Table Hockey - Coleco Game room

[SealsFan]

I still have my 1970 Munro Bobby Hull Hockey game. It has the overhead flat scoreboard puck-dropper, not the larger square one from 1971 version that my friend had.

It came with the puck with the sliding marble inside. I ordered the wood puck and the magnetic puck. The wood puck was the best for shooting - the game had a "flipper" extending from the boards on the left wing side only (Bobby Hull's side, natch). You could line your winger up and snap a bullet off that flipper with the wood puck that would rip into the far upper corner of the net every time.

The teams did not have actual uniform logos; they just had the city name in block letters. After ordering all the additional teams (game came with Montreal and Toronto), I spent hours laboriously drawing each team's logo with colored pencils on paper and then taping them to each player. Since the goalies were maskless, I also drew masks and taped them onto their faces. When I ordered the teams, there was an extra Detroit and Rangers team included, to represent the new Flames and Islanders. Most of the teams were rendered in their dark uniforms; Detroit and Chicago were in white and Boston were in their yellow from the early 60's. The Seals were in their original green/blue/white colors.

I also painted the Seals logo on center ice.

I also ordered the "extra skater" for when you wanted to pull your goalie. It was a double player, two guys welded together at a right angle. You took your goalie off and replaced your center with this guy!

I've since sold all the teams (save for Montreal/Toronto) on Ebay. All went for around $20 except for Buffalo who went for $65 for some reason. The game is in quite battered condition. After playing endlessly as a kid, I pulled it out years later to introduce it to my nephew. Good times...

 

[Killion]

I still have my 1970 Munro Bobby Hull Hockey game....The teams did not have actual uniform logos; they just had the city name in block letters. After ordering all the additional teams (game came with Montreal and Toronto), I spent hours laboriously drawing each team's logo with colored pencils on paper and then taping them to each player. Since the goalies were maskless, I also drew masks and taped them onto their faces. When I ordered the teams, there was an extra Detroit and Rangers team included, to represent the new Flames and Islanders. Most of the teams were rendered in their dark uniforms; Detroit and Chicago were in white and Boston were in their yellow from the early 60's. The Seals were in their original green/blue/white colors..... I also painted the Seals logo on center ice.

..... yes, of course you did SF. Total defaced & ruined a highly prized Munro Bobby Hull TT Hockey game with ink & scotch tape. Well done.

 

[tjcurrie]

That is awesome. I love the old table hockey games.

One I'm currently trying for is this one.

I have the Nords, Habs, oilers, Canucks, Jets, North Stars, and Sabres so far.

Okay, I finally got my hands on this one.

Anyone have any team sets around they'd sell?

Add the Flyers and Islanders to that list of haves.

 

[cupcrazyman]

my buddy had Leafs vs Flyers game & you could drop the puck thru the life like 4 sided score clock.late 70's,early 80's.

if i had the cash,Super Chexx would be sweet right about now.

 

[Fenway]

^^^ Very cool. The one I had was the Eagle Toys model from the 50's.
There were no rods to move the players in lanes, strictly stationary but for the goalie.

I had the same game except the stock players were Boston and New York



I graduated to this one in the early 60's

 

[Killion]

^^^ yeah, very similar. used a marble rather than a puck. way more action.

 

[ICM1970]

If I were to order one off of Ebay, I'd make sure that I'd get one with players made before the 1980s. They look kind of silly with the helmets capped on, lol.

 

[pappyline]

^^^ yeah, very similar. used a marble rather than a puck. way more action.

I progressed through them all. But my favorite was the older one with the stationary players and the marble. You could really set up the hard shot from the wing. We had all 6 teams and my brother and I played tournaments. Lots of fun.

 

[Killion]

I progressed through them all. But my favorite was the older one with the stationary players and the marble. You could really set up the hard shot from the wing. We had all 6 teams and my brother and I played tournaments. Lots of fun.

Just had the Habs vs.Leafs... and ya, the stationary players my favorite.. never really got into the boards with move-able north-south rods.... slowed things down manipulating them up & down... seemed somehow cheesy... I wanted action, wanted to see the marble doing damage whipping around the way it would.... fast game, closer approximation to the real thing.

