Chris Allen HW’s 29,90,93,103-105,108-112,115,118,122-125,130,131,133,137,141,143,145,147,148,169 round neck, 177, 179-181,188. 195-202,210,213-214,216,220-222,224,225,229-247, 249-259,262-265,267-269,271-283, 285-295,297,299-301,303-307 309-312,314-316 Email mrchrisallen@aol.com Phone 01457 835903

Andrew Phillips1 x set of 10 sky blue outer outers (inners optional) for a 378 CCFC. Any refs 1 & 2 zombie players. Any zombies on orange/claret/black/white outers (white more important than others) - phippsgt500@yahoo.co.uk

Trevor Smith Morocco WC team in named box. This is the last one I need to complete my 1970 line-up! Email trev7296@aol.com or write to Trevor Smith, 15 Brightwell Drive, L.F.E, Leicester LE3 3QA.

Andy SimpsonBrochures for the 61/62 & 62/63 seasons. Will pay £10-£15 depending on condition. Please send via Trev (above)

Gareth Protheroe Still hoping somebody has a set of mauve bases for flat teams to sell or swap. Phone 01952 247578

Tony DunnWorld cup squads (14 players and 2 keepers), plus loads of spectators to fill my stadium jrd1986@btinternet.com (07766 702667)

Kevin OakleyA Subbuteo Whistle (C151) for an incomplete Munich set — Kevin Brittania@aol.com (07989 480 326)

Vikash Ramnath C170 Crowd Barrier Fence vbt@iafrica.com

John Briggs Spare players wanted… Original Heavyweights (v neck short sleeves) 1,2,3,18,22,26,46,49 Classic Heavyweights 12,17,19,23,24,26,35,36,44,65,78, 134, 135, 142,149,152,155,170,173,197, 205,208,209,214,226,265,270,285,301,313 Lightweights 9 HP, 301,MP

71 The Mead Darlington DL1 1EU (01325 251918) Email— john.briggs@ntlworld.com

Graeme Murrell1 x HW4 - red inner, white outer, painted flesh 3 x HW19 - red inner, blue outer, flesh coloured plastic 4 x HW49 - white inner, black outer, flesh coloured plastic 2 x HW51 - blue inner, white outer, painted flesh 1 x HW320 - white inner, green outer, painted flesh

Phone number is 01484 322001.

Neil Horabinnhorabin@yahoo.co.uk, 020 8847 2337

Original Zeugo teams, "15" Sampdoria 2nd, "20" Lecce, "23" Bari, "34" Celtic, "40" Arsenal, "51" France 2nd LW Spare players; 138 (2x V-neck), 219, 367, 375 (x2), 605 (x5!), 628, 634, 647, 679 (x2), 698, 707, 740 (94 with logo x2), 741(96), 769, 773 (x3 with logo), 811, 821 (x3), 63131 (no logo), 63133, 63333 (96 x2)

S.C. MEMBERS’ WANTS LISTS (AS OF 16/05/05)

Best of luck!

Made it at last! Our first colour issue (even if it’s only the cover) and as promised a nice pale green to kick off with before trying out other shades in future. That’s the end of the black-and-white era and the beginning of a new-look one as far as the presentation goes but of course the contents policy will remain unchanged—100% Subbuteo throughout and no “padding” with self-promotional ads!

I’ve been a little more expansive with the photos in this issue, using an unprecedented amount but without detriment to the hard information that I know most readers prefer. It’s been another great effort by our dedicated team of contributors, plus a healthy sprinkling of new names making their newsletter debut. I’d just like to reiterate what I’ve said many times before, which is please try and find the time to send in an article because we always need incoming material and I’m sure there’s many a Subbuteo tale still to be told.

Since our last issue Hasbro’s 2005 Subbuteo range has arrived in the shops….or at least in Toys R Us! It just missed the deadline for #10 but that’s given people a good 3 months to weigh the whole thing up, and long-awaited details of the new products can be found on P. 8 for those still pondering whether to go out and buy the latest gear or not. It’s a bit of a departure from what we’ve been used to so far, which certainly makes for an interesting article if nothing else!

Please note that our Leicester Fair has been moved back one week to July 9th (see P.2) so I hope that won’t be a problem for anyone. Leicester is always a popular venue and there will no doubt be a good crowd at the event as always—probably even more than usual as we hold it in midsummer for the very first time. It’s barely 5 weeks away so please note the new date and be there if you can because after a well-attended Wakefield fair last month it would be nice to keep our present momentum going.

