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Electric football is a tabletop American football game played on a metal vibrating field.
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History
In 1947, Norman Sas, owner of Tudor Metal Products and Tudor Games, created electric football. He used a vibrating car race game made by Tudor as the base and added small players which moved down the field as they vibrated. It was an immediate hit. More than 40 million of the games have been sold since its creation, and new editions are sold each year.
Video games of football have largely supplanted electric football in popularity. However, electric football still thrives and has also benefited from technological progress. Players became more realistic in sculpting and appearance but there has been very limited advancement in the game play.
Tudor Games was sold to Miggle Toys in 1988. Miggle and the NFL stopped the working agreement around 2007. Generic players are sold now. Miggle sells pre-painted players from 18 college teams, including home and away jerseys. However, as of December 2011, the Miggle website did not list any pre-painted college teams. Some were found on eBay. A new Rose Bowl board was sold but it is unclear what teams are offered. Leagues, clubs and tournaments continue to play the game. The Electric Football League, headquartered in Highland Park, Illinois, held its 17th annual Official Electric Football Super Bowl & Convention in January 2011, in Columbus, Ohio. Jamel Goodloe (Auburn Tigers) was crowned national champion, as he beat Ken Allen in the championship game. Both players hail from the Michigan-based Great Lakes Electric Football League (GLEFL).
The game
The game is played on a small metal field, with plastic players placed on the field in formations, just as in real football. The ball is a football-shaped small piece of foam or felt. When the players are set up, a switch is activated that turns on a small electric motor which causes the field to vibrate, and moves the players around the field. Players then shift around the board in a predictable manner.
Each player is attached to a base, with brushes on the bottom that allow the player to move. Some bases are not adjustable while "pro" bases have a dial that can be adjusted to move players to the right or left.
A special player called the Triple Threat Quarterback (TTQ) allows players to pass, punt or kick field goals. The felt ball has a slit that allows the game player place it on the TTQ's hand. The arm is pulled back and released to pass the ball. Use of this feature is a difficult skill to master and is the primary form of advancing the ball. For kicking, the ball is placed on a tee on the TTQ and a plastic leg is flicked to kick the ball.