Foosball Rules | Scoring |Time Limits | ITSF & USTSF

If you want to be great at foosball, you not only need to practice, you also need to become familiar with the general foosball rules used in the pro tournaments. 

Warrior Table Soccer has been running professional foosball tournaments for over a decade now. These foosball tournaments have paid out in cash and prizes up to $250,000 in a single weekend event.

When you’re giving out that kind of cash you gotta have some good foosball rules to abide by.

Listed here are some of the more common foosball rules needed on the professional foosball tour to protect the integrity of the game.

These are the same pro tour foosball rules used at an ITSF or USTSF sanctioned event.

They’ll come in quite useful at home, school, or the office.

No Spinning – This is probably the oldest foosball rule in existence. The foosball rules state that the rod cannot rotate in excess of 360 degrees before or after the man advances the ball upon impact. The foosball rules also state that you must have clear control of the handle at all times. The penalty for letting your hands go and spinning the rod is a loss of ball possession. If you spin then your opponent gets to reserve the ball on his 5-man rod. So, keep your hands on the handle and don’t let go.

No Jarring – The foosball rules state no jarring or lifting of the table. This means if you tilt or lift the foosball table off the ground and it affects play in any way, there will be a penalty. This usually happens when someone playing on the foosball table bangs the bumpers on the rods into the side wall too hard or aggressive. This can also happen when a player lifts up on the handles with to much force. The first penalty for this infraction is to place the ball where it would have been at the time the jarring a cured or your opponent can choose to reserve the ball on their 5-man rod. The second infraction during a foosball game is a bit more severe. Your opponent receives a penalty shot from his 3-man rod.

No Cursing – Lets set a good example for the kids. No Fowl language! First offense for this infraction is a penalty shot from the opponents 3-man rod. If this continues a loss of game or match will occur.

Keeping Score – Professional foosball tournaments use points and matches to decide who advances in the bracket. A point is counted when the ball leaves the green playfield and goes into the goal box whether it bounces back out or not. Most professional foosball matches are games played to 5 points ranging from best 3 out of 5 games, best 2 out 3 games, and sometimes just 1 game to 7 points. Choose what works best for your group depending on time constraints.

Time Limits – A player can only posses the ball for the allotted time limit in the foosball rules. The time limits are as follows; Goalie area and 3-man rod cannot exceed 15 seconds. 5-man rod cannot exceed 10 seconds. Penalty for this infraction is loss of possession of the ball to the opponents 5-man rod.

Distractions – No talking while the balls in play. Also, any player movement away from the ball can be ruled a distraction. Such as hand waving, burping, or jumping in the air. First penalty for distraction is loss of possession to the opponents 5-man rod. Second offense is a penalty shot from the opponents 3-man rod.

There’s some good professional foosball rules to get started with.

Table soccer might not be the most complicated sport out there, but it’s also one that’s commonly misunderstood. Sure, most folks understand that you twist the rods with the attached players to score a goal, but for many people, that’s the extent of it. What should you do if the ball gets knocked out of bounds? What does it mean when a ball becomes “dead?” How much “ball time” does each team receive? These are all important questions when it comes to properly understanding the nuances of foosball.

Warrior Table Soccer, your go-to shop for the best foosball tables online, offers some valuable information about some of the more commonly misunderstood aspects of the foosball game.

Clearing Up Confusion About A Few Important Foosball Rules

Teams

As simple as this sounds, sometimes there is confusion as to how many players can participate at a given time. Foosball can be played with teams of one or teams of two, so one-on-one and two-on-two. Teams of three are not allowed. Teams must be even, so you cannot play one-on-two.

Starting With A Coin Toss

Once the teams have been determined (something that’s pretty simple if you’re only playing with one friend), you must toss a coin to determine who initiates the first play. The same method is also used to determine which team starts with the ball in big-field soccer.

Out Of Bounds

When the foosball goes outside of the sides of the table or flies onto the ground away from the table, obviously, it is out of bounds. However, many novice players don’t know that when the ball goes up high into the airspace above the edge of the table, it’s deemed out of bounds — even if the ball still lands back onto the playing area. In this case, the team who knocked the ball out of bounds forfeits the ball to their opponent.

Limited Ball Time

A lot of foosball players also don’t understand that ball time is limited per team. This time limit doesn’t just apply to each team, but also to the given row of players. For instance, midfield players are limited to having the ball for ten seconds. Attack players and defense/goalie players are allowed to have the ball for up to 15 seconds before it must be passed.

What Is A Dead Ball?

When the ball becomes inaccessible in the middle of the field or the corners of the field and no players can reach it with their players, it is deemed “dead.” Note that the ball is still in the playing area and is not out of bounds. In this case, a dead ball nearest to a rod with five players means that the ball is re-served to continue play. When the dead ball is in the midfield of either team, the closest defending play will re-serve the ball.

A ball is also considered “dead” if there’s a manufacturing defect with the table. Of course, with a Warrior foosball table, this will never be a concern.

Think Quality: Choose A Warrior Foosball Table

For a great table to solidify your foosball fundamentals and master the rules of the game, choose Warrior.

But don’t forget “Have Fun” is the most important rule of them all.