A reminder that up-to-the-minute details of this plus other news is constantly available to Internet members on the Subbuteo Club Forum at www.subbuteoforum.com. We’ve already recruited 260+ enthusiasts since our launch in January and this has been one of our most successful initiatives to date! In true Subbuteo soap-opera style there has been some friction because we’ve dared to challenge the established order but we’ve gone ahead anyway and given people more choice as a result…this can’t be bad!

So, have a good summer and see you for issue #12 which marks the start of our 4th year here at the SC.—still going strong!‘Bye for now.TREV.

ISSUE #11 (May 2005)

— CONTENTS —

(1) Editorial - you’ve just read it! (2) Subbuteo Club News (3) “My favourite swapmeet”(4) DIY all-weather pitches (5) The WC ‘82 with LW teams (6) Why Subbuteo was best! (7) Subbuteo v Computers (8) The Subbuteo 2k5 review (9) Subbuteo catalogues 1970-73 (10) Soccer sets price guide (11) Full listings of all soccer sets (12) Members’ Wants Lists

——————— Leicester Fair : Saturday, July 9th ———————

Start: 9 a.m. Sellers, 9.30 a.m. Buyers Finish: Approx. 1.30 p.m.

Venue: The Trinity Methodist Church, Narborough Road, which is on the A5460 just 3/4 minutes’ drive from the M1/M69.

Admission: SC Members (past & present) FREE, Non-members £2 on the door.

Directions: After leaving the M1/M69 junction, head for the first major roundabout. Take the second turning onto the dual carriageway which leads into town (this is the A5460). After approx. 1 mile you will come to a set of traffic lights at the large crossroads with the Holiday Inn on the right and a Jaguar car showroom on the left. Keep going. Continue along the dual carriageway almost until the next set of lights, but just before coming to these you will see the large church on the left. Turn left and left again to go round to the back of the building where the fair is taking place.

*** CLUB NEWS ***

Newsletter back issues now on CD

Thanks to the efforts of Jeremy Morris it is now possible to get issues 1 to 10 on CD for just £6.00 inc. P&P world-wide. This means you can print out any copies you don’t yet have, upgrade to “colour” versions (the CD contains more colour than the actual newsletters) or just leave them in CD format to read on your computer. For recent members it’s a great chance to catch up on all you’ve missed so far at a reasonable price, but anyone who prefers paper back-issues can still obtain these for £1.50 each inc. P&P.

WELWYN FAIR DATE CONFIRMATION—SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2ND (Further details in issue #12)

Members S.C. Stats Collectors’ Fairs

Current membership 188 Wakefield attendance -73 members + guests Cumulative membership 372 Cumulative attendance (10 fairs) - approx. 580 Record membership 253 Record attendance—Leicester, Jan 2004 (100+)

***Newsletter #12 due week beginning Sept. 5th (print deadline Aug. 19th)***

Read 116 pages of Subbuteo articles on CD exactly as they appeared in newsletters 1 to 10

Flat Sets

Original Edition

Hasbro Sets

Euro ‘96

Assembly Outfit France ‘98

Popular Outfit Manchester United Edition

Combination Edition (sq. box) Deluxe Edition

Combination Edition (rect. Box) Chocolate Edition

Super Set Dream Team Stadium

‘00 Scale’ Sets

Display Edition

5-A-Side Sets

Fivesides (small)

Club Edition Fivesides (medium)

Floodlighting Edition Fivesides (large)

International Edition Football Express (Fold-Up)

New World Cup Edition (1970) Football Express (Large Box)

World Cup Edition (1974) Targetman

Munich Edition Top Scorer

Stadium Edition Sport Billy

World Cup ‘78 Indoor Edition

LW Sets (post-1980)

League

Card Sets

Soccer Market

FIFA Famous Footballers (Series 1)

World Cup ‘86 Famous Footballers (Series 2)

Grandstand Edition Squads Card Game 1996

USA ‘94

Premier League Edition

THE COMPLETE SUBBUTEO SOCCER SETS CHECKLIST

SOCCER MARKET Actually a card game and nothing like the other finger-flicking sets in the rest of the soccer range. I’ve seen the cards and they look distinctly unimpressive, but their worth could be £200.00+ per set.

