8-Ball Billiards
Rules of the game
This is a pool game for two players. A total of 16 balls are used, seven solid and seven striped, as well as one black and one white ball. The player who opens the game starts. Before the start of the game, the ball can be placed anywhere in the left quadrant. Once a ball is sunk (except during the opening shot or a foul), this decides who plays solids and who plays stripes. From this point on, players may only play balls with their own pattern. As long as a player keeps sinking his or her own balls, it is his or her turn.
The object of the game is to sink your own balls in as few rounds as possible. Finally, the black ball also has to be sunk in the correct pocket. The first player to correctly sink all seven of his or her balls and then the black ball wins. If a player causes a round to end prematurely, the opponent wins. A game ends in a draw if neither player is able to sink a coloured ball after 20 shots.
A player commits a foul when
- - s/he pockets the white ball
- - plays no ball or the wrong ball
- - pockets the black ball prematurely
- - less than four coloured balls touch the edges or none are sunk during the break
- - after the first contact between the white ball and another ball no balls are sunk or not even one touches the edges
The player who was fouled can place the white ball anywhere on the playing field and continue playing.
The game is over once one of the players has sunk all of his or her balls including the black one. The game also ends if the black ball is sunk prematurely. The player who does this loses. This also applies if the black ball is sunk during another type of foul (see above), or if the black ball is played into the wrong pocket.
How to play
A cue appears when you click on the white ball. In front of the cue you will see a yellow line with an image of the white ball. This shows the direction of the shot. You can rotate the cue in the desired direction by moving the mouse while holding down the left mouse button. The magnitude of the shot will be shown by changes in the length of an arrow. Once you let go of the mouse button, the white ball is played. A rebound only occurs if you aimed beyond the edge of the table. In the upper left-hand corner of the table you will see a display indicating which balls are being played by the current player and how many balls still have to be sunk.
The scoring system
No points are given in 8-Ball Billiards. Only games won or lost are counted.
Loss of connection to game server
Loss of connection to the game server affects single and multiplayer games differently.
The following games are single player games: Blackjack Duel, Yatzy Duel, Mahjong, Penalty King, Pyramids, Solitaire, Solitaire Poker, Sudoku Bloxx, Sugar!, Zuminga
The following games are multiplayer games: Backgammon, 8-Ball Billiards, Differenzler Jass, Gin Rummy, Schnapsen, Skat, Snooker
Loss of connection for single-player games
For a game to be classed as won, the applicable game rules must have been adhered to
Should a player lose his/her connection, he/she has 2 minutes, in which to re-enter the game. The game clock will continue to count down while the player is disconnected. Should the 2 minutes pass before the player manages to return to the game, the last points recorded will be the final score.
Loss of connection for multiplayer games
For a game to be classed as won, the applicable game rules must have been adhered to. Furthermore, the winner of the game must have maintained a connection to the game server for the duration of the game.
Should a player lose his/her connection, he/she has 2 minutes, in which to re-enter the game. Should this be achieved, there shall be no consequences, provided that the player is not ejected from the game by the opponent for exceeding the allowed time. In the case that the 2 minute time limit is exceeded, the computer will take the ejected player's place and complete the game. The player still has the opportunity to re-enter the game.
In the case that the computer or the player who re-enters the game after the allowed time limit wins, the original stakes shall be refunded to both players. Otherwise, the game will be classed as lost. Should both players lose their connections during the game, both will receive their original stakes.
