How to serve foosball shots and offense

Getting hooked up by foosball games? Then learning shots and offense is a must need!!

Why should I learn how to do shots?

When playing foosball, most players focus much more on how to master their shots and offense, rather than foosball defense. This is because it is hard to simulate real shots and practice defense when you’re playing the game on your own. Decent defense techniques are mostly learnt from being in actual games, intensive coaching or competition. Therefore it is not surprising that foosball shots/offense and passing are among the most popular positions in this exciting table game.

In this article we provide an introduction to some popular foosball shots with video instructions to help you master the score.

psss. Can you guess which foosball table it is in the videos?

 

What are some popular foos shots?

Pull Shot

Pull shots are probably the most popular tactic and commonly used in both amateur and professional games. It is executed by pulling the ball directly towards yourself, and shooting into the goal rapidly with the offensive 3 rod (the bar with 3 men on it).

 

Pull Kick Foosball Shot

Pull kick shots are not a typical tactic in tournament games but it can be a fairly effective way to take your opponent off guard if you see an opportunity, since it can be easily disguised as a foosball pass. It is performed by passing the ball from the far man on your offensive 3 bar to the middle man, and kicking it into the goal rapidly.

 

Push Foosball Shot

Push foosball shot is an easier technique to learn without advanced ball control skills required. This is another popular tactic that most foosball newbies love when they first start. It is done the opposite way of pull shots, by pushing the ball from its starting point laterally away from yourself with the middle man on your 3 bar, shooting it into the goal.

 

Push Kick Foosball Shot

Push kick shot might require a better ball control skills so you can disguise your shooting intention as foosball passing. It is the opposite of a pull kick shot, executed by pushing the ball from the near man on your 3 bar to your middle offensive man and kicking the ball into the goal. The trick here is don’t take it in a rush when you’re pushing the ball (then your opponent can easily tell what you attempt to do), but act in a flash when kicking it.

 

Tic-Tac Shot

A tic-tac shot is one of the most commonly used techniques among foosball games. It is done by bouncing the ball back and forth between two men (doesn’t matter which bar) on the same bar, and striking the ball quickly to hit the goal. It is also quite usual for players to combine tic-tac shots with spray shots, depends on your opponent’s defense pattern. Tic-tac practice is also a very good warm-up before a game, to help keep you sharp and feel the table.

 

Rollover Snake Foosball Shot

Snake foosball shots start off by pinning the ball on the table with the middle offensive man on your 3 bar. You then move the rod (pushing and pulling) laterally, back and forth, but still keep the ball rolling and moving with middle man in a snaky way, and spin your wrist with an open hand, strike the ball into the goal with the middle man. This tactic needs lots of practice (and good rods condition) to make it look seamless, but once done properly, it will leave everyone scratching their heads wondering what just happened.

 

Bank Foosball Shot

This one is my personal favorite, because it involves math haha. A bank foosball shot is when you kick the ball against the wall in a diagonal fashion, making it bounce off the wall at an angle and go into the goal. Sounds pretty cool and so sophisticated, right? Banking is ideally performed on your defense (mostly defense 2 bar) but offense can do as well. This is because typically it’s easier to gauge when you set up the bank shot near the line, and harder for your opponent to sense your intention. And like snake shots, bank shots are performed open-handed.

 

Dead Man Foosball Shot

A dead man foosball shot is one of the most difficult techniques. Not many foosballers are able to execute this shot successfully because it requires a good timing and advanced skills. A dead shot occurs when the defensive 2 bar of your opponent goes as far as it could into the table, leaving a narrow window just big enough to allow the ball pass when you score.

 

Spray Foosball Shot

A spray foosball shot is somewhat similar to a rollover snake shot, except the ball is released diagonally towards the goal, or the wall if you’re preparing for a bank shot with your offensives. Most foosball players, especially beginners learnt this without knowing, it just happened accidentally. But without knowing the right techniques and properly practicing it, the shot placements won’t be stable. When you spray on a pull shot, the ball travels towards you at an angle while hitting the goal. On the other hand, if done on a push shot, the ball travels towards your opponent and into the goal.

Aerial Foosball Shot

Aerial foosball shots are pretty cool to watch but keep in mind this is against the rules in a tournament. That being said, still an awesome shot placement to learn. An aerial shot requires your defensive 2 and defensive 3 to work together. It is done by lifting the ball with the front of your defensive 3, and hold by both the back of your defensive 2 and defensive 3. Held at a horizontal position, the ball is then flipped up in the air towards the goal with your defensive 2 bar.

Did you guess it right? It is a Tornado!!