Engineering Blog

As many of you probably already know, foosball is a pretty big part of the Rally Engineering culture. We mention the foosball table in our job postings, we have internal competitions to determine the best players, and there’s an open invite for everyone in the company to gather near the kegerator and foosball tables for “Friday Afternoon Club”. Through the years, Rally engineers have come up with some interesting (to say the least ) names for some of the more common (and less common) shots seen on the tables here at Rally.  Ryan Scott, Garston Tremblay and I would like to share a collection of our favorites:

• The Flamenco: slowly rotate the 3man counterclockwise 360 degrees until one of the forwards strikes the ball.  Immediately before the man strikes the ball, release your hand from the bar and strike a “jazz hands” pose.  The slower the shot, the better the result.
  • Difficulty Level – Low => Moderate
• The Fonz: Similar to The Flamenco except instead of striking a “jazz hands” pose, run your hand through your hair as if you are the Fonz from Happy Days. See Garston’s demonstration below – note: cheesy face to camera is optional.
  • Difficulty Level – Moderate
• Double/Triple/Quadruple Fonz: The Fonz done successively by a single person using both hands and/or your teammate using one or both of their hands.  Only the final Fonz is the shot on goal; the other Fonz’s are passes between bars.
  • Difficulty Level – High => Way High
• Chauncinco:  Named lovingly after The Chauncey and (coincidentally) NFL Wide Receiver Chad Ochocinco, this shot combines The Flamenco and Chauncey’s bad habit of spinning the rod more than 360 degrees while sometimes releasing his hand (please note that he no longer has this bad habit but the shot lives on in his honor).  This shot was also briefly called “The Garstina” but its original name has since been restored.
  • Difficulty Level – Low
• The Natural: An aerial goal that’s claimed by hitting the ball off the scoreboard and in. Yes, the scoreboard outside the playing surface. Fairly rare shot but it’s awesome to see.
  • Difficulty Level – Way High
• The Snake: Check this out, as it’s kinda hard to describe. Ryan gives us a full speed demo where he hits it into the top right.
  • Difficulty Level – High
• Flying Snake: A Snake with no pin, this shot is faster than can possibly be fair and very hard to defend. This is a pretty tough shot to pull off as the ball is hit on the volley as it approaches the attacking 3man.
  • Difficulty Level – High
• Haggis: Scottish common or garden Snake. It is somewhat lacking in venom but can give a nasty bite all the same. Has less pin setup than the traditional Snake, so can be delivered more quickly. Can often be nullified by chanting “NO HAGGIS” repeatedly until the shot is taken. Steve Neely’s (he’s from Scotland) trademark shot.
  • Difficulty Level – High
• Missouri: Named for the home state of Adam Esterline, this shot involves hitting the ball real hard against the back wall, and into your own goal. Not a goal that one wishes to score, but happens more often than you’d think.
  • Difficulty Level – Moderate
• Golden Arches: This goal is scored from the attacking 3man, using the back wall as a methods of moving the defense out of the way. From one of the wide men, knock the ball at a slight angle into the back wall, then smash it into the goal on the rebound. It’s hard to get the angles and timings right on this one, and can often lead to a St. Louis Arch. Ryan shows us this one too.
  • Difficulty Level – High
• St. Louis Arch: The offspring of the Missouri and the Golden Arches, this own goal is an Arches attempt gone horribly wrong.
  • Difficulty Level – Moderate (much easier to hit this than the Golden Arches itself)
• Team (or Tandem) Arches: This Arches variant is scored when the defender passes the ball up to the attacker off the back wall, and is hit into the goal on the volley.
  • Difficulty Level – Rather High
• The Jerk: Whack the ball into the net with the 5bar from the serve. The foosball equivalent of someone saying they’re starting a race with a three count and then setting off on “2”. Named the Jerk as that’s what anyone is called when they hit it.
  • Difficulty Level – Low => Moderate
• Bank Shot: Using the side wall as a means of opening up the scoring angle. There are a number of bank shots we employ, from attacking three man to defending two man. They don’t seem to require a name of their own however, and are generally referred to as a ‘nice bank’.
  • Difficulty Level – Moderate
• Banked Arches: Golden Arches variant, but instead of using only the back wall, both side and back walls are used.
  • Difficulty Level – High
• Stuff: This is when the defending 2man or goalie tries to clear the ball, but the attacking 3man stuffs the clearance straight into the goal. There are a few variations on this one, some of which have been named but are unfit for public consumption. We’re sorry but we occasionally have childish senses of humor… (see below)
  • Difficulty Level – Moderate (Anticipation skills are mainly what’s required)
• AssBank: This is when you score a goal by hitting the ball off the back wall into the rear of a defender. See this vid where Ryan shows how it’s done.
  • Difficulty Level – Moderate
• Traitor: Scoring a goal by hitting it in off one of the two wide men on the goalie 3man.
  • Difficulty Level –  Low => Moderate
• The Well: I only add this in because it’s one colleague’s trademark shot. He will try others, then resort to this when he repeatedly fails. It’s a Pull-Kick, but it’s incredibly quick.
  • Difficulty Level – Moderate => High (easy to hit this into a wall)
• The Confidence Wave: This doesn’t count as a shot, cos it ain’t a shot at all. This is a straight out taunt designed to put your opponent off their game. Since it’s a regular part of our game we deemed it worthy of mention. The Confidence Wave is what happens when a defender rotates both his rods so the players ‘legs’ are in the air and waves them around, normally when the opposing attacker has the ball in possession. Thus demonstrating the confidence the defender has in the lack of ability from the attacker. This is especially awesome when the defender not only blocks the impending shot, but is able to Stuff it.
  • Difficulty Level – Easy => High (easy to taunt, hard to be good at it)
• Vomit Save: This is a save rather than a shot but still worth the mention.  This typically occurs when a defender is so surprised by a shot reaching them all the way from the far end of the table that they lurch forward as if to vomit on the table.  More common than you’d think.
  • Difficulty Level – Easy
• Holy Roller: An extremely slow shot from the defense that somehow manages to avoid being hit as it rolls the length of the table and into the opposing goal.  Depending upon who’s executing the shot, some possible variations include the “Full House From Behind” and the “Fonz From Behind”.
  • Difficulty Level – Easy => Moderate
• Hello Sailor: A quick pass from one of the outside forwards to the middle forward, who then smashes the ball into the back of the net while the human player flails/kicks their right leg backwards wildly for added power.  Also known as “The Leg Kick”.
  • Difficulty Level – Easy
• Lobb Ree: From the defense, hit the ball real hard against your own back wall as a means of opening up the angle to clear the ball, or shoot. Can have tragic consequences if timing is out (This shot is also known as the “Johannes”). It’s surprisingly easy to get this shot wrong, but is very effective if you get it right.
  • Difficulty Level – Easy => Moderate