LEGO® Ideas review: 21337 Table Football

In February and March 2021, the LEGO® Ideas website ran a “We Love Sports'' contest. Table Football, designed by fan designer Donát Fehévári, was selected as winner, and will be released an official set on 1 November 2022. For those of you aware of the original submission, there is one massive change. The original was 11-a-side, and this is only 5-a-side! Why didn’t LEGO deliver on this? The short answer is, if they had to stick to 11-a-side, the set would not have been released at all.

Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.
LEGO Ideas 21337 Table Football
US$249.99/ £214.99/ 249.99€/ AU$379.99
2339 parts
1 November 2022
Buying from LEGO.com? Please consider using our affiliate links, we may get a commission: USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop | UK LEGO Shop.

So what happened? New Elementary heard directly from the design and marketing team when they attended Fan Media Days last month. A working 11-a-side prototype was built prior to the LEGO Group announcing the submission was going ahead, but in the testing process, problems became clear. The long LEGO Technic axles would bend, connections would separate, minifigures would fly everywhere and the playing field would even split apart sometimes! They tried using beams instead of axles, and even designed new elements, but nothing was successful.

The new creative lead of LEGO® Ideas, Design Manager Jordan Scott and Product Designer Antica Bracanov show New Elementary 21337 Table Football at LEGO Campus in Billund.

It was clear they could not release the large version as a LEGO product after all and held an internal meeting to decide whether to cancel the project or not. We asked the product designer Antica Bracanov if this was an awkward meeting! But she went prepared, bringing several potential solutions, one of which was to reduce the original size, which had a playing field around 40x60 modules, to the much smaller size of 16x32. This solved many problems, and was approved as the best way forward. 

Sounds logical, but will all the changes still provide a great model and playability? Let’s find out.

New Elements

For a set consisting of 2339 parts, there are not many new regular building elements, but the excitement lies elsewhere. There are no new molds used, and only 2 recolors and 2 new prints.

• The Tile Round 1 x 2 Half Circle was introduced in August 2022 in 3 colors. It appears here in its fourth; Black (6420852 | 1748). We get a whopping 48 of them!
• The other recolor is the Technic Ball Joint in Dark Azure (6412745 | 32474), 5 of which are used to keep track of the score.

The new prints I mentioned are used for the playing field. 

We get 2 with a print of the goal area (6418240) and 2 with a print of a half circle (6418242), both printed on a Bright Green Tile 8 x 16. Fun fact: this part has not appeared in plain Bright Green, but three times as a printed part. All three prints are used as the field in football stadiums. 

There are some other elements that are worth mentioning:

• The Ball 19mm in White (6261647 | 52629) is borrowed from the SPIKE Prime sets from 2020 and 2021.
• Technic Brick 5 x 5 Right Angle (1 x 4 - 1 x 4) in White (6357617 | 28973) was introduced last year, and has appeared in 2 other sets.
• Brick Arch 1 x 3 x 2 Curved Top in Dark Azure (6369504 | 92903) is new for 2022, and has only been seen in 41702 Canal Houseboat.
• Flag 2 x 2 Trapezoid with Flared Area between Clips in Bright Red/ Red (6365503 | 80324) is also new for 2022 in this updated mold version.

So much for the building elements. But there is more. Much, much more! 

New minifigure elements

The original fan design housed 2 teams of 11 players, but the final design is housing 2 teams of just 5 players. To compensate, LEGO still included 11-a-side teams – which means 22 minifigures! 

They also wanted equality between the sexes, so provided 44 heads! Furthermore, they wanted as many people to feel as though they were represented, so available skin tones were divided equally among the minifigures (including the two new skin tones introduced in 2022). Excitingly, over half of these heads feature new face prints! 

This is the first non-IP LEGO Ideas set to not use yellow skin tones – which is not a new direction for the line, it’s just about people choosing what represents them. 

“We're trying to be as inclusive as possible, so we made new head pieces with hearing aids and different types of visual impairments as well.”

- the LEGO Ideas team  

A quick calculation: 79 heads (because 35 are dual sided) x 41 wigs (2 are duplicates) x 14 torsos x 4 legs = 181,384 possible combinations!

Heads

Of the 44 heads, 25 feature a new print. I’m not going to describe them all in full detail, but I’ll list the Element IDs so you can hopefully find them if they come to Bricks & Pieces (which is a minimum of 3 months away), and mention the more interesting novelties. 

Note: To obtain the Element IDs I had to match the heads with their counterpart in the back of the instructions. Those images are pretty small, so I’m only 98% sure they match up perfectly.

Going by numbered column, from top to bottom:

In Warm Tan:

• Column 1 - 6415657, 6404023
• Column 2 - 6404030, 4604022, 6404026
• Column 3 - 6415619, 6414559, 6404025

In Medium Brown:

• Column 4 - 6414558, 6404031, 6414557
• Column 5 - 6404027, 6404032, 6415632

In Medium Nougat:

• Column 6 - 6404029, 6404024, 6404028

In Reddish Brown:

• Column 7 - 6415312, 6404019
• Column 8 - 6404020, 6414555, 6404021

In Nougat:

• Column 9 - 6404017, 6404018, 6404015

There are 2 heads with a hearing aid: see Column 5 Top and Column 8 Bottom. These are the first hearing aids to appear on a flesh-toned head, so far there are only 2 yellow ones.

