Poolgame: Kill the King

[DaWizard]

Recreated it: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/13d64
Nice shot, but in comes my saboteur, sabotaging both your king and kingslayer:

New position: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/13d64

Oops the 8 moves also a little: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/bd23e

If I didnt know who your assassin was, then your 11 could be it as well! Then I had to gamble again or try some other saving shot.

 

[Pin]

Good shot. I had a hard time thinking about whether I had to take the 5 and sacrifice my 10 (which would be close to a stalemate-at-best postition in chess terms), but I think I found a good solution by recruiting a ball: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/71351

 

[DaWizard]

You couldnt take that 5 since your King was sabotaged!
Anyway, that recruit is a real pain in the ass. I'm retreating back to my half with a safety that I'd totally blow in real life:

New situation: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/68856
(I did not tuck that 3 behind the 8 on purpose!)

 

[Pin]

You couldnt take that 5 since your King was sabotaged!

Oh no! I thought it was my 10 and 11 that were sabotaged! It's been a long day


After an unreasonable amount of thinking and changing my mind, I push the 10 to the long rail: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/0e98f

 

[DaWizard]

After an unreasonable amount of thinking and changing my mind, I push the 10 to the long rail: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/0e98f
View attachment 697085

I think this is the first time we did a shot without moving other balls. It's legal but somehow we hardly do it.

It feels kinda lame, but I recruited the 4: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/788bb

 

[Pin]

I wonder whether that's because just rolling a ball somewhere usually doesn't achieve enough, or if it's just because a pool player doesn't naturally think of that kind of shot. Perhaps time will tell!

I'll shoot the 4 into your king and draw back to the rail: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/3eaba

 

[Pin]

Odd behavior from the link! (Hopefully easy to fix.) Maybe chalkysticks can't cope with a lot of lines.

 

[DaWizard]

I wonder whether that's because just rolling a ball somewhere usually doesn't achieve enough, or if it's just because a pool player doesn't naturally think of that kind of shot. Perhaps time will tell!

I'll shoot the 4 into your king and draw back to the rail: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/3eaba

I had the same thoughts and don't know the answer either. Usually you just want to do a little more. Well have to see indeed.

I remade the entire diagram: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/f5445
(hmm your king and 12 are slightly off, please adjust to your taste)
I recruited the 6. I should have a material advantage, lets see if I can make this work!

(ps: you had a jump on my king last turn )

 

[Pin]

(ps: you had a jump on my king last turn )

Hah, you're right. I should probably have tried for that.

I shoot the 10 off the 6, to the opposite long rail: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/b799f

Although it occurs to me after that I could have just shot the 10 without hitting the 6.

 

[Pin]

That was a great placement of the 6, by the way

 

[DaWizard]

Hah, you're right. I should probably have tried for that.

I shoot the 10 off the 6, to the opposite long rail: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/b799f

I answer with: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/9f0b9
(10 is sabotaged)

 

[Pin]

I'll kick my 11 into your king, sabotaging him: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/d5590

 

[DaWizard]

I'll kick my 11 into your king, sabotaging him: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/d5590

I bump my king back with my 3: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/680f2
(on mobile so I cant draw the lines)
Thought I was in quite some danger but this was a relatively easy shot.

 

[Pin]

I'll use my 11 to bank your king for the corner. I probably miss, but I disable your king: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/a0558

 

[DaWizard]

You got me by the balls! This would be what I'd be able to do in real life. I see some possibilities with very low odds for me to pull off.

So: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/c82fd

Another nice parallel with chess: you can have the material advantage, but if you dont have material advantage in the proximity of your king...

 

[Pin]

I think from there I've got to try cutting your king (with the 3 widening the pocket), but let's say I miss: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/e1e4a

I was wondering about planning a few moves ahead (as you might in chess). It feels like in theory, moves like forking, revealing and attack, and pinning should be possible (I'm probably using some wrong terms there!), but in practice, because you can change so much with one shot, and attack important pieces very quickly, the chess ploys don't seem to work out... On the other hand, maybe they'd come with experience.

 

[DaWizard]

I think from there I've got to try cutting your king (with the 3 widening the pocket), but let's say I miss: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/e1e4a

I was wondering about planning a few moves ahead (as you might in chess). It feels like in theory, moves like forking, revealing and attack, and pinning should be possible (I'm probably using some wrong terms there!), but in practice, because you can change so much with one shot, and attack important pieces very quickly, the chess ploys don't seem to work out... On the other hand, maybe they'd come with experience.

Lucky me Yes, so far my tactical foresight is 1 move ahead. Not really like it works in chess. I could imagine recruiting the 2 somewhere so that it 'covers' 2 or 3 pockets for a future attack on the King. Something like that. It does feel like I'm on the backfoot for a while now and am scrambling to get my King safe every shot.

Here again I'm in quite the pickle. And we encounter a situation that is not yet defined properly. I was thinking about shooting my saboteur into your King. In my opinion you have to use the Saboteur as cue ball in order to sabotage. And not only that: you have to call which balls you plan on sabotaging. To prevent crazy hammer shots on the saboteur in the hopes to sabotage as much as possible, but also because I think the saboteur is already strong as it is.

