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99-Ball

Balls 1 to 9 only. The cue ball must always hit the lowest ball on the table first, and whoever pots the 9 wins the rack.

The table as a game of 9-Ball starts, with the scoreboardAs the game starts A game of 9-Ball in first person, over the cueOver the cue, in first person

At a glance

Nine balls, always the lowest first, and whoever pots the 9 wins.

Family
Pool
Tutorial
4 spoken, subtitled tasks.
In the career
Yes.
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.

The tutorial

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

  1. Lowest ball firstPot the 1 without hitting the 6 first
  2. Anything that drops countsPlay the 1 on to the 4 and pot the 4
  3. The 9 wins, whenever it goesWin by playing the 2 on to the 9
  4. Run outPot the 7, the 8 and the 9 in order

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 balls are racked in a diamond, the 1 at the front on the foot spot and the 9 in the middle. The breaker places the cue ball anywhere behind the head string.
  • The break must hit the 1 first, and either pot a ball or send at least four balls to a cushion. Anything less is a foul like any other.
  • The 9 potted on a legal break wins the rack.

A legal shot

  • The cue ball must hit the lowest-numbered ball on the table first.
  • After that hit, a ball must be potted, or some ball must reach a cushion.
  • Shots are not called. Pot any ball on a legal shot and you stay at the table; pot nothing and the turn passes.

Winning

  • Pot the 9 on any legal shot: last of all, or early, off a lower ball. It does not have to be called.
  • Three fouls in a row by one player lose that player the rack. A warning is given after the second.

Fouls

  • Potting the cue ball, or sending it off the table.
  • Hitting nothing, or hitting a ball other than the lowest 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 anywhere on the table.
  • Balls potted on a foul stay down, except the 9, which goes back on the foot spot.

The push-out

  • On the shot straight after a legal break, the player at the table may press Push before shooting. On a push-out the cue ball need not hit anything or reach a cushion.
  • The other player then chooses: shoot from there, or pass the shot back. Balls potted on a push-out stay down, except the 9, which is spotted. Potting the cue ball on a push-out is still a foul.

Stalemate

  • After six turns in a row with nothing potted the players are warned. Three more turns each 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