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Pebble Pool

Getting your game ready…

How to play

How to play

Line it up, pull back, let go

Press on the cue ball and drag back, away from where you want it to go. The dotted line shows where the cue ball meets the first ball; the short solid line shows where that ball will head. Pull further for a harder shot and let go to shoot. For a careful aim, touch or click the spot you want the cue ball to travel toward, then pull straight back: the aim stays put while you set the power. With a keyboard, the left and right arrows aim, up and down set the power and Space shoots.

The rules of 8-ball

After the break, the first ball you pot decides your group: solids are 1 to 7, stripes are 9 to 15. Keep shooting while you pot your own balls. Clear your group, then sink the 8 in the pocket you call: tap a pocket, or press C on a keyboard. A foul hands the other player the cue ball to place anywhere: potting the cue ball, missing every ball, hitting the other group or the 8 first, or no ball reaching a cushion after the hit. Potting the 8 early, in a pocket you did not call, or on a foul loses the frame.

Strategy

Play the next shot too

A pot is only half the job. Before you let go, look at the faint line the cue ball will take after contact and choose a speed that leaves it near your next ball. Softer shots are easier to aim and easier to control. Follow keeps the cue ball rolling forward after it hits; draw brings it back toward you.

When nothing is on

You do not have to take a hard pot. Roll one of your balls gently into a cushion, or leave the cue ball behind your own balls so the next shot is awkward for your opponent. A ball still has to reach a cushion after contact, or it is a foul. Leave the 8 alone until it is your turn for it.

About the game

About 8-ball

8-ball is the most widely played pool game. Pebble Pool follows the World Pool-Billiard Association rules with a few simplifications common in casual play: you only call the pocket for the 8, a break that is too soft counts as a foul, and an 8 potted on the break goes back on its spot while the breaker carries on. As in the official rules, any foul gives the other player the cue ball anywhere on the table.

The computer ladder

The computer plays the way a careful player thinks: it looks for every pot it can see, imagines each one at a few speeds, and picks the shot that leaves it best placed. Each of the eight levels aims more steadily and looks further ahead, and beating a level opens the next. Two players can also share one screen.

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