The snooker game is the most popular billiards game in the UK. Also known as English snooker, the cue sports game is also popular in Australia, Asia and in some part of the US.

Snooker Equipment

The snooker game is played on a 12 x 6 ft or 10 x 5 ft table with 6 pockets. The snooker table pockets are slightly narrower than the pockets in the regularized pocket billiards table. For that reason, snooker is considered a tougher game than 8-ball pool, for example.

Snooker is played with a white cue ball, 15 red balls and 6 colored balls. Each ball has a different point value: red balls=1 point, yellow=2, green=3, brown=4, blue=5, pink=6 and the black ball=7 points.

Object of the Snooker Game

The object of the snooker game is to score more points by potting the red balls and the colored balls alternately. The snooker game ends when the last ball has been potted and the player with the larger score wins the game. The maximum break in snooker is 147 points.

Snooker Game Rules

The snooker game begins with an opening break shot taken with the cue ball in hand within the D (half circle). In the opening break shot, the breaker must hit a red ball with the cue ball. As long as a player makes a legal shot, he is entitled to continue shooting at the table until he either fouls or misses.

The players have to pot the reds and the colored balls alternately. In other words, after a player has potted a red, he must pot a colored ball afterwards, and vice versa. The legally potted object ball (red or colored) is called the "on ball" or "ball on". Potting a ball while it is not an "on ball" is a foul in snooker.

While there are still reds on the table, the colored balls are being re-spotted after every pot. When there are no longer red balls on the snooker table, the players must strike only the colored balls starting from the lower and rising up. When there aren't any balls on the table, the snooker game ends.

Click to Play Pool!


	Download Play89™ online pool game for FREE!