There are 2 heads with orange glasses/visors: Column 3 Center and Column 8 Center. From what I understand, these probably represent high contrast lenses which help distinguish objects in low light, or to help with light oversensitivity.

Column 4 Top features a head with vitiligo, a condition that causes loss of skin color in patches.

We also get some rare heads:

Column 1

• Top Minifig Head in Nougat (6330603 | 74991), only seen once before in 2021
• Center Minifig Head Nougat (6356859 | 79706), only appeared in 3 Star Wars sets in 2021 and 2022
•  Bottom Minifig Head in Nougat (6403647 | 100215) was introduced in October 2022 in 21336 The Office

Column 2

• Top Minifig Head in Medium Nougat (6330631 | 74992) was used once in 2021
• Bottom Minifig Head in Medium Nougat (6319985 | 70476) has been seen twice before

Column 3

• Top Minifig Head in Medium Nougat (6403646 | 100214) also comes from The Office
• Bottom Minifig Head in Medium Nougat (6350863 | 79150) has visit Hogsmeade last year

Column 4

• Top Minifig Head in Light Nougat (6299847 | 67845) has been used for Dudley Dursley 3 times before
• Bottom Minifig Head in Light Nougat (6309258 | 69016) is another head from The Office

Column 5

• Top Minifig Head in Medium Brown (6393400 | 1796) was introduced in October 2022 in 76214
• Bottom Minifig Head in Medium Brown (6407052 | 100584) was introduced this year as well

Column 6

• Minifig Head in Reddish Brown (6199571 | 34921) has been around since 2017 and has appeared in 3 LEGO Star Wars sets

Hair

Heads need hair (apart from that one bald minifig) and we get some nice recolors among them:

Top row:

• Hair Large High Bun in Reddish Brown (6420631 | 27186)
• Hair Big, Curly in Dark Brown (6417270 | 1685)
• Hair Bowl Cut in Black (6417268 | 55532)

Center row:

• Hair Flat Top, Short with Straight Even Side Sections in Bright Orange/ Orange (6406452 | 25379)
• Hair Tousled Mid-Length with Side Part in Cool Yellow/ Bright Light Yellow (6424563 | 25408)
• Hair Coiled, Straight Sides in Cool Yellow/ Bright Light Yellow (6417266 | 60682)
• Hair Swept to Right in Cool Yellow/ Bright Light Yellow (6420636 | 70592)

Bottom row:

• Hair Coiled, Straight Sides in Dark Red (6417271 | 80682)
• Hair Short Tousled with Side Part in Dark Orange (6417264 | 37823)
• Hair Short Smooth and Right Parting [Plain] in Medium Stone Grey/ Light Bluish Gray (6420633 | 15500)

Besides recolors, the set provides some rare wigs as well:

Top row:

• Hair Ponytail and Fringe in Bright Orange/ Orange (6366711 | 13785) has been seen once in 2021
• Hair Short Wavy with Center Part in Cool Yellow/ Bright Light Yellow (6357791 | 26139) has only appeared twice
• Hair Swept Right with Front Curl in Medium Nougat (6358228 | 76782) has been seen three times in 2021
• Hair Rear Cowlick in Medium Nougat (6151872 | 15443) was only used once in 2016, funny enough in a soccer player as well: 71014-10 Toni Kroos

Center row:

• Hair Bowl Cut and Parted in Center in Black (6301993 | 38800) has been seen once in 2020
• Hair Swept to Right in Black (6422435 | 70592) has only appeared in 2021
• 79687 Hair Short Curly, No Sides in Black (6356860 | 79687) was introduced last year
•  Hair Short Tousled with Side Part and Lock Sticking Up in Black (6277470 | 20597) was introduced in 2017 and has appeared in one other set since

Bottom row:

• Hair Mid-Length Combed Behind Ear in Dark Brown (6223875 | 36037) has been seen once in 2018
• Hair Put Up with Braids in Dark Brown (6372359 | 53126) was introduced this year
• Hair Tousled Mid-Length with Side Part in Dark Brown (6402959 | 86279) has been in two other sets
• For the only appearance of Hair Ponytail and Swept Sideways Fringe in Brick Yellow/ Tan (6008262 | 87990) we have to go back to 2012!

Torsos and legs

The 2 teams have their own shirts which come with 6 different colors of hands. The goalkeepers wear gloves, so you can combine them with any head you want.

	Red team	Blue team
Light Nougat	6417104	6413246
Warm Tan	6413206	6413280
Nougat	6413199	6413268
Reddish Brown	6413205	6413279
Medium Brown	6413208	6413282
Medium Nougat	6413198	6413281

Bottom row:

• Minifig Torso with Orange Arms, Dark Red Hands in Orange (6415059)
• Minifig Torso with Lavender Arms, Dark Blue Hands on Medium Lavender (6414920)

And lastly, the legs. The standard players all have the same print.