FAMOUS FOOTBALLERS Another set of cards (or rather 2, each containing 24 players) but this time they’re collectors cards rather than playing cards. As far as I’m aware they’re both of equal rarity and value, and sell surprisingly cheaply considering their age and £40.00 should get you either set.

FIVESIDES There were 3 versions of this, all of which are rare. The smallest is little more than a 6” square box but as it’s a 50-year-old one you’d probably still get/pay £50.00 for it. I’d value the others at £70.00 and £90.00, but having never seen them on Ebay or at fairs I must admit there’s an element of pure guesswork involved.

FOOTBALL EXPRESS Best known and loved of all the 5-a-side sets. Once thought to be a genuine rarity (thus attracting £200.00+ “panic buys”) but they now turn up quite frequently and you shouldn’t pay more than £50.00 even with the teams included—maybe £75.00 for the much rarer fold-up version.

TARGETMAN Comes in the same huge-format box as the International/Express?Snooker editions. A poor man’s Striker but for rarity alone it could easily go for £150.00 or more if mint.

TOP SCORER Nothing spectacular here and, as is often the case, 90% of the value (which I’d put at £50.00) is in the box!

SPORT BILLY Aimed at youngsters and a very unpopular attempt. Like so many rubbish sets though, it sold few copies and so now has a high-ish collectable value, maybe £70.00 if mint.

INDOOR A quite beautiful set on a blue felt/Astro type pitch with a board backing. Relatively recent (1982) but not many made during its short lifespan because like the NASL upon which it was based it never really caught on. A shame, but their scarcity means they now sell at around £125.00 to today’s collectors.

SQUADS A boxed set of 165 cards with a playing board but I’ll spare readers further details of this disaster! £5.00

CHOCOLATE EDITION I still remember them on sale at £1.00 a box as the chocolate “sell-by” date expired. There’s been renewed interest since they disappeared though and an average of recent prices would be about £7.00

DELUXE EDITION The selling point here was most likely the re-vamped grandstand with cardboard spectators, otherwise nothing special amidst a healthy quantity of items (3 teams, fence, scoreboard etc…) £35.00

MAN. UTD. EDITION By definition this will have limited widespread appeal but many parts (bearing the Man. Utd. logo) are not available in any other sets. Not a big seller either so it may just be a future “rarity”. £25.00

DREAM TEAM STADIUM Some innovative ideas in this set (see article on P.4) and currently retailing at £30.00

This is a belated follow-up to my Soccer Sets Price Guide way back in issues 4 & 5. With the help of Jon French we’ve just about valued all the remaining boxed sets in the Subbuteo soccer range and rounded this off with the “ultimate” Subbuteo soccer set checklist …at least until we find one we’ve missed! So here is the list of all the soccer sets not covered so far in chronological order - they really do vary from the sublime to the ridiculous :-)

SOCCER SETS VALUATIONS (Concluding Part)

….and now for a complete list of all the Subbuteo Soccer sets available from 1947 to the present day. See P.11 >>>

The best swapmeet I ever attended was in Leicester towards the end of the 90s. There wasn’t a great attendance by any means because it was before the Internet exploded onto the scene and messages had to be conveyed by phone or letter. I doubt there were more than 25 people at the event, the venue being so remote that it took me as long to find it 5 miles from the motorway as it did to travel the 80 miles along the motorway to Leicester itself.

Still, I finally made it for about 10.30. This would be disastrous nowadays because all the best stuff would be gone and there wouldn’t be a bargain left in the place, but remember this was 1998! I strolled round the hall, not talking to a soul because I had the impression of being an outsider. Perhaps a false impression, and for all I know everybody else could have been thinking the same, but a big social occasion it was not! There was a nice lady serving tea and cakes though and after acquiring a few bits I had a chat there for a time. There was little sense of urgency on my part because sellers were standing round waiting for customers and it wasn’t as if I was going to miss much by having a 5 minute snack—there were about 8 tables stacked with stuff which wasn’t going anywhere! Refreshed, I then resumed my quest for Subbuteo bargains at around 11 o’clock.

I must say that looking back there was no shortage of these, but how do you know what will be a “bargain” several years later??? People were shunning HWs at £5 a team because this was deemed a little dear, and I was haggling over 6 of them which I eventually got for £20 from a shaven-headed trader (this was Pete Whitehead—Ed.) but at the risk of repeating myself, these were 1998 prices!!….It all seems like a different Subbuteo age now!

