Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was in the market for a mid-level, fairly inexpensive foosball table for my home and stumbled upon this one, right here on Amazon. For the price I could not really find anything else that I liked that was comparable so I decided to give this one a try. Shipping: I ordered the table on Wednesday, Sept 4th and received it Friday morning, Sept 6th (I am an Amazon Prime customer). Needless to say I was very impressed with the expeditious shipping. The table was in my home in time for the get together I was hosting on Saturday. Immediately following delivery I ripped open the box and started assembling the table. The box was a little beat up to say the least. There was obvious visual damage to the box but nothing that I figured would have damaged the table. I have uploaded a picture of the box above. Assembly: Several reviews that I read around the web indicated that assembly time is very long. I am very handy and have put together way more complex things. This was by no means hard, but it was certainly time consuming. It took me 3.5 hours from start to finish. I was able to do it by myself but it would have been a lot easier with 2 people. I used mostly a phillip head screwdriver and the included allen key throughout the entire assembly process. I have to say, I was extremely impressed with the organization of the parts. Each group of screws, nuts, washers, etc. was individually (as a group) bagged and labeled, completely taking the guess work out. When assembling the rods w/ the `men' on them, just make sure to put all members of the same team facing the right direction. The nut goes in the back of the person, the screw is almost flush on the front. That's how you will have to remember which way they face. After staring at the diagram for a few minutes you will figure out the patterns and layout. Just make sure to take your time and not rush through the install and you should be fine. After complete assembly of the table and placing it where it is going to stay, it is important to level the table properly. What I did was put a level in the middle of the table facing both ways, then adjusted each leg accordingly. After that I put the level on each side of the table and did final adjustments there, then once more checked the field level. Now the table seems to be completely level and operating the way it should. Quality: The table is made in China and is mostly compressed wood (as expected). I am happy but not impressed or disappointed with the quality, it's exactly what I was expecting. Not all panels were completely straight or 100% perfectly aligned so make sure you do not tighten screws all the way until the entire set of screws for what you are doing is in. In other words by not tightening the screws all the way down, you leave yourself some `wiggle room'. This was helpful when screwing the actual playing field board into the panels. There was some noticeable chips and dings on the side panels of the table which I was not happy about, but luckily I have dark brown / red touch up marker and was able to mostly hide the visible damage. In my opinion the damage was minimal and almost expected when shipping this huge and heavy package. The box was far more damaged than the actual table. The men on the poles seem to be good quality and I'm guessing should last. So far my friends and I have played a decent amount of games and do not notice anything wrong with the table. Granted I have only had the table for a few days but it does seem as though it will hold up. Conclusion: The table is certainly worth the money. I would recommend it for anyone who is looking for a mid-level foosball table that won't break the bank. It has good weight to the table and everything is working the way it should. The reason why I am giving it 4/5 stars is because of the slight damage throughout the table. I will update this review as time goes on. ** UPDATE 12/3/2013 ** It's been almost 3 months since I received this table and still am as happy as I was on day 1. The table has held up against some pretty rough playing and still looks like it does the day it arrived. I have not moved it from the location that it's been in and don't plan to, but the table still sits perfectly level and everything still functions the way it should. In the past 3 months there have been no signs of wear and tear (the people have not lost their color coding, the handles are not worn out, the balls still roll smoothly, etc.). I will continue to update the review and I still recommend this product.