The first ever DC Tech Foosball Shootout is happening this Monday, November 7, as part of the week long DC Week festival. So far 28 teams have signed up to compete for city-wide bragging rights and the first prize trophy. To play just find a teammate, come up with a team name, and show up ready to play. Game time is 7:00 pm, with all teams needing to arrive by then, and we’ll kick things off at 6:00 pm with food, drinks, and practice time.

We’ll play standard foosball — one ball and teams of two. Here’s a run down of some of the most debatable rules we’ll follow, and when questions arise we’ll refer to the official USTSA rule book.

1. No spinning of the rods. Anything rotating 360 degrees is spinning.

2. No jarring, sliding, or lifting of the table.

3. If you do one of the above, the other team can either play the ball from the current position or re-serve.

4. Initial server will be determined by either a coin flip or by which team has more points. All other serves will be made by the team last scored on.

5. Spinning the ball during a serve is legal, but the serving team can only score off of a serve if one of their players strikes the ball.

6. The ball is in play once it has been served and touches the table.

7. If the ball leaves the table or is declared dead (meaning no player can touch it), the last team to serve it will serve again.

8. If the ball enters the goal but pops back out, it’s still a goal.

9. You can only play with two rods at any time, and can only switch positions before a serve.

10. Coaching is allowed, but only during time outs and in-between games.

If you’re not a foosball player, come out for the party! We’ll have drinks, food, music, non-foosball related games, and plenty of interesting people to meet. More details are on the event page.