Subbuteo Fans

[Midlands Yellow 4,714]

I’d love to play that great game again. Back in the mid 70’s I played it every night with my best mate (who’s dad owned the local chip shop) Once teenagers we were allowed to eat the left overs and bag the takings after a Saturday lunch time opening. Amazingly within a few months we had 30 teams, floodlights and stands (I’m sure one was bigger than the City stand) 

Anyone one else play the game back then? Striker by Palitoy/Parker took over briefly ( press the heads) but Subbeteo was always the best. 

[Google Bot 3,995]

Good memories for sure, used to spend hours with dad and my brother setting up the table (Bit of ply?), getting the cloth all sorted, arguing about who's who and who broke what player when we last played.  All while mum filled the house with a smell of roast beef..   Ahhhhhh! 🙂

We had this set, which was probably passed down to us when we were kids in the 80s:

I had an uncle that came round and was a wiz at it, strong finger and years of practise I reckon, could curl players round the opposition and still hit the back of the net.

I quite liked Super Striker, but it didn't have the same charm as Subbuteo and all the additional pieces you could get for it.  They had a little push down mechanism from memory and magnetically would hold on to the ball which was quite satisfying if you made a pass to feet.

[shefcanary 3,081]

At school in the late 70's we used to have a lunchtime subbuteo league we played on the balcony in the main hall. I chose Bristol Rovers as my team although I had plenty of other teams to choose from (at one stage I had 20 or more). I was actually better at this than the real thing, winning a few leagues.

Got bored in the end though and started chasing the girls before eventually spending my lunchtimes practising / rehearsing with my band Black Mamba dreaming of being a rock star! 🤩🤪🤣🤣

[Midlands Yellow 4,714]

7 minutes ago, shefcanary said:

At school in the late 70's we used to have a lunchtime subbuteo league we played on the balcony in the main hall. I chose Bristol Rovers as my team although I had plenty of other teams to choose from (at one stage I had 20 or more). I was actually better at this than the real thing, winning a few leagues.

Got bored in the end though and started chasing the girls before eventually spending my lunchtimes practising / rehearsing with my band Black Mamba dreaming of being a rock star! 🤩🤪🤣🤣

Did you cheat though with the index finger! 

[shefcanary 3,081]

Just now, Midlands Yellow said:

Did you cheat though with the index finger! 

Ooh, I'd never do that! 

"Hey, look over there!" "Oh, goal!!!!!" 😉

[Google Bot 3,995]

5 minutes ago, shefcanary said:

Got bored in the end though and started chasing the girls before eventually spending my lunchtimes practising / rehearsing with my band Black Mamba dreaming of being a rock star!

Do you ever regret walking out of the band on the basis both that 'Death' and 'Leopard' were to be spelt incorrectly in the new name?

[shefcanary 3,081]

11 minutes ago, Google Bot said:

Do you ever regret walking out of the band on the basis both that 'Death' and 'Leopard' were to be spelt incorrectly in the new name?

Ha, ha, nice thought, but I went to school in Norfolk. I was more likely to have been in Serious Drinking, but decided just to drink! 🤣

[The Raptor 1,589]

1 minute ago, shefcanary said:

Ha, ha, nice thought, but I went to school in Norfolk. I was more likely to have been in Serious Drinking, but decided just to drink! 🤣

If you were drinking at school I'd say that was pretty serious!

[PurpleCanary 6,463]

I was brought up with the 2D figures. First pasteboard and then plastic. And I thought the game lost some skill when it made the inevitable transition to 3D.

I am nerd enough to know why the inventor called it Subbuteo, although I was shocked to read a history of the game which said he had stolen the idea!

[shefcanary 3,081]

Just now, The Raptor said:

If you were drinking at school I'd say that was pretty serious!

Ha, our A level Economics teacher used to take us down the pub! Different days! 

