Subbuteo

Anyone who grew up in the 50's, 60's, 70's or 80's will probably have fond memories of the table football game Subbuteo. Who could forget the joy of scoring a great goal and the pain of getting one of the little plastic players embedded in your knee. I seemed to spend more time stopping the family dog eating the ball and the Brazilian back four than I did actually playing the game.

The game of Subbuteo has been with us in various forms since 1946 when Peter Adolph invented the game. Adolph placed an advertisement in "Boys Own" magazine in 1947 offering a new table top football game for 7/6d (37.5p in new money).

At that time the idea was just that, an idea, and Peter went off to New York to value a birds' egg collection. Once there, he got a telegram from his mother asking what she should do with GBP 7,500 worth of 7/6d postal orders, worth about GBP 750,000 in present terms. Then began the frantic process of actually making the game.

Did you know why the game is called 'Subbuteo'? It's because Peter Adolph wanted to call it 'The Hobby' but was persuaded this was not specific enough. Peter was an ornithologist and Falco Subbueto Subbueto is the Latin name for the bird of prey The Hobby Hawk.

The first Subbuteo sets consisted of goals made with wire and paper nets, a cellulose acetate ball, cardboard playing figures in two basic kits (red shirts with white shorts, and blue shirts with white shorts) and bases made from buttons weighed down with lead washers. No pitch was provided: instead, the purchaser was given instructions on how to mark out (with chalk, provided) a playing area onto a blanket (an old army blanket was recommended).

In its early years, Subbuteo had a fierce rivalry with 'NewFooty', a similar game that had been invented in the late 1920s. Adolph introduce the famous three dimensional football players figures in an effort to differentiate the two games.

The figures are what makes the game different from most other tabletop sports games. 100's of variations of team colours are available, although many kits can double for two or three times. Such as the Newcaslte United which can also be Juventus or Notts County!

There are also many Subbuteo accessories, such as stadiums, cups, balls, fans and even a Subbuteo streaker chased by a policemen.