Well if I’d just gone home with 6 HWs for £20 you might think I’d had a good day, but wait! I also got 2 rugby sets for a fiver each, an Indoor Edition for a tenner and so many accessories for £1 each that I couldn’t possibly list them all here, but one which comes to mind is a C172 League Cup! I think I paid a little more for my WC Winners pack, which cost me £5 if my memory is correct and I recall thinking this was my worst value-for-money deal of the day!!! There were also flat teams galore and one guy had a load of brochures for 50p each that I bought a dozen or so of, some of which went back to the early 1960s. I sometimes try and work out the value of the stuff I got that day for well under £100, even including the petrol money, but I couldn’t begin to calculate what it would cost me today.

I could understand people saying, “oh, the lucky ****” and they’d be quite right! I’d definitely agree here up to a point but do you know what? I can’t stop thinking about the bargains that got away!!! Ungrateful, stupid or just plain greedy? Maybe all three, but there must have been a good couple of dozen rugby teams at 2-3 quid each which escaped my grasp and eventually cost me £10-15 each 2 about years later. OHWs, although fewer in number, were going for the same prices as classic HWs and I left them on the tables! I probably only got 50% of what I could have bought if my budget had not been a factor, but if I’d told my partner I’d blown 200 quid on Subbuteo she’d have gone nuts!!!!!!

Towards the end of the fair there was an auction, which I thought was a novel idea. With no Ebay back then (or if there was, nobody had heard of it yet!) and very few bidding rivals for each item this was a great chance to get some special stuff for a snip. Unfortunately, being towards the end, a lot of people were spent up (myself included) so again this kept the prices down and even the Floodlight Cricket set didn’t reach its £40 reserve! Can you believe that???

Shortly afterwards there was a steady trickle out into the car park. Whether people thought it had been a good event or a bad one perhaps depended on which side of the table they had been standing. The funny thing is that when I got home and was asked if I’d enjoyed the swapmeet I said it was “okay”. This was an honest answer based on the day as a whole, which really didn’t seem that remarkable at the time. But history is not always judged on the spur of the moment and I’d put this down as the last great swapmeet for Subbuteo buyers. It’s been a seller’s market ever since!

I went to a different event barely 18 months later and what a difference!! If anyone ever asks me when Subbuteo inflation took off I always say early 2000 and I’ve only been to 2 more fairs in the past 5 and a half years since Subbuteo became a “business” instead of a hobby. It would be great if we could go back to pre-2000 prices because I’d be quite happy to play the game here by selling HW teams for 3-4 quid in exchange for being able to buy others for the same price. But this is just the stuff of dreams because you cannot artificially deflate a market that’s become inflated or, as some would claim, where Subbuteo has found its true value according to the law of supply and demand.

So Leicester was truly a “once in a lifetime” experience for Subbuteo collectors like myself. For the record, I still have most of my loot to this day although I managed to do some good swaps for a few of the items found. Sadly, the club that organised it eventually went bust and I felt a bit guilty about this as I’d attended a couple of their events FOC and got so much stuff. It was like I “owed” them something. I’d like to belatedly thank all those responsible and - as prices continue to escalate - my memories of that October morning in Leicester grow ever fonder!

My favourite Subbuteo fair

Robert Pratt

Has anyone else got a nostalgic fair review they’d like to share with us? All contributions gratefully received! - Ed.

Leicester, October 1998

Subbuteo soccer pitches are not very dear these days and you can pick up even quality baize ones for £1 each at fairs etc. This is just as well as we tend to get through rather a lot in our house! When you’ve read how we use them below you will easily understand why….

To recreate rainy conditions we dampen the pitch. This creates a slower game and if we want to simulate snow it’s very simple—just use talc!! We experimented with salt at first but the little grains made it unworkable, and then fine white sugar was tried with better results but we opted for talc in the end. Whether it’s water for rain or talc for snow, the conditions created will vary in extremity according to how much you apply. If soaking the pitch, be warned that significant shrinkage will occur unless it’s firmly attached to a board to prevent this.