 

[pappyline]

Just had the Habs vs.Leafs... and ya, the stationary players my favorite.. never really got into the boards with move-able north-south rods.... slowed things down manipulating them up & down... seemed somehow cheesy... I wanted action, wanted to see the marble doing damage whipping around the way it would.... fast game, closer approximation to the real thing.

A case where change didn't make it better. I loved setting up those power shots from the wing.

Habs vs Leafs was the norm but didn't suit us. I was a hawks fan. Brother liked the Redwings.

 

[Ogopogo*]

Later models had a puck dropper built into the scoreboard tower. It put the puck through a series of bumpers to delay its fall. Without this, when you had two players but no referee, the one who performed the drop had a disadvantage in that one hand was occupied during the critical center faceoff. Unless he cheated to gain an advantage. Bad either way.

One later version had provision for a sixth attacker for the final minute. You could remove the goalie and insert this little post into a aperture just in front of the opponent's goalie, and put an extra player out there. This guy was stationary, but was always in the slot, so it sometimes worked. Seems to me that he blocked one of your own shots half the time. As the teams were only issued with five (identical) skaters, they had a blank metal silhouette slug for the extra forward. We were divided as to whether it was legal to let (or make) the goalie-stub make a save.

I had one of those sets - it was the Espo brothers so it was Bruins and Blackhawks. My brother and I found some sets of 2D players that fit so we had probably 10 teams we used to have our league - kept scoring stats and everything. It was a ton of fun - better than the video games of today.

The strangest thing I remember is playing my brother and his center took a shot - it hit my goalie, flew through the air and landed in his net! Even crazier, that happened a second time in the same game! My goalie scored twice in table hockey in a single game. Insanity.

 

[IComeInPeace]

The Super Chexx was the ultimate version of table hockey.
Those things were awesome.
But, they came with a built in 'flaw' your own d-man could always complete a breakaway pass to your center (if the opponent brought his two players sticks together, they left just enough room for the puck to go through).

Anyways, on the old models, we used to love to play GM for our teams....we'd collect hockey cards and cut out the faces from our favorite players and use them.

My star player was a guy that got totally screwed in the Canucks organization: Dirk Graham.
My players all had great junior stats and high PIM's to go with them.

 

[Mallow]

Just a fun little side-note, with the advent of 3D printing, one could make some realistic figures to use in place of 2D cutouts. Would be a cool way to create custom teams/players.

Back in summer of 2006 one of my best friends lived in a duplex and had one half of the entire house to himself, so naturally it became party central for us. We saved a downtrodden foosball table from one of the dorms at our high school and every Friday/Saturday night we would hold rowdy foosball tournaments with fully named teams/players with full logos and back stories. Great times, and I would love to do that with a table hockey set if I can find one that needs a little restoration.

 

[Boxscore]

Okay, I finally got my hands on this one.

Anyone have any team sets around they'd sell?

Add the Flyers and Islanders to that list of haves.

tj

I used to have that game back in the mid-80's and loved it! Same one .... Flyers vs. Isles. Have you checked eBay for replacement teams/stickers?

Here's a funny story for you...

I used to cut out the NHL logo shield from hockey cards I had and taped them over the Flyers and Isles crests ... making them "all-star teams". Then my pal and I would take a set of 1978-79 O-Pee-Chee hockey cards and would have a "fantasy draft" where we picked our teams... 3 full lines each. Then we would assemble our teams, in lines, and place the cards on the floor next to the wired knobs by their "positions" and announce, "First line is out! Gillies, Clarke and LaFleur. Potvin and Beck on defense!" Then, after a goal or something, we would do a "line change" and replace the cards with a different line. Of course we had a black, marble notebook and we would keep all the stats (goals and assists) with a pencil. It was like today's fantasy hockey, except we used hockey cards, Coleco table hockey and our own wacky imaginations!

 

[tjcurrie]

tj

I used to have that game back in the mid-80's and loved it! Same one .... Flyers vs. Isles. Have you checked eBay for replacement teams/stickers?

