LIGHT THE TORCH:

How to Create Your Own Tabletop Winter Olympics

- Andrew Brassleay

The Summer Olympic Games have just flown by, and now another is set to begin. Tokyo’s big summer bash of sports might have had a slightly surreal air to it, with its minimal crowds and the city’s lockdown meaning TV audiences saw very little of the city itself, but the sporting competition was compelling. Seriously, who else saw anyone running a sub-46-second 400 meter race — over hurdles — coming? Thanks for that, Karsten Warholm.

It’s now Beijing’s turn. The host city of the 2008 summer games is now getting its own winter edition of the Olympics. As the world’s attention turns to winter sports, you might want to join in the fun yourself. But if you don’t happen to have a huge mountain or icy lake nearby to form your own mini-Olympics with friends and family, it’s perfectly possible to put together your own Olympics on your tabletop.

Slap Shots

Hockey is among the more table-friendly winter sports, which is clear from the range of games out there. Chief among them is Stiga’s table hockey series. Much like foosball, your fearless players are doomed to spend their days attached to rods. Unlike foosball, they do have the freedom to traipse up and down the rink, rather than side to side. It’s a game for quick thinking and reflexes, and faithful to the real deal. The downside is it won’t come cheap (around $90), and the huge playing surface won’t be easy to store away. Better find some extra room in that cupboard.

For a more strategic adaptation of the sport, try