How To Play Human Foosball
My husband’s family has a family reunion every year on Boxing Day (that’s December 26th for those of you in the USA ;)) At this reunion I was taught How To Play Human Foosball. I had never heard of it before, and if you’re like me, today I’m going to introduce you!
Here’s what you’ll need:
– masking tape or painter’s tape
– PVC pipe
– duct tape
– a ball that doesn’t hurt when you get hit with it!
– at least 10 people
(we played with 18 people at a time, but you could fit more)
The game is just like table top foosball but with real people.
Start by duct taping your piping together to make several long poles. (The length of your poles will depend on the size of the room you’re playing in, and the number of people you’re playing with)
Evenly place the poles across your playing area. Then mark lines onto the floor on either side of each pole (approx. 1.5-2 feet wide) with masking tape or painter’s tape. Players holding onto that pole cannot step outside of the marked area. In my picture there is no tape because this game has been played so many times in this gym that there are permanent marks on the floor from the masking tape. We recommend using painter’s tape if you want to preserve your playing surface!
At either end of the playing area, designate a goal. The goalies can use their hands. I’ve outlined what we used as our goal area in the photo below (that’s my hubby playing goal ;)).
I drew up this little diagram in photoshop so you could get an idea of how to set up the game. Each line represents a pole. Each dot is a person (green is one team & purple is the other).
Below you can see the game in action with everyone in position.
Here’s another action shot (I think you’re supposed to play with both hands on the pole, but we decided that it’s okay to let go of the pole with one hand, but you have to have one hand on the pole at all times).
And last but not least, I had to include this shot that my sister in law grabbed of me and my fancy footwork:
Next time you’re getting together with a bunch of people and you want a fun game to play, I definitely recommend that you get your hands on some PVC piping & try some human foosball- so much fun!!
Thanks for reading, I hope you find an opportunity to try this! I love sharing ideas with you here at HowDoesShe! Come on over and see me at my blog Raising Memories sometime, too!
Rachelle says
YAY! Possibly the best group game ever! 🙂 And your skills are unmatchable. 🙂
Heather Lynne says
Haha, why thank you Rachelle 🙂
Chelle says
We love this game. But in our version we can’t move around that much. We stand in front of the pole, and wrap our arms around it (behind our backs) The pole rests in the crook of our elbows. We kinda LOOK like the foosball players.
Heather Lynne says
Haha Chelle, I love the visual!
Bobbi says
I could see my family totally getting in to this. Great idea!
Heather Lynne says
It makes for some great bonding 😉 haha
Tami says
Looks like you all had a great time! Heather, you’ve got some moves! Glad to see all the enthusiastic adults – I tried to do Minute to Win It games at our extended family Thanksgiving but none of the grown-ups would do it, the bums. Loved these photos.
Heather Lynne says
Aw, you need to come here for Boxing Day- I’m sure you’d have some willing participants! 🙂
Caley says
Oh the memories! We used to play this when I was around 12/13 at family renions! It would get so intense, yet so funny that most of us would be crying from laughter! Thanks for sharing…so glad you had a great time!
tzigane says
what a great way to play at home!
we attended a camp for a few summers with our youth group and they had a permament one that you could use set up. it was a lot of fun! this would be a great way to do it a facility where you couldn’t have a permament structure.
Sarah says
Can I just say that this is my favorite idea of the new year?! And no one knows this yet – but I am about to make a few phone calls now and we are about to have a tournament.
julie says
Love this game. We use an exercise ball when we play with only adults. I’ve taken a few to the face and its not so bad. Grest idea.
Abid Ilyas Dar says
Good group game with a strong potential to have a team building purpose activity and fun together.
Heather elaborated in a very good way with pictures.
Good effort.
Drew says
Great idea! I love foosball and this would be a great way to ‘liven’ it up to be something that provides exercise 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
LEVEL DEVIL PLAY says
This sounds like such a fun twist on a classic game! I love the idea of getting everyone involved in a human-sized version of foosball. Can’t wait to try it out at our next group gathering! Thanks for the tips!
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Great post! I never realized how much fun human foosball could be! The tips you shared on setting up the game and organizing teams are super helpful. Can’t wait to try this out at our next get-together!