As in real football these adaptations introduce an element of lottery, but what’s wrong with that?? We all enjoy the glamour of the FA Cup where prestigious teams get drawn against lowly opposition and come a cropper on a dodgy pitch….great stuff!!!!! I’m not recommending this for the FISF circuit—it’s just a means of adding greater realism to informal games with a few new house rules.

My own personal favourite is windy conditions and here we use one of those fans which, if set at the right distance from the pitch, can create anything from a gentle breeze to a howling gale. It’s trial and error really, but you can get it just right within a matter of seconds - it’s not too difficult! And if you buy one of those models which turns automatically through about 180 degrees you can even get the “gusty” effect.

We’ve also sprinkled sand onto the surface of a pitch to reproduce mud, although we’re still working on this latest idea and a little more practice in applying it is required. A patchy covering is no problem as that’s the very nature of muddy pitches—you never know for sure where the “stickiness” will be! Coffee powder is another option under consideration but the expense alone may rule it out. We’ve all seen games where a long through-ball “holds up” in the mud whether it’s the 3rd round of the cup at Scarborough or the 1/4 final of the Champions’ League in the San Siro so we’re keen to perfect this technique ASAP.

Sometimes ideas arrive spontaneously, like my Grandad’s excuse for smoking whilst playing by saying that it recreated “fog”. I wouldn’t recommend this latest idea, but that’s another possibility we could add to the list. Obviously, you can combine any of the above to get such things as a rainy and windy match etc… In fact here’s an almost unlimited amount of conditions you can create with a bit of imagination and (if you can afford the pitches) they give extra realism to an already exciting game. These ideas are not just for soccer either. You could easily substitute the word “rugby” above and the same comments apply.

Apart from the weather conditions, the speed of game can be determined by the choice of material. Nylon is faster than baize, and then there are different thicknesses of baize with the really old ones being thickest (and thus the slowest). In cricket, you could use a nylon pitch when the wicket is “quick” (as is the case at certain cricket grounds) and the more common baize ones for slower tracks which would also enable slightly more spin. I have actually played cricket on a nylon pitch stretched out on hardboard and I can guarantee the game was at least 50% faster than a standard one!

Inclining the pitch very slightly can reproduce either the famous “Yeovil slope” in football or the equally famous one at Lords cricket ground. Again, it introduces another dimension for the players to cope with. Be careful here though because you can easily overdo it—we’re only talking about raising the board with the pitch on about half an inch/1 cm. (max!) at one end.

Those wishing to become top-class players will not benefit from any of this - quite the contrary - but I hope that those who play exclusively for fun will get added pleasure (and a few laughs!) from these tips. Myself, my brother and our mates certainly have!

Pitches for all seasons

Mark Ainscough

SUBBUTEO CATALOGUES – END OF AN ERA

By Gareth Protheroe

In 1969, Subbuteo produced a 24 page brochure which covered Soccer, Cricket, Rugby, Fivesides & the sets C 124, 125 & 126, Training kits. The cover consisted of a green background with the figures of a cricketer,( all in white), a Footballer , (red shirt, blue shorts) & a Rugby player ( blue shirt, white band & black shorts. The Union Jack Flag was positioned in the top left hand corner. Included within was pictures of the boxed games available for Soccer & Cricket, together with a soccer field of play displaying the accessories available as set out in previous catalogues . Team references 1 to 55 was present as was a full list of the accessories available at this time.

1969-70 The cover of the 69-70 catalogue changed again from the previous season. A football figure in white shirt, black shorts on a white background covered most of the cover in kicking action with a black ball above his kicking foot with the words Subbuteo Table Soccer in white print. One and a half inches with a red background occupied the top of the page with the words in white printing “Subbuteo Price List 1969-70 Soccer Cricket “ thereon. At the bottom there was an inch red border with the words in white print “Grand NEW accessories and replacements for ALL Subbuteo sports games are contained in this latest price list. The NEW sets introduced included C 117, set of six line flags, four with built in ball raising recesses for improved corner kicks. C 118. European Competition Cup, C 119, The world Cup, C 120, Football Statuette, C 121, Three new match balls, moulded in yellow with black spots, C 122, Two new style goals, C 123, 2 action diving goalkeepers, C 124, Training kit, set A, C 125- target board, Training kit set B ,goalkeeper reboiund board, C 126, Training kit – six dribbling posts. Set L provided a new log book in a gold-embossed wallet cover. Set LX – log book only was introduced to the list, Set Z indicated a NEW Match Scoreboard , in realistic style with the names of all principle English & Scottish Clubs & Divisional & Competition insert cards.

