What can be achieved with LEGO® bricks continues to impress and there is one particular LEGO theme which has a reputation for taking this notion to the extreme. LEGO Ideas has seen plenty of weird and wonderful fan creations turned into LEGO sets. Over the years these have included a Maze game, a Ship in a Bottle, a Pop-up Book, a playing Piano, a Globe and even a Typewriter. Next month, that line-up is set to expand with a mini Table Football game. But do the wonderful game and LEGO bricks combine to create a worthwhile set? Here’s my early review of the LEGO Ideas Table Football set.
Product Details
Assemble your own team of champions and let the games begin with LEGO® Ideas Table Football (21337). Focus like a champion to build this scaled-down version of a retro Table Foosball game, featuring colour-coded sliding knobs behind each goal to keep score. The set includes 22 LEGO minifigures (11 for each team), with 44 different heads and 43 hairstyle elements so you can customise the look of each character.
Play together
It’s 5-minifigures-a-side and there are 2 rods per team to control them. From kids to great-great-grandparents, anyone can join in the fun and share their love of the game. Place the non-playing minifigures in the buildable grandstand and give them flags to create a fantastic atmosphere.
- Set Name: Table Football
- Set Number: 21337
- Pieces: 2339
- RRP: £214.99/$249.99/249.99€
- Number of Bags: Bags x 14 + loose elements
- Stickers: N/A
- Minifigures: Includes numerous elements to create 22 minifigures
- Instructions: Booklet x 1 + LEGO Building Instructions App
- Availability: LEGO Stores & LEGO Online from November 1st
LEGO Ideas sets are normally sourced by fans uploading their creations for other fans to vote for. Once a project hits 10,000 votes, it’s reviewed by the LEGO Ideas team, who decide if it could become a LEGO set. The Table Football set’s route to store shelves has been a little different. In a similar fashion to the Fender Stratocaster, this set was sourced through a LEGO Ideas Contest. In 2020, a contest was held to find sports-themed sets, with the possibility of one becoming a future LEGO Ideas set. During the first LEGO CON event, it was announced that a Table Football set created by fan designer Donát Fehérvári, would become a future set.
The set includes a single instruction booklet. Much has been said about the redesign of the instructions cover, this set introduces yet another style. It’s still fairly minimal but looks ever so slightly better than some of the recent sets. Inside you’ll find details on the set’s creation, with a focus on both the fan designer and the LEGO Design Team who transformed the initial idea into a set. Although not explained in the instructions, you’ll notice the set looks very different to the original fan design. This is due to getting the necessary functional aspect of the set to work. You can learn more about the needed changes to the design here.
The set is split into two different sections with the first part of the build process focused on the team benches. When I first saw images of the set, this seemed like an unnecessary addition, but it does actually have a use. It is basically an elaborate container to store the various extra minifigure pieces. The set includes 22 Minifigure torsos and legs as well as over 40 heads and hair elements. Those extra pieces can be safely kept within the base of the team bench. The platform above the storage tray features two sets of six seats. One for each team. It could have been less elaborate but it adds to the set nicely as well as being somewhere for the additional minifigures to be placed.
The actual Table Football table is surprisingly complex. It begins with the pitch, which is built upon a simple frame grid. Along the main beam of this grid are some rather unusual tiles including a picture of a bridge and a Heartlake City postcard. I’m sure they have a meaning but they still seem a little odd. This frame is used to hold the pitch surface which is made up of four large tile plates. They are the same elements used for the UCS plaques. They each feature the white line print associated with a football pitch.
The surround of the table is built in sections. This is to allow you to easily connect the bars which straddle the pitch and hold the formation of ten minifigure players. Each team features five players, they are all connected to the bars via a backpack-like element which is built onto the four bars. The bars nearest the goals feature three players, with the central two bars holding two players.
The surround of the table also includes a few other features often found in traditional Table Football games. So the goals feature a shoot at the back of them so you can quickly access the ball when a goal is scored. Above each goal is a row of ball-topped counters which can be used to keep track of the score. They are a little tricky to move as they are mounted on a Technic axle. If a mention of mounting these on something with less friction was used it would have been a little more user-friendly. The rods which hold the players also feature different coloured handles relevant to the teams. Another less prominent but useful feature is a set of tyres used within the legs of the table. These give it some much-needed grip, especially against a flat, smooth surface.
Once the players are in place and the sections holding them are connected. The final stages of the build are focused on adding the facade to the table. This not only adds a better-looking finish to the outside of the table, but it also doubles as a means to add a little extra stability to the various connected pieces. The table is mostly black and white, but also features a strip of blue and red. Both colours completely run around the table as an ‘unbroken’ line of flat tiles.
Although a full set of two teams only required 10 minifigures, the set features 22 players. That includes two goalkeepers, 10 red kits and 10 blue kits. The kits are all identical in their design but have different coloured hands. In addition to the torso and legs, there are also 44 different heads and 43 unique hair elements. These can be mixed and matched to create a number of unique players. As well as allowing for multiple ways to craft players, many of these elements are currently unique to this set.
Some pieces help expand the diversity of the minifigure, with a couple of heads featuring hearing airs and one head being the first to show the skin condition of Vitiligo. With so many different heads and hair elements, there will be plenty of options to create a sporty version of yourself, friends and family. Plus other minifigures can easily be added to the line-up. As long as they can be connected to the bars of the game, they can be used as players. I’m sure we’ll be seeing matches with Imperial forces facing off against the Rebels or Marvel vs DC. But that’s the joy of LEGO sets, they can easily be customised.
Review Round-up
It’s another unique set to come from the LEGO Ideas platform, but it’s also another set carrying a high price tag. I can’t help but think the large number of minifigures has added largely to this. It’s nice to have so many elements to create a number of different minifigure players but I think the set would have benefitted more from a cheaper price point compared to the large array of minifigures. However, I can see why 22 minifigures were included as the original concept had the same amount, but the tweak to the set’s design and size has obviously changed the need for so many players. The actual functionality of the game works very well. It may seem rather compact but there is enough room on the pitch to let the ball move around and be hit by the players.
For
+ Fun to Build
+ Impressive array of new minifigure elements
+ Captures the magic of the classic game
+ Another unique LEGO set from LEGO Ideas
Against
– A costly set
– Score pegs are difficult to move
– Minifigure quantities may have affected the set’s RRP
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This set was provided to BricksFanz by the LEGO Group for purposes of review. The thoughts within this review are that of BricksFanz and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group. Providing a set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
22nd October 2022
Great photos! This set is too expensive for me, but I do want the new heads and hair pieces.