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88-Ball

Two players, fifteen balls: seven solids (1 to 7), seven stripes (9 to 15) and the black 8. Pot all of your own group, then the 8, to win.

The table as a game of 8-Ball starts, with the scoreboardAs the game starts A game of 8-Ball in first person, over the cueOver the cue, in first person

At a glance

Solids against stripes, then the black. The game most people mean by "pool".

Family
Pool
Tutorial
10 spoken, subtitled tasks.
In the career
Yes: the career starts with it.
Match length
A single rack, or a race to 3, 5 or 7.
Played against
The computer on Easy, Normal or Hard, a friend at the same PC, in tournaments, or online.

This is the game in the free demo, with its whole tutorial.

The tutorial

The commentator talks you through each task, with subtitles. You play every one yourself, and play it again if you miss.

  1. Aim and shootPot a ball
  2. How hardJudge the power of a long shot
  3. The breakBreak the rack open
  4. Solids and stripesPot a solid to make solids yours
  5. Stop the cue ballPot a ball and stop the cue ball dead
  6. FollowPot a ball and let the cue ball run on
  7. DrawPot a ball and bring the cue ball back
  8. ChalkChalk the tip, then pot a ball
  9. Ball in handPlace the cue ball after a foul
  10. Win the gamePot your last ball, then the 8

The rules

As the game plays them, word for word from the rule book that is a click away in the game's menu and in the middle of any match.

The rack and the break

  • The fifteen balls are racked in a triangle with the 8 in the middle and a solid and a stripe on the two back corners.
  • The breaker places the cue ball anywhere behind the head string (the quarter of the table furthest from the rack).
  • A break is legal if a ball is potted or at least four balls reach a cushion. After an illegal break the other player may accept the table, re-rack and break, or have the breaker break again.
  • Potting the cue ball on the break is a foul: the other player gets the cue ball in hand behind the head string, and must play at a ball beyond it.
  • The 8 potted on the break does not win or lose: the breaker may put it back on its spot and carry on, or break again.

Solids and stripes

  • After the break the table is open, even if balls went down on the break: nobody has a group yet.
  • On an open table you may hit any ball first except the 8. The first ball potted on a legal shot decides it: that group is yours, the other is your opponent's.
  • Shots are not called. Any ball of your own group that goes down on a legal shot keeps you at the table; if none does, the turn passes.
  • An opponent's ball you pot stays down.

A legal shot

  • The cue ball must hit a ball of your own group first (the 8, once your group has gone).
  • After that hit, a ball must be potted, or some ball must reach a cushion.

Fouls

  • Potting the cue ball (a scratch), or sending it off the table.
  • Hitting nothing, or hitting the wrong ball first.
  • No ball potted and no ball reaching a cushion after the hit.
  • Driving any ball off the table.
  • After a foul the other player has ball in hand: the cue ball can be placed anywhere on the table.

The 8-ball

  • When your group has gone, pot the 8 on a legal shot to win. It can go in any pocket; it does not have to be called.
  • You lose the game if you pot the 8 before your group has gone, pot the 8 on a shot that is a foul (a scratch included), or drive the 8 off the table.

Stalemate

  • After six turns in a row with nothing potted the players are warned. Three more turns each without a ball going down and the rack is played again, the same player breaking.
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Try it, free

The demo is 8-ball in the Classic Room, with its whole spoken tutorial, a practice table and a computer player, for Windows, Linux and macOS. The full game will be sold only on Steam, at $12.99.

Get the free demoScreenshots