Here's a funny story for you...

I used to cut out the NHL logo shield from hockey cards I had and taped them over the Flyers and Isles crests ... making them "all-star teams". Then my pal and I would take a set of 1978-79 O-Pee-Chee hockey cards and would have a "fantasy draft" where we picked our teams... 3 full lines each. Then we would assemble our teams, in lines, and place the cards on the floor next to the wired knobs by their "positions" and announce, "First line is out! Gillies, Clarke and LaFleur. Potvin and Beck on defense!" Then, after a goal or something, we would do a "line change" and replace the cards with a different line. Of course we had a black, marble notebook and we would keep all the stats (goals and assists) with a pencil. It was like today's fantasy hockey, except we used hockey cards, Coleco table hockey and our own wacky imaginations!

Haha fantasy hockey origins right there

That sounds awesome. Reminds me again that growing up sucks! I suppose we could all still do that even today though....

I have checked ebay now and then. Typically find at least a few teams up each time I have, but rather pricey. I think they're probably worth about $20/team, but I usually see them for about double that or more including shipping. I suppose they're worth whatever someone is willing to pay, but I'm not willing to pay that.

I did get my North Stars as well as the Sabres off of ebay last year for decent prices - I think about $20-$25 CDN ea including shipping, so not bad at all.

I actually have two of these ones now, each with the box and in awesome shape. I bought one off a guy in Calgary when the wife and I were down there in October. Found it on Kijiji. $70 I think. Then just a couple months ago I was lucky enough to find one at a local Edmonton thrift shop. With/in box. All the players, score clock, pucks, you name it. $15!!! I grabbed that thing, paid, and walked outta there like a giddy school girl. Both came with Flyers and Islanders. Must have been the popular marketing choices back then for Coleco, which would make sense.

 

[Boxscore]

I actually have two of these ones now, each with the box and in awesome shape. I bought one off a guy in Calgary when the wife and I were down there in October. Found it on Kijiji. $70 I think. Then just a couple months ago I was lucky enough to find one at a local Edmonton thrift shop. With/in box. All the players, score clock, pucks, you name it. $15!!! I grabbed that thing, paid, and walked outta there like a giddy school girl. Both came with Flyers and Islanders. Must have been the popular marketing choices back then for Coleco, which would make sense.

Damn, you are a lucky person. Living in Philly, I have no shot of finding this stuff like you do in Canada. There's one on eBay right now, mint in box, never opened and the person wants $1,000 for it.

 

[Voight]

Been looking to get another one.

 

[Boxscore]

Been looking to get another one.

You gotta talk to tjcurrie .... he's got a monopoly on them!!

 

[tjcurrie]

Damn, you are a lucky person. Living in Philly, I have no shot of finding this stuff like you do in Canada. There's one on eBay right now, mint in box, never opened and the person wants $1,000 for it.

Oh trust me, I feel lucky haha

I also found a Wayne Gretzky OT Table Hockey at a garage sale for $10 last summer. Came with the Leafs, oilers, Habs, and Kings, though a couple of the players have missing heads. Also has the glass, all the legs, and the Zamboni. Was going to sell it all to help pay for my Coleco one, but probably just gonna give it to my brother and his 3 year old son who is absolutely hockey bonkers already. I have our childhood Gretzky one too, but I'm keeping it.

Been looking to get another one.

I'd sell ya my spare, but one of my best friends is wanting one as his mom threw his childhood one out a few years ago while he was living in New Brunswick with his dad. Moved back 3 years ago, "Where's my table hockey?"

I haven't offered it to him yet, but was going to give it to him for what I paid....the $70...not the $15

Plus, I'm not sure shipping cost would be very cool on that thing.

 

[tjcurrie]

You gotta talk to tjcurrie .... he's got a monopoly on them!!

Somehow I ended up with 5

The 2 Coleco ones and the 2 Gretzky ones as I mentioned, and I have one from the 1960s too that my bro got me for Xmas a few years ago. 5 tables in my basement. My wife just LOVES it.