My shot: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/c7831
A little further than intended.
This shot poses for me a question for evaluation: is "it's allowed to hit nothing" too easy (a roll like I did just now)?
If it's not allowed, what could be the punishment? (not allowed to recruit anything next turn? not allowed to attack the enemy King next turn?)

 

[DaWizard]

Full Game Kill the King: Pin vs DaWizard


Quick recap: all rulles of the recruitment phase
For the recruitment phase we have 11 points to buy balls. The cost of a ball is equal to the number on the ball. The King is free. Balls can only be placed on your own half of the table. The 8 is a neutral ball and is placed in the center. The last player to place a ball does NOT start. If you don't spend all your points you can reorder your recruitment queue (balls that have not been recruited). If you don't have a point to spend, they're sorted in numerical order from weak to strong.
Before placing our first ball we messaged our ref Tomatoshooter which ball is the Assassin: a secret Kingslayer.
Behind the link are the remaining points noted for each player.

So here's the opening, I place the 1: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/15050 11 - 1 = 10

I place the 11(=3): https://pad.chalkysticks.com/ba073 11 - 3 = 8

Added the 3: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/76839 10 - 3 = 7

Added the 14(=6): https://pad.chalkysticks.com/de4de 8 - 6 = 2

As an experiment I will place my King early: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/5ee9d 7 - 0 = 7 (king = free)

Also as an experiment, I place my king here: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/d6ce2 2 - 0 = 2

I place the 5, not my last ball: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/a726c 7 - 5 = 2

I place the 2: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/66fa3 2 - 2 = 0 (no more points to spend)

My final ball: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/e9a8c 2 - 2 = 0 (no more points + last to place a ball)

DaWizard: 11 - 1 - 3 - 0 - 5 - 2 = 0 points left
Pin: 11 - 3 - 6 - 0 - 2 = 0 points left

Neither of us has points left to reorder our reservist queue and Pin is to start, since I was the last player that placed a ball.

So that concludes the recruitment phase, and that got us to this position:

From here on the player has two options:
1) make a shot (preferably pot an enemy ball or shoot balls in a more favorable position)
2) recruit the first ball in line from the reservist queue (Pin places his on the right half, I place mine on the left)
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Now the game starts: (I was last to place a ball, so Pin starts)

I bank the 2 for the corner but miss https://pad.chalkysticks.com/f22d3

Ill pot the 6: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/fb283

The 6 turned out to be the assassin of Pin, he confessed. He did not have to tell, but that was not yet strictly defined in the rules.
The red ball (11/3) is the Saboteur. Shoot it into an enemy ball and he can't use it as a cue ball next turn.

I shoot your two in CP and draw into the 3 (sabotaging it for the next turn): https://pad.chalkysticks.com/77690

I kick my king via the head rail into your 11 (his saboteur), kicking it uptable: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/44994

Instead of shooting a player can recruit a ball from his reservist-queue. He must take the first one in line and place it on his side of the table.

I recruit the 9-ball: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/ed044

I pot the fresh recruit, but scratch in the sidepocket.

Position after the shot: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/15208

I bank your king up-table. As I used the 11, he's now sabotaged: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/13d64

I use my saboteur to sabotage your 10 (Kingslayer) and King:

New position: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/bd23e

Ill recruit the 12: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/71351

That recruit is a real pain in the ass. I'm retreating back to my half with a safety that I'd totally blow in real life:

New situation: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/68856

After an unreasonable amount of thinking and changing my mind, I push the 10 to the long rail: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/0e98f

It feels kinda lame, but I recruited the 4: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/788bb

I'll shoot the 4 into your king and draw back to the rail: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/3eaba

You could've tried a jumpshot with your 2 on my King!

I've recruited the 6: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/f5445

Hah, you're right. I should probably have tried for that.

I shoot the 10 off the 6, to the opposite long rail: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/b799f

I answer with: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/9f0b9
(10 is sabotaged)

Ill add the rest later, got to go

 

[Pin]

In my opinion you have to use the Saboteur as cue ball in order to sabotage. And not only that: you have to call which balls you plan on sabotaging. To prevent crazy hammer shots on the saboteur in the hopes to sabotage as much as possible, but also because I think the saboteur is already strong as it is.

Interesting. If you had to call balls to sabotage, you'd need a punishment for missing them. Maybe 'if you don't hit all the balls you call, nothing gets sabotaged'? Or maybe you can only call one ball (but the current rule incentivises interesting caroms, which is good). Maybe you can call two balls?

I think I agree about using the saboteur as CB, but we could test the alternative too, to see how it works.

This shot poses for me a question for evaluation: is "it's allowed to hit nothing" too easy (a roll like I did just now)?
If it's not allowed, what could be the punishment? (not allowed to recruit anything next turn? not allowed to attack the enemy King next turn?)

Personally, I like the 'hit nothing' rule. The game is as much about positioning and strategy as shot-making, and we aren't using the hit-nothing roll shot much, so far...

 

[Pin]

It does feel like I'm on the backfoot for a while now and am scrambling to get my King safe every shot.

Hah, I've felt on the back foot too, with my 10 and 11 very exposed, so it works both ways!

I use the 10 to bump your king toward the long rail: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/8fa41