Also, the ceiling in our sixth form room collapsed because of the weight of beer cans that students had thrown up into the loft area (no definitely not all my own work). 

[Foxy2600 392]

As I remember it, I had a West Ham eleven. Not one black or coloured player.

[Foxy2600 392]

[wr4sb 66]

Reminds me of the classic 'All I want for Christmas is a Dukkla Prague away kit' by Half Man Half Biscuit

[TheGunnShow 7,470]

10 hours ago, shefcanary said:

Ha, ha, nice thought, but I went to school in Norfolk. I was more likely to have been in Serious Drinking, but decided just to drink! 🤣

Heh, there was a pub directly opposite our secondary school and it wasn't unusual for the sixth-formers to wander in for a quick one at lunch. Not me, I hasten to add.

[Capt. Pants 5,152]

10 hours ago, Foxy2600 said:

As I remember it, I had a West Ham eleven. Not one black or coloured player.

That would have been Clyde Best!

[Dr Greenthumb 801]

I played for England at U16 level at the European championships in Netherlands in 1999. Used to be obsessed with the game. Got my shirt somewhere still to 😊

[A Load of Squit 6,260]

I used to play with my perfect cousin, he always won 'cos he flicked to kick and I didn't know.

 

[Trevor Hockey's Beard 613]

My Brother had an earlier game where the pitch was metal and the players had magnets under their feet.

[Rich T The Biscuit 695]

10 hours ago, wr4sb said:

Half Man Half Biscuit

And here I am 😆

[Mr Angry 2,094]

10 hours ago, shefcanary said:

Ha, ha, nice thought, but I went to school in Norfolk. I was more likely to have been in Serious Drinking, but decided just to drink! 🤣

Great band, we knew Jem, the original bass player as he was from Watford. Saw them quite a few times, wonder what they are all doing now.

[baldy09 200]

Just remember how easy the players go down and roll about - just like nowadays with some top prem players

[shefcanary 3,081]

4 hours ago, TheGunnShow said:

Heh, there was a pub directly opposite our secondary school and it wasn't unusual for the sixth-formers to wander in for a quick one at lunch. Not me, I hasten to add.

"Our" pub was across the river and also across what was then the main A11, so not the sort of journey the rest of the teachers were likely to ever make. That Economics teacher knew what he was doing. 😉 

[Google Bot 3,995]

Own up, who wrote the player names on their sets then? 🙂

(Spotted on ebay)

[Sean 11]

I've still got all of my collection. Some of the rarer teams go for a fair bit. For some reason I've got Bolivia and Saudi Arabia and they are worth about £140 each!

[Segura 101]

Somewhere deep in the darkest corners of my attic I have a Subbuteo set and the Norwich team from 1993/94, wonder how much I could get for it now?

I actually always found the game itself a bit of a faff and hard to master, but the attention to detail on some of the accessories you could get for it - eg stands, corner flags etc was decent,

[Midlands Yellow 4,714]

Always need some glue around after kneeling on your defenders when attacking. 

[shefcanary 3,081]

3 hours ago, Google Bot said:

Own up, who wrote the player names on their sets then? 🙂

(Spotted on ebay)

This prompted me to see what I had left of my old sets (I've given stuff away to relatives over the years) and this is it:

I think it amounts to two pitches, two sets of goals, three maybe four teams, with goalies of course. And the rules!!! But not enough corner flags.

Sacrilege!!!!!!

Edited August 15, 2024 by shefcanary

[Mr Angry 2,094]

A great uncle of mine had an early Subbuteo set-it was very similar to this one.

 

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,234]

Some school friends and I had a Subbuteo league, with home and away games.

My pitch was lovely as my Dad pinned it out on a large piece of board............

[norfolkngood 1,179]

We had a Doberman Dog in the 1980's and he would just walk through and knock everything flying ,

Striker football game where you pushed the players head for him to kick it that was better ,

Edited August 15, 2024 by norfolkngood