Pool Hall — how to play
Billiards on one deterministic engine: 8-ball, 9-ball and snooker. You set the angle, power and strike point on the cue ball for follow, draw and side spin.
Objective
Pot the assigned balls before your rival: your group and the black in 8-ball, the lowest numbered ball in 9-ball, or more points in a snooker frame.
Rules and controls
- Aim with the cursor or the arrow keys, the slider sets power, and the cue spot picks the strike point: top follows, bottom draws, sides apply english.
- 8-ball: the first pot assigns solids 1-7 or stripes 9-15, and the black 8 closes the frame.
- 9-ball: always strike the lowest number on the table; a potted 9 wins the frame, even on a lucky combination.
- Snooker: alternate red then colour, and once reds are gone colours run cheapest first; a foul hands the rival at least 4 points and ball in hand.
- After a rival foul you get ball in hand — behind the baulk line in snooker. Click the spot; the ghost shows whether it is free.
- Pockets are sized to the ball of each discipline, and a ball drops only once more than half of its outline lies inside the opening.
Practical tips
- Strike low so the cue ball stops on the contact spot — the safest thing to do after a pot.
- Do not always hit full power: a short shot with spin leaves the cue ball nearer the next ball.
- Three consecutive fouls lose the frame in 9-ball — play position, not only the pot.