How to play
Table Kick is table football (foosball) seen from above. Two teams of little men on eight rods, one ball, and the first to five goals wins. Play against a friend on one keyboard or phone, or against a bot with three skill levels.
Your rods. Each side has four rods: goalkeeper, two defenders, five midfielders and three strikers. You control one rod at a time: the rod nearest the ball is yours automatically and glows in your colour. When the ball is rolling toward your goal, the game hands you the rod standing between the ball and the goal. Only that rod moves; the others stay where you left them and still block the ball.
Sliding. Red uses W / S, Blue uses ↑ / ↓ (on a phone, drag up and down on your half). The men slide along the rod and stop at the walls. A moving rod gives the ball a sideways nudge when it touches it, which is how you angle a shot.
Kicking. Space (Red) or Enter (Blue), or the ⚽ button on a phone. The men on your active rod lunge forward. If the ball is just in front of one of them, it rockets toward the opposite goal. Hitting it with the edge of a man sends it at an angle. After a kick the rod needs a moment before it can kick again; the ring next to the handle fills up when it is ready.
Goals and serves. The ball has to cross the goal line completely. After a goal the ball is placed in the centre and rolls gently toward the team that conceded. A ball that stops dead for a couple of seconds is re-served from the centre toward the team that did not touch it last.
Winning. First to 5 goals (3 or 7 in the menu). There is no two-goal margin.
Strategy
Watch which rod is yours. The glow jumps as the ball moves. Before the ball reaches your half, make sure the rod that will receive it is already sliding into the lane.
Kick from in front, not from beside. A kick only works on a ball in front of the man. If the ball is next to the man it just gets blocked; slide a little, let the ball settle in front, then fire.
Use the gaps. The opponent’s goalkeeper rod has three men; the goal mouth is wider than one of them. Aim for the side of the goal the keeper is away from. Shots along the ground through the midfield gaps surprise everyone.
Park your rods. Rods you are not using keep blocking. Leaving your defenders spread across the goal before you go on the attack saves a lot of goals.
Angle with the slide. Kicking while the rod is moving bends the shot. A kick taken while sliding up goes up; use it to curl the ball around a keeper.
If you enjoy Table Kick, try Torpedo Reef or Trail Duel next.