• Minifig Hips and Legs in Red (6404012)
• Minifig Hips and Legs in Lavender (6414924)
• Minifig Hips and Legs in Orange (6415060)
• Minifig Hips and Legs in Blue (6404014)

The Build

Those minifigs are fun and all, but there is also a football table in the set.

The first part of the build is a stand for the supporters. All torsos and legs get used, and the minifigs that are not playing can have a seat and root for their team. After creating the minifigs, the leftover heads and wigs can be stored underneath the stand.

The base of the table is created mostly out of standard bricks and plates, and surprisingly few LEGO Technic beams and frames. In most large builds these days you would find much more of them. Nevertheless, the frame is very sturdy and can handle some rough play. 

The field is made out of the 4 8x16 tiles, with a 1-module wide row on the sides, providing studs for the corner flags. The sides of the table are mostly covered in SNOT brackets. The set uses 92 of Bracket 1 x 2 - 2 x 4 (93274) in Black. Aside from the brackets, the walls, like the base, feature a lot of classic brick-on-brick action, which I appreciate. The result is very dense and sturdy. 

Underneath the legs, rubber tyres are added, making sure the table stays in place. After adding the legs and goals, one of the side walls is completed, but the other side stays open.

That’s because we first insert the 32M axles that hold the players. The players are held in place by a Minifig Neckwear Backpack with Horizontal Pin Hole (15406). The additional bricks provide weight, making sure the figures always stand up right, and so the legs can’t bend after kicking the ball. 

After inserting the axles, the other side wall is built. I love the Black decoration, instantly recognizable as Table Football.

The last part of the build is giving the table the finishing touches. The Red and Dark Azure lines go all the way around the table, giving it a classic vibe.

All that is left is to add your chosen players, and it’s game time! You might note that rather than a single minifigure in goalie position, there are actually 3 on those axles. This is because you would need a longer axle for the goalies to be able to reach the side walls.

The scoring pegs are tougher to move than you would expect - because the design team didn’t want them to accidentally slide during rough play, causing arguments!

Naturally, I had to test the playability of the table, so I handed it over to my children (12, 10, and 6) to see if the table is as sturdy as the designers claim it to be.

After many rounds the table is still in one piece, and we can conclude the set does what it is supposed to do. But as you can see in the photo, the axles, despite being shorter than the original design, still take a heavy beating. Table Football is a game you can’t play well-controlled; at some point you’ll become manic and fully focused on kicking the ball as hard as possible! So I suspect it’s a matter of time before I need to order replacement axles.

Conclusion

My opinion is divided on this set, and judging by the discussion the set created in New E’s group chat, I’m not the only one.

I’ll start with the positives: The set looks great, capturing the look and vibe of table football very well. Building the set is also a joy, both being ingenious in functionality and sturdiness, but at the same time also feeling like a proper LEGO build. This is thanks to the avoidance of too much LEGO Technic, and it was also refreshing how much of this build is just placing a brick upon a brick, without needing to spin the model around in all directions, or be overcareful with delicate sub-builds. A lot of recent sets rely heavily on SNOT and other (sideways) building techniques, creating a great looking model, but for me they also miss a bit of what I call old-school building. The fact that my children have not (yet) been able to break anything off is testament to how sturdy the result is.

The minifig selection for the set is simply amazing, providing many new prints and recolors. The only downside is that they come with a €249.99 set, making them pretty expensive if you want the set just for the figs. I applaud the inclusivity the set provides, but I think a set this size might not be an ideal way to provide these minifig parts. I would prefer a smaller set, or maybe even just a minifig-pack without a large build.

My main concern involves the price tag, and along with that: who is this set for? Granted, the build itself is very nice, but in the end it still is LEGO, and the play and endurance will never match real table football. I understand the need to scale down to a 5-a-side format, but as many have commented already: for the price you can buy a full-sized real 11-a-side table football game as well. So why pay the same for a miniature version?

Just as a LEGO RC car doesn't perform as well as a dedicated RC car, it doesn't have the versatility and the "I built this!" feeling that comes with LEGO System in Play. On the other hand, just because it can be built, doesn’t directly mean it should become a product. Prospective buyers will have to decide which factor is more important to them.

We’ve seen other LEGO sets that are copies of real-world items, like the Typewriter or the Atari, but those are designed to be display items and any play functions are not designed to match the original. 21337 Table Football is inherently designed to be played with, but the size and the nagging feeling I’ll break something just don’t deliver for me.

LEGO Ideas 21337 Table Football has 2339 parts and will cost US$249.99/ £214.99/ 249.99€/ AU$379.99 when released on 1 November 2022. Buying from LEGO.com? Please consider using our affiliate links, we may get a commission: USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop | UK LEGO Shop.

READ MORE: Eero Okkonen creates his own MOC inspired by LEGO® Ideas 21333 Vincent van Gogh - The Starry Night

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