I sounds rather strange to name a game after its organisation's title, but something was needed to differentiate it from similar ones, as originally the Romanian board game was called "Football" and then it was modified to "Table Football", as the 'TF' in the title stands for. However, with the well-known Pub game where two teams frantically rotate static rods with footballing 'flippers' stuck on them, also named loosely as "Table Football", something new had to be thought up. So "ITFA" stands as the working name for now, but the way you play certainly won't change that much. Here is how to get started [Official rules will be here very shortly]:
The Pitch
A low-friction base is required, to allow ease of movement for the players,
preferably a varnished piece of wood, with football pitch lines marked out on
top.
The pitch should measure around 50cm in width and be 1m long. The other lines,
like the centre-circle, penalty area and corners should be to scale; for example
the 18-yard box should be 18cm from the goal-line, penalty spot 12cm and the
6-yard box naturally 6cm.
The only real difference to note, is that the goals themselves need to be
regulation size - 3cm in height and 5cm wide. This may seem rather small
compared to the rest of the pitch, but the level of shooting accuracy that has
been reached in the Romanian game has called for the goal-posts to be narrowed
to nearly half the size of the nets supplied with the original board game.
The Ball
The important point to note about an ITFA ball is that it is NOT spherical. It is shaped like a proper ball, but looks like it has been cut in half - technically it's a half-sphere. It measures roughly 0.5cm in diameter, and some 0.25cm in height when flat-down.
Proper balls are hard to attain, as it was necessary to purchase the original board game, take out their ball and file it into shape. It's only plastic, so it shouldn't be too difficult to make, but officially you'll probably need to be sent one(!) from the Romanian branch. Anyway, e-mail us using the envelope symbol on the front page.
During a game, the ball always lands in either of two positions: 1-Flat-side down, and 2-Upside down. In Romania, the code allows players to manually turn the ball over at any point in play, while the English rules say that it must be played the way it lands (apart from set-piece plays). With the ball down flat, it is easier to play it accurately and straight, while upside down is the preferred state for shooting, as it is possible to get under the ball and give its trajectory some height, despite losing some of the accuracy.
The Players
Basically, ITFA is just Subbuteo with buttons. You can't play with any old thing that's fallen off a shirt, as a particular radius is needed for regulation. The original buttons, or 'Jocs' as they are known in Romania, have a diameter of approximately 2cm, but players can measure anything upto about 3cm in width. All Jocs must have flat bases, otherwise players tend to jump over the ball.
Another characteristic required is a circular dip in the middle, common to many buttons, so that the players can hold the ball. This isn't a good thing, as it denotes a hand-ball, so in essense it is providing the player with his 'hands' to commit the offence. This trough also acts as a convenient area to number each player.
Goalkeepers are completely different. The best 'keepers have now stopped being made by whoever manufactures the board game, but simply improvise and stick two thick flat buttons on top of each other. Their size should be about 1cm tall, enabling them to block air-bourne shots. They also tend to be fractionally more narrow, a diameter of maximum 2cm, so that the 'keepers don't block the goal-line completely. The bigger size means they are slightly heavier than the outfield players, and so acts as a ballast to stop them being easily moved by the force of the ball.
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