The 4-flipper layout is very unique, and it changes the play style immensely. There is little to no hope in catching the ball, so you just have to time your flips and rely on luck. It's also quite an experience to tip a ball from one side, right through the other side's flippers as you try to hit it. It's just a unique experience.

The scoring is fun. Obviously with the objective to be scoring goals, but there are various fun ways to progress towards goals, up to and including drop targets and a spinner that you can really rip when you have it configured properly (which I personally love).

Sure - it's an EM, so expect all things that come with an EM, but it's actually a pretty fun one! The theme doesn't really do anything for me not being a soccer player, but it's tastefully done. My wife is a huge EM fan so we've played a bunch of them. I can say with great confidence that it's one of our favorites from that era. If you have a chance to play it, give it a whirl. It's a very uniquely fun game. And, a rare 4-player EM title that's great for parties and family play!

For what it is worth, I think my wife loves it more than me, and has told me I'm never allowed to get rid of it. Take that for what it is worth, given the previous comments about her deep love of EM games...

Bought this because I got a good deal and figured if I didn't like it I couldn't lose but I doubt it will be leaving

Can’t play with the ball on this game or it will drain through the flippers

Kick Off (and I am assuming the 2-player equivalent Quarterback) is an excellent and vastly underappreciated EM game. It is probably one of the best 4-player titles, up there with Surf Champ and Top Score.

First, this game needs to be set up properly: fresh bouncy rubbers everywhere. Very steep slant. You want each drop catch to be a real risk.

The game will test your mettle as a player, and will force you to play by it's rules. You have to learn when to wait, to predict the bounces, to know when you can or can't drop catch, to play it live...
Down by the flippers there is almost no safe moments. Even if you catch the ball, if it rolls upwards on the bottom flippers, it might just roll the short distance straight to the outlane.
There are 5 ways to drain, so get ready.

The rules are pretty great, too: Get 10 soccer balls to advance a 10 yards marker. Spinner advances a soccer ball. some rollovers and switches give 5. When lit, the standup and rollovers give a full (and lucrative) 30 yards instead.
Get a 1000 bonus increment for each 20 yards. Get to the GOAL once, get 5000. A second time: extra ball. Third? Special.

Get the drops all down, get the next GOAL award. Getting them down a second time gives a special, but should also almost never happen if you have the game set difficult enough.

Nudging is a must to keep the ball under a semblance of control. Bumpers in the outlane give a chance to nudge the ball back in if you can raise the top flippers up. Nudging is needed to hit the lit lanes whenever you get the ball to the top.
Even slap saves are different on this game. Slap it and perhaps project it up from the bottom flipper? Or do you need to keep that other flipper down lest the ball is "saved" only to be projected to the outlane?

The playfield art is basic, but I love the colours. The backglass vibrant even has an unlicensed FIFA mention. Would highly recommend grabbing this game if you ever have the chance. An excellent game, even if you don't have much room for EMs. Also great for competition.

Kick Off and is all about ball control on the fly.

The Pros:
A deceptively simple layout hides a game that will test your nudging and your reflexes. Trapping the ball is nearly impossible (and quite dangerous) so your drop catches and bounce passes are of utmost importance. If you want to develop your EM twitch skills, this game may be your ticket to success. A long bank of drops and an incredibly satisfying spinner make what looks like a sparse design, quite fun. Nudging skills for that 30 yd. gain at the top lanes are in effect whenever the ball is in the neighborhood. The integration of gameplay and rules with "yardage" is very well done.

The Cons:
This game may feel like more luck than skill for a LOOOOOOONG time. This game better have fresh rubbers on it (esp. in the upper left hand side by the pops) or the deck will feel dead. PF artwork is bland. Is it just me, or is Dick White trying to make his work look like Dave Christensen's?

The Takeaway:
This deck along with Flip-Flip will make sure that you do not take any chance to play your ball for granted. The balance of frustration/reward on this game is very fine one. Annnnd work it!