It's decided, that foosball table you've been coveting for so many years will soon be yours! You're going to treat yourself to the foosball table of your dreams, the one you grew up with, the one you've been dying to play with family or loved ones!

But before taking the plunge and enjoying friendly foosball games, you're looking for advice on how to choose the right foosball table. Stop searching, Mister Baby Foot has thought of you and offers you an exclusive buying guide to help you choose YOUR foosball table.

Size, weight, coating, price, maintaining your foosball table's coating, maintaining the poles, how to choose a foosball table that's easy for children to play with, or how to choose a foosball table that blends in with your interior? You want this foosball table purchase to be a complete success.

Our foosball table experts are here, of course, to answer all your questions and concerns: because when it comes to this, we can pride ourselves on offering you the best selection of foosball tables sold online today!

To help you choose and buy a foosball table, with peace of mind and ease, we've provided a comprehensive foosball table buying guide, complete with advice and questions from our customers, which applies to everything from entry-level foosball tables to high-end foosball tables like our Marius foosball table.
Also note that a page on our site is entirely dedicated to choosing the table football: a comparison system by price, brand, public and use will also allow you to choose your table football in complete safety!

- What are the different types and models of foosball tables?

- The professional table football with coin mechanism: this is the table football from your high school bistro, which is generally found in games rooms and bars. It works using a coin or a token. The coin mechanism really marks a clear distinction between the world of table football for professionals and those reserved more for private use. The coin mechanisms can however be deactivated, which allows these table football tables to be used for private use as well.

- Coin-free table football : no tokens or coins to start the game, - coin-free table football is intended more for personal use or for businesses (for a relaxation room, for example).

-Table football for children : the ideal gift for siblings and cousins to play together, table football for children is, above all, a toy. Intended for regular and more user-friendly use by children from 3 to around ten years old.

- What will you use your foosball table for?
This is THE basic question: how will you use your foosball table?
A few suggestions:

• Is this a gift for yourself?
• Is this a common gift for a friend for a birthday or special celebration?
• Is this a foosball table intended for children? If so, in which age groups?
• Is this a foosball table for a busy area, a club, an association, or a rest/relaxation room?
• Is this a foosball table intended for outdoor use?
• What is your foosball level: amateur or professional?

Here are our recommendations based on your answer :

Is this a gift you're giving yourself?

You're right, a foosball table is a wonderful gift to give yourself. In this case, if it's something you've wanted for a long time, choose a beautiful, designer foosball table, made in Europe or France, and featuring materials like solid wood. You're not just treating yourself to a table football, you're treating yourself to a BEAUTIFUL object, a legendary object, don't skimp on quality and really treat yourself!
OUR SUGGESTIONS: Marius, Stella, Sulpie, Petiot

Is this a common gift for a friend for a birthday or special celebration?

We can give the same answer as before: a foosball table is a wonderful gift to give to a friend for a special occasion. Show the full extent of your generosity by giving a designer foosball table!
OUR SUGGESTIONS: Marius, Stella, Sulpie, Petiot
If your budget is more limited, we also have a range designed for that purpose!
SUGGESTIONS: Bistrot / Scudetto

Is this a table football for children/grandchildren?

Depending on the age of the children or grandchildren and their appetite for playing table football, it might be worth looking for an entry-level table football that will definitely make a splash when you unbox it! And if it takes a few hits from felt-tip pens or colored pencils, if a small car or a figurine gets lost in the goal, no reason to worry, a table football in a “toy” spirit is made for playing between children! There are also foldable models, which allows you to store it effortlessly once the tournament is over.
Be careful about the size of the table football, an adult table football is generally 90/95 cm high and a model for children is between 70 and 80 cm.
And if in doubt, also think about the multi-game table!
For teenagers, what better way to get them away from screens and play games with friends. Here again, entry-level to mid-range foosball tables may be perfectly suited to your purchase.
OUR SUGGESTIONS: Calcio, foldable, Zizou, multi-games, Charles

Is it a foosball table for a busy area, a club, an association, or a company rest/relaxation room?

A busy area may imply a lack of care or a somewhat "distant" attention to the maintenance of the foosball table that you could, for example, offer for a relaxation room to your employees. In this specific case, don't choose an entry-level or the most expensive foosball table; find the right balance between quality and price! For example, choose foosball tables from Italian brands, which are designed for intensive use without breaking the budget! These brands also offer models with a protective glass, which protects the structure and prevents ball theft. We also offer table football adapted for people in wheelchairs for specialized structures.
OUR SUGGESTIONS: Roberto Sport, Garlando, Fas, Marius

- Is this an outdoor foosball table?

Generally, foosball tables are made of solid wood for the most well-known brands, and compressed wood or MDF for the best value. But for outdoor models, it's a different story! As you can see, an outdoor foosball table will require care and attention! And if you absolutely want to put a table football outside to play in the sun or possibly in front of your pool house, you should look at the Stella brand, which offers outdoor table football tables made of rot-proof wood and which therefore provide clear and serious resistance to weather conditions such as rain, humidity, wind, UV rays, etc.
If the table football can occasionally be found outside, whatever the model and price you choose, you will need to provide protection such as tarpaulins and remember that if it has to be transported, your table football must not be too heavy... Warning: never put a table football outside if it is not designed for this purpose! Even with a cover!
OUR SUGGESTIONS: Stella Outdoor, Petiot Outdoor, Roberto Sport Summer, Garlando Class Outdoor

What is your playing level? Which table football is best for an amateur or a professional?

