8 Ball Pool

Game Description

Decent Competition

8 Ball Pool is basically your typical game of pool but in digital form and you can play against other people from around the world. If you're not into pool this certainly won't change your mind, but it'll likely entertain those who do enjoy it. Plus with this you get to avoid all the cigarette smoke and rental fees.

Doom

The basics of pool (or at least this particular brand of pool) are pretty easy to understand.

• Stripes or solids, never both. Whichever kind of ball ends up getting sunk first will determine which group you have to finish taking off the table. If you sink the first ball, that's your type. If your opponent sinks first, you're whatever type they didn't sink.
• Numbers don't matter, except for 8. All you need to focus on is hitting in stripes or solids, so don't bother paying attention to their numbers.
• 8 is always last. If you manage to sink all of the balls you need to, you'll have to sink the 8 ball in order to win. Do NOT try to sink the 8 ball (the one that's almost all black) unless you've taken care of all the others first.
• Use the guides. Those lines you see when you change the angle of your shot and line up with other balls (the ones you need to sink) will show you which direction things will go upon impact. Speed and distance, however, you'll need to intuit.
• You don't always have to slam into things. Sometimes the harder you shoot the better, because balls will ricochet all over the place and potentially knock more stuff in for you. The downside to this kind of wild shooting is that you could end up sinking something you don't want to. At the very least, the harder you shoot the more likely you are to scratch (i.e. sink the cueball).
• You can use other balls to hit the ball you want. If the one you mean to sink is blocked, or you have a bad angle, it's possible to back a different ball into your target. These kinds of shots are really tricky to pull off, and the guides won't show you anything past that first impact, but they're do-able.
• Use a soft touch on balls that are close to a pocket. You really don't need to smash the cueball into a ball that's right on the edge, and more often than not harder shots will actually result in the cueball chasing right after the ball you just knocked in. Slower shots are better for gently tapping them in.

Something Something Pool Pun

I can't really say that 8 Ball Pool does anything new or interesting with pool in general, but that's okay. It presents a fairly timeless game in a very accessible way, and lets you see how well you stack up against random internet strangers. The online requirement kinda stinks but eh, how else are you supposed to play against other people, right?

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