Fubi
Fubi Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 wooden base plate (approximately 62 x 33 cm / 60 x 30 cm depending on edition), covered in high-quality felt — the "lawn" of the game
- 1 elastic band (the "cushion"), stretched tightly around the edge of the field, for catching and, above all, for banking the ball billiard-style into the goal
- 1 metal ball
- 2 plastic rackets (one per player)
- Plastic pins representing the opposing players, placed in marked recesses on the field before the first game
How to Play
Around the field, the wide elastic band serves for catching and, above all, for playing the ball billiard-style toward the goal. With a plastic racket, players take turns trying to play the metal ball into the opponent's marked goal. That would be relatively easy, if it were not — as in real football — for players trying to prevent it. In Fubi, these defending players are represented by the plastic pins. Before the first game, the pins are placed into their marked recesses on the field.
Take your racket in hand and strike the ball toward the opponent's goal. A straight, direct shot through is a rarity — usually the pins (players) stand in the way. You will quickly find how useful it is to play the ball off the elastic band along the side and use it to reach the opponent's goal.
The rules: the ball is played, alternating turns, either by banking it off the band billiard-style, or directly toward the opposing goal. Players play one after another; each player gets just one attempt per turn to send the ball toward the goal, and the ball must come to a complete stop before the next player's turn. Do not push or repeatedly strike at the ball — your "team" (the small pins) does the blocking for you. If a goal is scored, the ball goes back to the middle, just as in real soccer.
But be careful: whoever shoots the ball out of the game field gives the opposing player a "penalty" at the respective point. The more softly and tactfully you play, the more goals you will score. Matches are usually played as two games, each first to three goals.
History
Ivo Orlovic was born on February 4, 1947 in Zagreb, Croatia. As children, he and his peers never had the chance to play with real, and at the time expensive, toys, because people in Croatia were very poor. As a 12-year-old boy who loved football, necessity made him inventive: with a board, a few nails, packing tape, and the two halves of a wooden clothespin, he built the first forerunner of Fubi. This game never let him go, and over the years he kept improving it until it became the Fubi known today. To this day there is no comparable, higher-quality game on the market that combines table football and billiards in this way, and it invites players again and again into gripping tournaments.