Subbuteo

The Flicking Kicking Football Game

Subbuteo is one of those ideas that is so simple it's brilliant and the game has justly achieved classic status. It's a simple form of tabletop football (or soccer for my American friends) where players flick little plastic men around in order to move the ball and attempt to score goals.

Over the years you have been able to buy versions of Subbuteo for various sports including rugby and cricket, however these have never been as popular as the original. Subbuteo will forever be known as the football game where you flick little plastic men around.

Initially the game was to be called simply "The Hobby" however being a common term this could not be protected as a trademark. Therefore the game was named after the Hobby Falcon known in Latin as Falco subbuteo.

History

Subbuteo was created by Peter Adolph of Tunbridge Wells in 1947 and was an immediate success. In the post-war years materials were in short supply, so purchasers of the earliest sets had to chalk the pitch up an old army blanket.

Initially the player pieces in Subbuteo were simple 2-dimensional cutouts inserted into their hemispherical plastic bases. In 1961 a range of three dimensional plastic figures - the vintage heavyweights - was introduced. The timing was fortuitous as in 1966 England won the World Cup and football mania gripped the country. The popularity of Subbuteo grew even greater and in 1968 the game rights were bought by Waddingtons.

One of the things that made Subbuteo so popular - and profitable - was that it didn't just use generic "red" and "blue" teams. You could - still can - buy sets modelled after the specific strips of particular teams. At one point more than 300 different teams competed for space in the stores!

Like many other traditional games, Subbuteo suffered from the advent of PC and console gaming in the 1980s. Sales declined and Hasbro took over the game in 1998 before ceasing production in 1999.

The game was revived in 2002 by Italian company Parodi under licence and since then has been taken up again by Hasbro themselves.

Subbuteo figure design went through a number of changes over the years, including the infamous zombie. Ironically the new sets released by Hasbro in 2005 have reverted back to two dimensional figures. However these are a far cry from the originals being photographic representations of specific players. Randomly selected players are available in "booster packs" and this clever marketing move allows Subbuteo to be both a tabletop football simulation and a trading card game!

This site is not associated with or endorsed by Hasbro
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

Galapemy / Games / Action / Subbuteo /
Subbuteo The Flicking Kicking Football Game Subbuteo is one of those ideas that is so simple it's brilliant and the game has justly achieved classic status. It's a simple form of tabletop football (or soccer for my American friends) where players flick little plastic men around in order to move the ball and attempt to score goals. Over the years you have been able to buy versions of Subbuteo for various sports including rugby and cricket, however these have never been as popular as the original. Subbuteo will forever be known as the football game where you flick little plastic men around. Initially the game was to be called simply "The Hobby" however being a common term this could not be protected as a trademark. Therefore the game was named after the Hobby Falcon known in Latin as Falco subbuteo. History Subbuteo was created by Peter Adolph of Tunbridge Wells in 1947 and was an immediate success. In the post-war years materials were in short supply, so purchasers of the earliest sets had to chalk the pitch up an old army blanket. Initially the player pieces in Subbuteo were simple 2-dimensional cutouts inserted into their hemispherical plastic bases. In 1961 a range of three dimensional plastic figures - the vintage heavyweights - was introduced. The timing was fortuitous as in 1966 England won the World Cup and football mania gripped the country. The popularity of Subbuteo grew even greater and in 1968 the game rights were bought by Waddingtons. One of the things that made Subbuteo so popular - and profitable - was that it didn't just use generic "red" and "blue" teams. You could - still can - buy sets modelled after the specific strips of particular teams. At one point more than 300 different teams competed for space in the stores! Like many other traditional games, Subbuteo suffered from the advent of PC and console gaming in the 1980s. Sales declined and Hasbro took over the game in 1998 before ceasing production in 1999. The game was revived in 2002 by Italian company Parodi under licence and since then has been taken up again by Hasbro themselves. Subbuteo figure design went through a number of changes over the years, including the infamous zombie. Ironically the new sets released by Hasbro in 2005 have reverted back to two dimensional figures. However these are a far cry from the originals being photographic representations of specific players. Randomly selected players are available in "booster packs" and this clever marketing move allows Subbuteo to be both a tabletop football simulation and a trading card game! This site is not associated with or endorsed by Hasbro All trademarks are the property of their respective owners	Galapemy Store Games Hoyle Action Air Hockey Cornhole Crokinole Pick Up Sticks Shuffleboard Subbuteo Table Tennis Tiddlywinks Board Card Dice Dominoes Panel Paper & Pencil Party Tile Word Puzzles Toys
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