- For amateurs, the choice of table football will depend on its price, its maneuverability, its weight, and its decidedly family-friendly character. Design may also come into play: do you want a table football as much as a decorative object?
OUR SUGGESTIONS: Bistrot, Scudetto, Marius, Stella Club, Petiot Familial

- As for professionals, they will choose competition foosball tables equipped, for example, with jacks to keep it perfectly level, or with crossbars for intensive play without damaging the spring or buffer mechanisms. In any case, price is not an issue, as it is a real work tool for these professionals!
OUR SUGGESTIONS: Leonhart, Garlando, Roberto

How to choose the covering for your foosball table ?

Depending on the brand, your foosball table is made of a covering or "mat" made of very different materials. How can you tell them apart? What are the advantages and disadvantages depending on the use and your type of game?
The different types of covering for foosball mats:

• Melamine or painted wood:Widely used on children's foosball tables, they allow for quick ball play, simplifying the game!
• Glass (tempered or sandblasted): Easy to maintain and highly durable, tempered or sandblasted glass has the advantage of being both aesthetically pleasing and durable. It is mainly used on Italian foosball tables. Be careful, however: tempered glass is more often used on foosball tables, which offer players a very fast playing surface, and should be reserved for very good, experienced players! Sandblasted glass provides more grip, for a more controlled and refined game...
• Gerflex™: Most French foosball tables have a Gerflex™ surface (a form of linoleum). The ball on this type of surface isn't too fast, and ball control is easy. This is the ultimate foosball mat! Its green color is reminiscent of soccer fields. The Gerflex table football pitch is very popular and suitable for all players (beginners, advanced players, and professionals). Some Gerflex mats are even ITSF (International Table Soccer Federation) approved. Be careful, they will require a little more maintenance and attention than wood or glass!
• Vinyl: a plastic derivative that offers much the same qualities as Gerflex at a more affordable price.

 

How to choose the design of your table football?

Of course, for an object the size of a table football, design is important. Traditional (to return to the origins of table football and a touch of nostalgia), resolutely contemporary and modern (for a designer table football that may fit into a room with very designer furnishings and win the heart of your other half), or very simple, for a child's bedroom for example. Depending on your interior, whether classic or contemporary, there are foosball brands suited to each style:

- If you're looking for a more retro/vintage/traditional foosball table, here are our suggestions:
Sulpie Evolution, Stella Star, Petiot 140, Bistrot, Scudetto

- If you want a more designer and modern table football, here are our suggestions: Marius, Stella Home, Debuchy by Toulet

- You want a simple model, easy to integrate into any decoration or atmosphere, here are our suggestions: Bistrot, Scudetto, Marius, Stella, Sulpie, Garlando

Perhaps you'll also be interested in the details and finishes of your foosball table, whether it's made of solid wood (usually excellent quality solid beech), compressed wood (MDF), aluminum, etc.

There are also different foosball table style according to the nationality of the manufacturers, which one will you be most sensitive to?
- the French-style foosball table: MDF or solid wood cabinet and telescopic bars, aluminum goals and players, vinyl or Gerflex™ playing field. It's the traditional café foosball table from your high school years!
- the Italian-style foosball table: world-renowned for its sleek and understated design, it is a benchmark for robustness (plywood cabinet, steel legs, bar diameters ranging from 16 to 18mm, polycarbonate players, etc.). For a “Friends” spirit, since Chandler and Joey have a Roberto table football in their apartment!
- the German style table football: with a more square and stable design in MDF, it is mainly designed for competition!
- the Spanish-style table football: has a more rustic, vintage look in raw wood,
- the American-style table football: more solid in rolled aluminum, GI spirit and American series!

Finally, some models like Stella or Roberto Sport offers more or less advanced customizations (so-called first-level) and decorations:
- shape of the handles,
- color and logo of the players,
- color of the handrail,
- color of the table football.
- customization of the box and the mat

How much does a good table football cost?

Depending on the use, the audience, the choice of surface, and the design, the prices of a table football can vary greatly.

If you're looking for a table football for family or amateur use, then prioritize value for money. These models will allow you to experience all the sensations of a real foosball table, while emphasizing the recreational aspect of the product. For example, an MDF cabinet instead of solid wood can drastically reduce the price, without compromising the quality of play.

OUR SUGGESTIONS: Bistrot, Scudetto, Marius

If you want to play foosball intensively to hone your skills, then go straight for the top-of-the-range. What's more, the table football will never lose its value, because the materials used are "noble" (solid wood, Gerflex, chrome-plated steel, etc.) and it is manufactured in France or Europe.

OUR SUGGESTIONS: Marius, Sulpie, Stella, Petiot, Bonzini

And to choose according to your price and budget, visit our page "Choosing your table football" according to your budget!