Customer Reviews

Excalibur NF07-08 NFL Vibrating Football

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Football like the in the old days before video games - for that reason its good. The game now uses batteries and can be played any where - also turns on/off and high/low by each user very easy (duel controls)
The game intends you to use a tiny little football with a flimsy little kicker/passer - this was broken in minutes
Game play gets good after try-outs mark your fastest runners with a pen - play game as touch football without passing there's lots of action when you limit the number of players (6 on 6)
Game is great because of the time not spent playing on the TV learning the different players capabilities and setting up the formations that are needed to score and winning the game (relates to real football)

I have never played on of these before, but I just bought one for my friend as a gift. It is actually pretty cool, and can be really fun and exciting.

I have 2 complaints:

1. Most of the players don't run straight. The set includes some bases that are supposed to allow you to adjust the turning of the player, but it doesn't really work at all. I ended up taking those off and just using the "straight" bases. Even so, most guys just run in a circle. Sometimes even a really tight circle, like one inch diameter. This is really annoying when it is your ball carrier. There may be a way to adjust the straight bases, but as far as I know there aren't instructions telling you how.

2. Passing is almost impossible. It's hard to explain how passing works, but essentially you are trying to catapult the tiny foam ball over to one of your tiny players, and the ball has to hit the player. One of the problems is that the ball needs to be wedged onto the "catapult" before you fling it, so it is hard to gage how much flicking it takes to release the ball, let alone pass it a certain distance. The game ends up being run-only.

I have only played this game for about an hour, though, so I'm sure it has a learning curve to it. Maybe passing is actually possible. Maybe you can fine tune the circling of the players. Regardless, the game can still have really exciting plays. Kicking works surprisingly well.

All in all, I can't say if I would recommend it. I'm not the best judge, because I haven't used it enough. But at the least I can say that it doesn't suck.

The game of electric football or 'vibrating football', is not an exact science so have no illusions about that. This game has the best 'field' as far as durability though a bit smaller than older plug-in electric versions. The field is sturdy, attractive, and well constructed being supported by a cross brace in the center. The goal posts attach firmly and are removable. The side markers are magnetic and easy to see. There is a two speed vibration option and neither is very loud. My old Tudor and Miggle games are very flimsy in the center and lend themselves to be easily damaged by the child using the board as leverage while playing. I love the fact that it is battery operated (3 C-Cells) as no danger of electrocution is involved. The playing pieces (football men) are the biggest problem with this game. They are fragile and the bases to which they attach are of a lower quality than those of my older games(rated alone I would give one star). If you wish to order new teams they cost 19.95 and do not come with bases which are extra. I have electric football players from my older games which I will use for this game. I would recommend this product for the field alone. I would then order players and bases fom another company. As a follow-up, after only a few months all of the players have broken from their bases. Playing field is going strong after many months of weekly use. We use (Tudor, Miggle) players from my childhood.

Works great and is fun if you can keep up with the men. My two sons were to rough with the men and broke a lot of them. Good game, just be careful with the men. They are fragile and easy to lose.

The base of this game is really the only thing I needed. I read all the other very helpful reviews. They were all right on the spot about the VERY POOR Quality of the game pieces. I have the old ones made back in the 60's and 70's and the action players were made with some pride and NOT the CHEAPIST WAY POSSIBLE. You would think as technology increases, our games of old would follow that trend! Sadly, toy manufacturers only are concerned for the BOTTOM LINE! Profit, not PRIDE and a well made ALL-AROUND product!!! You would think they would learn, in long end YOU LOSE!! Spend more up front with a great product, and YOU WIN, cause people continue to want more instead of shipping the Crappy Crap Back!!!

Kids enjoyedit. However the men were breaking within 5 minutes of playing with it.

If you are looking for authentic NFL logos and graphics, this is the one to buy! It delivers much more than average similar games which just have a plain green field and generic teams. I did have a player break off from his base, however, so the durability is in question. But it is better than the games I remember from my childhood in many ways. With this set, some of the players are on 360 degree directional bases, so their direction can be controlled to tackle and run pass routes.

The game is visually appealing and we were all excited to get it out of the box. Set up was easy. But game play was problematic. Really the only plays with a prayer of success were running plays. The idea that the quaterback(2 supplied- 1 broke instantly) could toss this tiny foam ball such that it would strike a teamate(=completion)is ridiculous. If it did occur, the chances that you could actually see this happen is even more ridiculous.

This is a quite faithful version of the same toy I had as a child probably in th early 1960s. The child loved it.

I bought this game for my two children who are 3 and 5 years old. I remember having this game as a child and enjoying it. We received the game and got all the pieces out of the bag. Setting things up is pretty easy. We slid the bases on the players and put some C cell batteries inside then we were ready to go! The instruction booklet has lots of complicated formations, plays, score keeping suggestions, kick-off instructions, etc which did not seem to practical even for older kids who might want to play with it. My children just liked picking teams and putting the guys on the table and seeing who crosses the goal line first! It actually ends up being 30-60 minutes of fun whenever we pull the game out.

A couple observations that I have made:

1. The players break off the bases and can not be put back on. I guess you could glue them on if you wanted.
2. Some of the bases have directional parts but they do not seem to have any rhyme or reason for going in a particular direction.
3. The footballs are kind of useless since kicking or throwing with the quarterbacks is virtually impossible.

However, the game is fun if you just want to take it for a simple game and have fun with it!