All games, regardless of whether or not we wish otherwise, have to have an ending point. Without a required amount of points, or certain win conditions, games would go on forever.
This is why score keeping is critical in foosball. The matches go quickly, and it would be easy to lose track of points otherwise.
In this post, we’re going to teach you how to keep score in foosball, so you that you don’t lost track whenever you play. With proper technique, you’ll know precisely who won a game and when to end it.
How Many Points Do You Need to Win?
Before we discuss keeping score, it’s important to first talk about how many points you actually need to win a game. How else are you going to know when you’ve counted enough points?
However, there isn’t an easy answer here. Foosball games are played in segments called matches (or sometimes balls), which end when one player scores.
Scoring is done when the ball passes into a goal, even if it bounces back out or a player accidentally puts the ball in their own goal.
The number of times a player has to score varies, which is what we mean when we say there isn’t an easy answer. Some tournaments will do the best out of five matches, and others will do more or less.
How to Keep Score in Foosball
Decide how many matches you’re going to play for.
The first step to keeping score is deciding how many matches you’re going to play. If you’re playing in a tournament, this has been decided for you already, and you’ll need to check the rules for the tournament in question.
However, if you’re playing casually with friends, the number of matches is up to you. The standard is usually the best three of five, but you can do more or less depending on the amount of time you want to dedicate to playing.
Read Also: How Many Balls are there in a Foosball Game?
Serve the ball and play until someone scores a point.
You can’t keep score unless someone actually scores a point! So this step is easy: just play the game.
Remember, a single match goes until one player scores a point, which occurs when the ball passes into the goal. Even if the ball rolls back out, the goal still counts.
Read Also: How Many Points is a Goalie Shot in Foosball?
Use the scorekeeper built into the table.
So you (or maybe even your opponent) have scored a point – what comes next?
Fortunately, most foosball tables have an abacus-style slider built onto either side by each player. These scorekeepers have beads that can be slid from side to side on a rod.
When you or the other player score a point, simply slide the bead closest to the center to the other side of the rod. Other beads will follow, sliding up next to the first bead as points are scored.
You’ll continue to slide beads up until the amount of points you designated for victory.
If you don’t have a scorekeeper on your table, use your phone or paper.
As we mentioned previously, the vast majority of foosball tables will have a sliding scorekeeper built right into them. On the off chance that yours doesn’t, though, there are scorekeeping alternatives.
You can buy a scorekeeper yourself like this one. Otherwise, you can use paper and pencil, or an app on your phone to keep track of points.
Wrap Up
Keeping score in foosball is incredibly easy. There aren’t a lot of steps involved, which is a good thing, because it won’t distract you from your game at all.
Now, choosing your own equipment is something that will take a little more effort and thought. If you’re unsure of what kind of foosball table to get, you can check out our favorite foosball tables with telescopic rods.