Birkball Game Table Details

Details of Quality

Frame - Plywood for Strength; Stained Maple Veneer Finish
Surface - Polystyrene to Quietly Roll Balls
Chutes - HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) for Durability
Barriers - HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) for Strength
Steel Balls - Chrome Steel for Heavy Impact
Target Balls - Polyester for Speed
Bumper - EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Rubber) for Bounce
Shafts - Stainless Steel to Prevent Rust
Edgebanding - 1 mm Thick PVC for Scratch Resistance

Optimizing Fun

It's more fun if you win sometimes (A scoring ratio can help with this. It’s particularly fun if you win the last game.)
It's more fun to be challenged (A scoring ratio can help with this also.)
It's more fun to play with people whose company you enjoy.
It's more fun to be totally engaged (e.g. versus playing with one very heavy slow ball; versus playing billiards and waiting for a turn)
It's more fun to play in an environment where people can comment, joke, laugh, and make noise (versus a quiet restaurant, where the patrons are disturbed, or a bar that’s so noisy you can’t hear each other)
It’s more fun if you feel your skills are developing (e.g. hand-eye coordination, aim, finger dexterity, peripheral vision, reaction time, rapid decision-making, and scoring ratio negotiation).
It’s fun to discuss, invent and try new strategies of play. (It’s fun to analyze what's going on during play, e.g. video at 1/10th speed).
It's more fun if there are mutually agreed-upon and understood rules (Experimenting with changes to rules and changing rules for the better are good also).
It’s more fun to play in an environment where tolerance is the standard (mistakes in counting and judgment are forgiven).
It's more fun if it's socially acceptable to be able to point out or argue for a violation (e.g. a touch or a counting error), as long as decision-making is quick (e.g. Goalies make the final decision in real time for points against their team.)
It's more fun to play with different opponents and partners (e.g. Use cards to randomly assign positions after each set). Conversely, if you have a large group, conducting a tournament with players having fixed partners can also be great fun.

Play for Larger Groups

It's helpful to have enough players, so welcome people to play. When they first arrive, they are traditionally assigned to the team that loses the next game.

It's fun to play with different people and positions. After each game, players on each side can shift positions (for example: wing goes to goalie; goalie goes to wing or to a holding position if there are more than two players on a team; and a person in the holding position would shift to wing.) After each match, players may randomly choose positions around the table using one suit of cards (e.g. Spades) up to the number of players.

Playing Tips

Practice aiming at target balls, not only to hit them, but control their direction. Avoid hitting target balls into steel balls on the table, thereby blocking downfield progress. Look at the continuously changing pattern of balls and aim accordingly. Focus on scoring angles (straight into goal, off a barrier, off the side wall). Shoot to remove target balls from the shooting lanes of opponents.
Don't starve your goalie of accessible balls. Goalies need to manage their ball supply carefully to avoid running out of balls.
Roll steel balls from the top of the chute to get more speed. Target balls go faster, and are harder to defend against, if you hit a target ball coming at you.
Wing players should be careful in hitting balls near their own goal since they might inadvertently score a point against their own team.
Try to pick up more than one steel ball at a time.
Don't spend too much time collecting steel balls, because just when you get a lot, your team might lose.
During active play, goalies should not leave their position to pick up a ball on the floor.

Scoring Against Skilled Goalies

There is no single winning strategy for all situations. To score against a highly skilled goalie, you may have to play differently.

Bank target balls off curved barriers at the "magic angle."
Arrange for multiple target balls to simultaneously approach the opposing goal.
Wait for your primary attack when the opposing goalie is low on steel balls.
Seize the moment when the opposing goalie is collecting or loading steel balls.
Keep the target balls on the other side and let random action lead to goals.
Hit target balls that are closer to the opposing goalie so there is less time for that goalie to react.

Winning a Set

A team might win a set in either of several popular agreed-upon ways.