I made this up, and it's been popular with my buddies as a break from the usual 8/9/10.
It's actually safety and kicking practice, disguised as a fun* game.
*or not lol. But try it.
===============================================
SAFETIES - for lack of a better name.
Number of players: any
Number of balls used: 7 object balls placed randomly anywhere on the table. No cue ball.
Object of the game: Race to a certain number of points.
Starting the game
Scatter the 7 balls randomly around the table.
• The first player chooses any of the 7 balls as a cue ball, and any other ball as an object ball.
Then they hit the cue ball into the object ball, and hide them from each other (using some other ball as a blocker).
You're always hiding the cue ball from the first ball you touch. So it's similar to the safeties you'd play in 9 or 10 ball.
• The second player must then kick at the chosen object ball, with the chosen cue ball.
• If the kick is successful, nobody scores a point. But if it fails, the first player gets a point.
So to score, you must play a valid safety, and the opponent must fail to make a good hit.
This is the ONLY way to score a point.
• After the kick attempt, whether it's successful or not, the second player now gets to play his own safety
on the first player. Like the first player, he can choose any pair of balls to work with. You are always allowed
to pick any balls you want, regardless of which balls were used before.
So after the first shot, every player gets 2 shots: the first one is a kick, and the 2nd one is a safety.
-Player 1 safes
-Player 2 kicks
-Player 2 safes
-Player 1 kicks
-Player 1 safes
-Repeat
So what's a valid safety?
• the opponent must be 100% hooked, so he cannot shoot directly at the object ball.
If he can 'see' even a little edge of the object ball, it's not a valid safe.
• In that case, you can skip Shot 1 (the kick) and just go straight to shot 2 (the safety).
That means players of average skill will probably have a lot of turns with just one shot.
• If a ball is "debatable" (maybe you can see an edge, maybe not) then the player must try to hit it.
Fouls: There aren't any really, just try to make an honest hit. If you scratch, grab any object ball
from the ball return and throw it out randomly on the table. No ball ever stays down.
• If you successfully kick a ball but scratch, it's no good and the guy who played the safe gets a point.
• Ditto if nothing gets a rail after contact.
• If you play safe but sink a ball by accident, it's not a valid safety (after all, you'd be forced to shoot again
if you were playing a real game of 9b or 10b). Bring the ball back up and throw it somewhere random.
The incoming player doesn't have to kick it, since the safety wasn't valid. They can go directly to shot 2.
The "Rail option": Balls that end up frozen to the rail or hanging near the pockets can be almost useless for playing safe.
If any ball is less than a ball-width of a rail or pocket, the player can move it by tossing it somewhere random on the table.
This is strictly optional.
~~~~~
Other options - these are some tweaks you can make to fine-tune the game to various skill levels.
• Fewer balls makes it tougher to play a valid safe, but easier to kick.
• You can play with jump cues, which forces players to really lock down the cue ball.
• No "rail option" - balls in awkward positions stay there.
• To keep the scoring rapid, you can get a point for a successful safe no matter what,
and an extra point if the incoming player fails to kick it.
• Successful kicks could get a point also, just to keep the game moving and reward someone
whose kicking game outstrips their safety play.
=====================================
That's it. Racing to 5 points is a good quick game. 10 can take a long time with good players.
I can see this working as a gambling game, with maybe a few modifications.
Try it with league teammates as a training exercise, or just as something to break up the usual routine.
It's actually pretty fun and encourages creativity. You may even find yourself using 3-cushion shots in some situations.
It's actually safety and kicking practice, disguised as a fun* game.
*or not lol. But try it.
===============================================
SAFETIES - for lack of a better name.
Number of players: any
Number of balls used: 7 object balls placed randomly anywhere on the table. No cue ball.
Object of the game: Race to a certain number of points.
Starting the game
Scatter the 7 balls randomly around the table.
• The first player chooses any of the 7 balls as a cue ball, and any other ball as an object ball.
Then they hit the cue ball into the object ball, and hide them from each other (using some other ball as a blocker).
You're always hiding the cue ball from the first ball you touch. So it's similar to the safeties you'd play in 9 or 10 ball.
• The second player must then kick at the chosen object ball, with the chosen cue ball.
• If the kick is successful, nobody scores a point. But if it fails, the first player gets a point.
So to score, you must play a valid safety, and the opponent must fail to make a good hit.
This is the ONLY way to score a point.
• After the kick attempt, whether it's successful or not, the second player now gets to play his own safety
on the first player. Like the first player, he can choose any pair of balls to work with. You are always allowed
to pick any balls you want, regardless of which balls were used before.
So after the first shot, every player gets 2 shots: the first one is a kick, and the 2nd one is a safety.
-Player 1 safes
-Player 2 kicks
-Player 2 safes
-Player 1 kicks
-Player 1 safes
-Repeat
So what's a valid safety?
• the opponent must be 100% hooked, so he cannot shoot directly at the object ball.
If he can 'see' even a little edge of the object ball, it's not a valid safe.
• In that case, you can skip Shot 1 (the kick) and just go straight to shot 2 (the safety).
That means players of average skill will probably have a lot of turns with just one shot.
• If a ball is "debatable" (maybe you can see an edge, maybe not) then the player must try to hit it.
Fouls: There aren't any really, just try to make an honest hit. If you scratch, grab any object ball
from the ball return and throw it out randomly on the table. No ball ever stays down.
• If you successfully kick a ball but scratch, it's no good and the guy who played the safe gets a point.
• Ditto if nothing gets a rail after contact.
• If you play safe but sink a ball by accident, it's not a valid safety (after all, you'd be forced to shoot again
if you were playing a real game of 9b or 10b). Bring the ball back up and throw it somewhere random.
The incoming player doesn't have to kick it, since the safety wasn't valid. They can go directly to shot 2.
The "Rail option": Balls that end up frozen to the rail or hanging near the pockets can be almost useless for playing safe.
If any ball is less than a ball-width of a rail or pocket, the player can move it by tossing it somewhere random on the table.
This is strictly optional.
~~~~~
Other options - these are some tweaks you can make to fine-tune the game to various skill levels.
• Fewer balls makes it tougher to play a valid safe, but easier to kick.
• You can play with jump cues, which forces players to really lock down the cue ball.
• No "rail option" - balls in awkward positions stay there.
• To keep the scoring rapid, you can get a point for a successful safe no matter what,
and an extra point if the incoming player fails to kick it.
• Successful kicks could get a point also, just to keep the game moving and reward someone
whose kicking game outstrips their safety play.
=====================================
That's it. Racing to 5 points is a good quick game. 10 can take a long time with good players.
I can see this working as a gambling game, with maybe a few modifications.
Try it with league teammates as a training exercise, or just as something to break up the usual routine.
It's actually pretty fun and encourages creativity. You may even find yourself using 3-cushion shots in some situations.
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