Are you looking to buy a heavy-duty foosball table that is beautifully constructed and blends in well with your furniture? Or maybe you’re looking for a foosball table that allows both professional and amateur level players to play on it.
If yes, I have just the right table for you. I was looking for a tournament-style foosball table that would be pretty high-quality without breaking the bank, that is when I came across this foosball table.
- The Imperial Butcher Block Soccer Foosball Table has a classic butcher block look with black accents. Its solid steel rods and non glare playing surface add world class playability for great foosball...
- Light butcher block finish; 14" body; MDF side walls and playfield
- large rubber grips; solid double chromed rods
A few months later I have to say that I am not disappointed. To be clear the cabinet is made with MDF and particleboard and it is covered with a thin layer of butcher block which is expected because it is very hard to get a table made fully out of butcher block at this price.
The legs are pretty sturdy and hold the table up well. The playfield is made out of MDF and is non-glare which makes playing much more easier and immersive.
Abacus scoring makes keeping score during long game times less time-consuming so we could have great gameplay without many interruptions. Keep in mind that this is a regulation table and won’t fit compact spaces.
The solid rods are double chromed and won’t break or bend due to continuous stress, which is great as most people would have competition-level matches as this is marketed as a tournament-style table.
The large rubber grips put very little stress on our wrists and don’t let our hands slip off the rods when playing. The assembly is pretty easy but I have to warn you that this is a two to a three-man job.
I know this because I tried to put this table together on my own and it took me around 6 hours. The players are stylized and this provides me with a realistic gameplay experience.
- The Imperial Butcher Block Soccer Foosball Table has a classic butcher block look with black accents. Its solid steel rods and non glare playing surface add world class playability for great foosball...
- Light butcher block finish; 14" body; MDF side walls and playfield
- large rubber grips; solid double chromed rods
Characteristics of our sturdy foosball table:
| Dimensions LxWxH | 57x31x7 inches |
| Weight | 71kg |
| Base material | Engineered wood, Alloy steel |
| Frame material | Engineered wood |
PROS and CONS of this durable foosball table:
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| 1. Thick cabinet | 1. No starter holes drilled |
| 2. Non-glossy surface | 2. Ball tends to slide out of the goal |
| 3. Beautiful construction | 3. Players are brittle plastic |
| 4. Arrives with soccer-style balls | 4. Might arrive damaged |
| 5. Solid chromed rods | |
| 6. Straight forward assembly | |
| 7. Abacus scorer |
Let us take a deeper dive into the PROS and CONS of our foosball table:
Pros –
1. Thick MDF cabinet:
The cabinet is made up of melamine and particleboard which is great as it keeps the table sturdy while playing, it is covered with butcher block coating which gives it a smooth vintage look and it blends in well with my furniture.
The cabinet walls are 14 inches thick which is one of the reasons for its sturdiness. I however found that the butcher block covering started chipping just a little bit when I tried to screw it together.
So I would suggest that everyone be a little gentle when handling the butcher block panels.
2. Non-glossy surface:
Don’t you just hate it when modern foosball tables’ playfields’ are made unnecessarily glossy? In my opinion, it doesn’t only look a little over the top but the glaring makes playing so much harder.
I am glad to inform you that this won’t be a problem with our table. The playfield on our table isn’t as dull as the authentic old-fashioned foosball tables but it is definitely not super glossy and doesn’t hinder our gameplay.
- The Imperial Butcher Block Soccer Foosball Table has a classic butcher block look with black accents. Its solid steel rods and non glare playing surface add world class playability for great foosball...
- Light butcher block finish; 14" body; MDF side walls and playfield
- large rubber grips; solid double chromed rods
3. Solid chromed rods:
Its rods are very sleek and my first thought when I looked at them was that they would break or bend in a week or so, but I was proven wrong!
The chrome-plated rods hold up well and the chrome plating makes them rust-resistant. They haven’t given up on me during tough matches and this shows me that our table has value for money.
4. Abacus scoring system:
Jotting down my scores after every single foosball match was annoying but this table solves that problem for me with its abacus scoring system. This doesn’t interrupt my gameplay for hours on end.
If you are interested in looking at more foosball tables that are high-quality and have this abacus scoring feature I would recommend the Hathaway Primo Soccer or Hathaway Playoff Foosball Tables.
5. Straight forward assembly:
The assembly as I already mentioned above is a two to a three-person job. It took me 6 hours to put it together by myself which is pretty time-consuming as you can already tell.
I attached the legs to the table with the help of a hand screwdriver, although I would highly recommend a power drill. Also, the fitted wrench it comes with is pretty flimsy so an adjustable wrench would be easier to use.
Cons:
We’ve discussed the pros of our table, now it is time to talk about the cons. Some areas do not have pre-drilled starter holes, I am a pretty handy person so this wasn’t that big of a deal for me but I can understand why it might be difficult for some people.
The assembly instructions are easy to read but would benefit from using illustrations as it takes a lot of brainpower to figure out which panel or which screw is being talked about.
The players on this table are not counterbalanced or weighted which means that if the ball hits a rod that your hand is not on, the players’ legs swing backward kicking the ball. One of my players broke off as they are made out of very cheap and brittle plastic.
I bought these “Brybelly Old-Style Foosball Men with Hardware (Set of 26), Red and Blue” from Amazon and they worked just fine, this was a huge disappointment for me though.
Another problem that a lot of people including me have is that the ball slides out the goal every time someone scores, I solved this by simply putting a piece of cardboard at the end of the goal, this doesn’t allow the ball to pass through the goal while allowing us to retrieve the ball easily.
- The Imperial Butcher Block Soccer Foosball Table has a classic butcher block look with black accents. Its solid steel rods and non glare playing surface add world class playability for great foosball...
- Light butcher block finish; 14" body; MDF side walls and playfield
- large rubber grips; solid double chromed rods
FAQs about Imperial Classic:
Does it come with balls or do I have to buy them separately?
The table arrives with two soccer-style balls and you can always buy new foosball balls from Amazon if you lose yours.
Where can I get replacement players?
You can buy “Brybelly Old-Style Foosball Men with Hardware (Set of 26), Red and Blue” from Amazon, they work just fine.
How to make assembly faster and easier?
Have a partner do it with you, it’s way faster that way and make sure you read the manual carefully. Also, be sure to install the players facing the right way onto the bars otherwise you might have to redo some of it.
Would I recommend the Imperial Butcher Block Style Foosball Table:
This is a mid-quality foosball table for both professionals and amateur level players and it has not disappointed me so far. It has a few cons but those are all issues that can be fixed in a way.
The table is not only good to play on but also beautiful and classy. Everything from the thick MDF cabinet to the stylized players screams value for money to me and I would recommend it to everyone looking to buy a brand new foosball table.
Conclusion:
In this article, I reviewed the Imperial Butcher Block Style Foosball Table. Writing this review required a lot of time and money so I would appreciate it if you could share it with your friends and family. Feel free to comment on any of your doubts or queries down below. Thank you!