fully horizontal.

[kayko2000]

I think your boss may be referring to something like a Bonzini which is completely sloped, so there would be fewer dead balls.

Yes, for complete newbies, dead balls happen quiet often.  As BillV said, play for a week and you'll / they'll forget about dead balls.  As players learn how to strike the ball with larger forces, the chance of dead balls will be reduced dramatically.  And when they learn how to move balls out of corners quickly, they won't even think about it.