Team references increased from 55 to 61 with the introduction of 56, Ajax, 57 Milan, 58 Inter Milan, 59 River Plate, 60 F.C. Subbuteo Barcelona (tangerine shirts with a red band & blue shorts ) & 61 Red & yellow striped shirts, black shorts, with no reference to any team. Set 0, Eleven Player figures was reduced from 55 to only 50 team colours available. In the 1970-71 catalogue the team references available returned to one to fifty five in Set 0. >>>

<<< In the 1971-72 catalogue Set D - cardboard figures appeared for the last time. Set 0 was once again reduced to only 50 team references available. What was Subbuteo playing at? In onecatalogue there was 1-55 available, then only 1-50 in another and then back to 1-55, and finally reduced back to 50.

This is the last description of the catalogues which I am providing. My love has been the celluloids, and in the 1972-73 catalogue >>>it stipulated that Set 0, would only be available while stocks lasted in team references 1 – 50 only. This is the last time Sets E (bases) & Set 0 (eleven players) appeared in the Subbuteo catalogue.

IT WAS THE END OF AN ERA!

Thanks Gareth for your excellent trilogy on flat teams, reviewing a quarter-century of Subbuteo brochures in the process. It’s been a really popular series judging by the comments I’ve received, so you can now take a well-earned break! - Ed.

The box contains: 1 pitch with already the four bases of the supports fixed on and it is made with a bizarre material…it is synthetic, of course, and it seems a very thin sponge. The grip is good and the surface is quite slippery. This material hardly creases and the stick entitled to stretch it do their work good. In a few words you can set up your field in a few seconds obtaining a very good result. It is not an Astropitch but it is far better than a standard Subbuteo field. 24 players. Actually 22 are enough but the players come in hard plastic cards by three, so you get 8 cards with 24 players. Each card has three players and three discs, you can use every player with red or blue disc at choice. This is because you can use whatever player in your team and just replace the disc and base afterwards. The disc has the name of the appropriate player. Every forward and some midfielders have a black band on the disc. That means that in the advanced game they are entitled to play the ball up to 4 times instead of 3. Defenders can play the ball only twice…odd! You have, of course, to remove the players and the discs from the cards to play with. But surprisingly you can stick them back into the cards at the end of the game. The plastic from which the cards are made seems very good and long lasting. Each card contains three players of the same team (I remember you that the new team range contains only 9 teams, Juventus, Inter, AC Milan, Barcelona, Valencia, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man. Utd.). Goalposts—these are fine, with nice shaped nets and a green base. Poles are rounded. Footballs—There are 2 standard sized balls (not C144 size) that come with the game, colour white with the Subbuteo logo (a Subbuteo player) printed on in red/orange.

Of course you can buy new teams or, better, new players. They come in the type of box shown on the right >> which is called a “Skill Academy”. Each players box you buy will have 12 players (i.e. 4 cards) and you don’t know what is inside the small box. Subbuteo becomes a trade cards game. But every little box with 4 cards (otherwise why to sell cards in box) can contain an accessory. The accessory is not random, it is advertised on the box cover.

<<< You can choose between 4 different fantastic accessories:-1) Pegs for training 2) Raising chutes but with a completely new shape, arguably more effective3) A basket/target to train for chipping (never again without!) 4) A deflector for the goalkeeper, enabling him to “punch clear” the ball. Also in every little box you will always find 1 ball Prestige (in 3 colours: orange, gold and silver) and 4 special bases: 2 Cobra and 2 Sidewinder (1 red 1 blue). So there’s the full contents, but now let’s meet the teams…….

<<< Here are the players on their press-out cards. Early reports suggest that some are very common while others are extremely rare…nice one Hasbro! :-)

They have become known as “Photoreal” players, which is no doubt due to the box saying “12 photo-realistic players from Europe’s top clubs inside!”

<<< And here is the finished article in the form of a Barcelona team. Perhaps the word “squad” would be more appropriate because there are 15 players (5 cards) available for each of the 9 clubs above. After a game the players can either be left assembled or replaced onto their cards, the latter being a good option with there not being any boxes to store them in. I wonder if Hasbro have plans to make any in future or, better still, to sell ready-made boxed teams? There may be further developments to report here.

