Topic: play surface

[Michael1]

i just bought an entry level table and it is a Jett.  The surface is very uniform but so slippery it is hard to pin the plastic ball.  Maybe that is OK but it seems like it should be easier to hold the ball.  Should I try a different ball with textured surface (if there is one) or should I do something to the hard surface (hard small-pebbled vinyl feel)?  Any advice to a beginner and his son would be appreciated.  Thanks.

[PatRyan]

The best bet for an entry level table is to get a better ball.  A softer, textured ball woould drastically change the play of the table.  You could try a few balls available from foosball.com (the gracious host of this fine forum!).

I would recommend the 5hour tumbled Tornado ball (red), the new Fireball ball (orange), and either a Shelti or Warrior ball (yellow).  These balls have varying degrees of hardness/softness and all of them are textured (fuzzy).  These ball should all be round and roll straight, as well as providing a little extra grip for pinning. 

Please feel free to ask any other questions you might have, and we will do our best to help out!

Also, is the table a Jett Challenger or Jett Tournament model?  Just curious.

You also might want to pickup some lube for the rods.  Since the table has ball bearings for the rods, I would recommend the "Superlube" for the rod lubrication instead of silicone.  The superlube works great for those bearings!

Pat

[Michael1]

Thank you very much - we appreciate your time and we will follow your good advice.  It is the Jett Challenger.

[PatRyan]

No problem.  So the Jett Challenger...that is the one with the shiny black laminate playing surface, right.  Any of the above balls would work great.  The Tornado ball is the hardest of the three, the Warrior or Shelti balls are the softest of the ones I mentioned.  And the Fireball ball is in between.  You probably got those really hard, slick white balls with the table.  They are REALLY loud when playing, and offer absolutely no control.  The above mentioned balls will work wonders, and improve the overall enjoyment of the game.

Good  luck and HAVE FUN!!!

Pat