The balls
- Red 1 point. Yellow 2, green 3, brown 4, blue 5, pink 6, black 7.
- The frame starts with the cue ball in hand in the D, the half circle at the baulk end of the table.
147Snooker
Fifteen reds worth one point each and six colours worth two to seven. Players score by potting a red, then a colour, then a red, and so on. Most points at the end of the frame wins.
At a glance
Fifteen reds and six colours on a twelve-foot table with tight, rounded pockets.
- Family
- Snooker
- Tutorial
- 5 spoken, subtitled tasks.
- In the career
- Yes: the members' club, on a twelve-foot table.
- 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.
- The break-offStart a frame from the D
- Pot a redScore your first point
- Red, then a colourPot a red and then any colour
- Hit the right ballPlay a red without fouling
- Clear the coloursPot the pink, then the black
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.
A break
- Every visit starts on a red. Pot a red (one point) and you are on a colour of your choice; pot the colour (its value) and you are on a red again.
- To choose a colour, aim at it or click it. The scoreboard shows what you are on.
- A colour potted while reds remain goes back on its own spot. If its spot is covered it goes on the highest-value spot that is free.
- More than one red may go down in a shot: each scores a point.
- Miss, and the turn passes. Your next visit starts on a red again.
The colours
- When the last red has gone, and the colour after it has been played, the colours are potted in order: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black. They now stay down.
- When only the black is left, the first score or foul ends the frame. If the scores are then level the black is put back on its spot and one player, chosen by lot, plays at it from the D.
Fouls
- Missing every ball, or hitting first a ball that is not on.
- Potting a ball that is not on, potting the cue ball (in-off), or forcing a ball off the table.
- Jumping the cue ball over a ball, or pushing through a ball the cue ball is touching.
- A foul gives the other player at least four points: more if the ball that was on, or a ball wrongly hit or potted, is worth more. The highest value counts.
- After a foul the other player may play from where the balls lie, or make the offender play again. After an in-off the cue ball is played from the D.
Free ball
- If a foul leaves the next player snookered (unable to hit both sides of any ball that is on), that player has a free ball: any ball may be named as the ball on.
- Potting the free ball scores the value of the ball that was on, and the free ball goes back on its spot.
- You may not leave your opponent snookered behind the free ball, unless only the pink and black remain.
Foul and a miss
- If a player fails to hit the ball on, and neither player needs snookers to win, a miss is called: the other player may also have the balls put back and the shot played again.
- With a ball on in full view, a third miss in a row loses the frame. A warning is given after the second.
Other things
- A player may concede the frame at any time on their turn.
- If sixteen strokes go by without a score, the players are offered a re-rack. Both must agree.
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.