————————————————————————————————————— So, what do SC members make of all this? Here are some of the comments received so far…

ANDY SIMPSON - The teams play surprisingly well and putting the name of each player on the shirt & base is a long overdue bonus.JON FRENCH -—– The pitch material is a vast improvement. Having tension rods to keep it flat is a winner, although a bit unsightly.ANDREW CHURCHILL — These flat players are starting to appeal to me but a wider range is required than just the 9 current teamsDAVID FAIR ——— Why don’t Hasbro sell complete teams? It’s silly and confusing playing with different strips in the same team.JEZ TOMLIN —————— More base colours are required because the red and blue bases don’t match the colours of many teams.ADAM SPINKS - The accessories are a bit mediocre but I like having trading cards to build up teams gradually (however frustrating!)JOHN BRIGGS - If they introduce more teams it should become very popular. But I feel it's more appealing to collectors than players.KEVIN GILL —— The new rules are interesting and some improvements have been made. It’s a nice idea having two types of bases. RICHARD STOKES ——– I think Hasbro have been very shrewd because collectors will pay far more for their teams by this method.STEVEN EDBROOKE —– The teams are pretty good (despite my initial reservations) but boxes are urgently needed to put them into.

Subbuteo 2005 - Reviewed by Marco Longinotti (boxed sets) & Trevor Smith (teams)

Ever fancied recreating that dramatic semi final, the brilliant second round match between Italy and Brazil, or maybe Scotland actually beating those Soviets to qualify for the second phase. I am of course talking about the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Subbuteo LWs offer an excellent opportunity for the collector to recreate those and many more memorable games form that stunning tournament. To collect these teams represents a significant challenge yet to get a good start with some very common refs should be easily achievable. Here is my guide to collecting LWs to recreate that tournament.

Group 1

Italy ref 415Italy 2nd ref 443Poland ref 412Cameroon ref 403Peru ref 455

Group 2

West Germany ref 445West Germany Away ref 393Austria ref 453Algeria ref 402Chile ref 68

Group 3

Belgium ref 444 (probably the hardest to get)Belgium 2nd ref 21Argentina ref 457Hungary ref 281El Salvador ref 155

Group 4

England ref 329England 2nd ref 368 France ref 461 Czechoslovakia ref 231Kuwait ref 404

Group 5

Spain ref 433Northern Ireland ref 393 ( same as Germany away !!)Northern Ireland Away ref 459Honduras ref 405Yugoslavia ref 149

Group 6

Brazil ref 410 ( should be one of the easiest to pick up)USSR ref 392USSR 2nd ref 303Scotland ref 442Scotland 2nd ref 469New Zealand ref 156

I would also recommend using Tournament goals or European goals to give the games an extra sense of reality. However chances are that you are not going to recreate the whole tournament, but hopefully this gives you the inspiration to start collecting LWs.

If you wanted to play this group out then the match between Poland and Peru could mean a colour clash. I would recommend using a ref 214 as an alternative Poland kit for this game.

Best use the Germany away in the match v Austria ( I think the Austrians changed kit in the actual tournament).

I suggest using a ref 1 for Kuwait in the game against France.

A ref 21 can be used for Honduras in the game against Yugoslavia.

Should only need the Scotland awayif they progress to the next phase.

Chris Stapleton

Collecting LWs to recreate that World Cup excitement

This one’s been around forever—certainly in excess of 100 years and was perhaps the earliest real football simulation game. Unfortunately, it’s just 2 straws and a ball and the winner is the one who gets the headache last. It barely qualifies for a rating because there’s just a keeper dangling from the bar and that’s all it had in the way of players but I’ve included it on the list because of its incredible longevity and the fact that (like most people) it was probably the first football game I ever played. It’s still passable as a party game to this day but only 10% as good as the mighty Subbuteo!

Considered to be the inspiration for the great game itself and yes, I can see the likeness. Born in 1928, it was around 19 years before Subbuteo appeared but did it really evolve that much? I only ever played this game 2 or 3 times with an uncle’s incomplete set and there were both + and - points (I did like the players’ action poses!) but overall it just came up short. Nevertheless, alongside my #1 game I’d give it a very honourable 80%.

Oh dear! They came up with magnetic soccer in the 50s in the hope that this would create a fast-action replica of the real game. Well fast-action it was for sure, but you never quite knew who was in control of which players. It was usually played with each player having one magnetic rod and I dread to think how you’d play the version shown with 6 rods. Okay for a laugh as the chaos descends, but only a quarter good as old subby and so let’s say 25%. There were several producers of this game (the most well-known being “Balyna”, the one I had) but the above comments unfortunately apply to all of them.

Into the 60s with some nice ideas and interesting tactics. Yes, I did like the idea of having chipping and straight sides on the bases too but I dunno….there’s just something about using dice that made it into a game of chance rather than the ultimate game of skill like our favourite table soccer game. All the extra lines on the pitch diminished its visual appeal too but we’re around 70% of the way there —a decent effort!

Another 60s classic. Well, maybe for some! Casdon Soccer was okay until you got the hang of passing to your own men every time and then the opponents were powerless to stop you scoring. Me and my mate had this off to a tee back in the early 70s when I bought this game and our matches were a bit like basketball where the winner is the one who loses the ball the fewest times. This eventually diminished our interest and so I’d only give this one 50% (sorry Sir Bobby!)

I didn’t rate this game but Subbuteo took it seriously enough to emulate it via their Targetman”. Mind you, that was pretty poor too once you’d got over the novelty of pressing the player’s head down to make him kick the ball - we all found this to be okay for the first 5 minutes or so! I was surprised to see Striker sets still hanging around in the shops after all these years, in a different box nowadays but still the same old game and so for sheer tenacity it gets 60%.

A bit of a Subbuteo rip-off here I reckon. The rules seemed remarkably similar to the Advanced Rules known and loved by us all, but the game was played with a counter!!Well, that marked it down for me I’m afraid, not to mention the cardboard pitch, but there were still some aspects of it I found appealing enough to hold my attention throughout the Mid-70s….a 75%-er.

I’ve really enjoyed this trip along memory lane and have suddenly come over all nostalgic. I’ve only mentioned the “manual” games for direct comparison purposes but I also had some happy hours playing such gems as “Wembley” and “Soccerama” with the other lads in the street. There were some fine football games around back then, but the one which always created the most excitement, tension and controversy was Subbuteo. No other indoor soccer game was quite like it!

Why Subbuteo was best

Mike Bonsall

Taking Subbuteo as the bench-mark 100%, how did the other football games I played compare?

Manual dexterity. This increases due to the high level of skill involved with Subbuteo. Hand/eye coordination also improves more by playing a real 3D game than just watching 2D images on a screen and pushing buttons.

Imagination/Creativity. Computer games look almost real these

days, whereas a Subbuteo set requires imagination. Many players enhance their miniature teams with numbers on backs and build stadia full of accessories to which they can relate. The fact that you can actually TOUCH your players makes you feel an affinity with them as opposed to their shallow electromagnetic rivals.

Price. There’s no hardware required, which in the case of

computers can cost £200.00 for the latest model! Games are then a further £30.00 + if bought new, whereas Subbuteo sets and additional teams are just a fraction of these prices. Although relatively minimal, one could also add on the electricity bill.

Health. Cramp from sitting in the same position too long, eyestrain through staring at a TV screen for too long (even cases of epilepsy have been reported!) and other conditions such as “repetitive strain injury” can all occur. On the other hand, playing Subbuteo requires a fair amount of movement and keeps the player fitter and healthier as a result.

Sociability is enhanced because Subbuteo is a social game rather than a lone one. Often leagues are formed creating interaction between several people but this is seldom the case with computer games. True, these can be played with 2 players or even online (although you can’t see or speak to your opponent this way).

Strategy. There’s more involved in Subbuteo than in computer games and an almost infinite number of possibilities and outcomes arise during each game due to the unpredictability of using a physical ball. Computer games—even the most sophisticated—only have a finite number of pre-set moves which

you can ultimately work out given sufficient time.

Excitement. When did you last hear anyone mention that great goal they scored on FIFA 2003? No, I thought not! Subbuteo moves aren’t programmed so you create them yourself (passes, saves, shots etc.) and get a greater sense of achievement when they come off. So don’t become an X-Box slave…provide your own thrills and enjoy them far more!

I’ve no doubt there are many more benefits in playing Subbuteo but those above will do for now. I must make sure that my son reads this article—if he ever finishes playing that ****** FIFA 2003!!!

...and still is!

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