Game preference: Bonus Ball or 9-Ball?

bdorman said:

To my knowledge, the only two games that have been designed/featured for modern television have been Bonus Ball and 9-ball (think Mosconi Cup).

They both have their pros and cons. But from the view of a knowledgeable spectator (I consider all AZers to be knowledgeable spectators), which game do you prefer...and why?

Please answer as a spectator, not a player.

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It is too bad only people could take this poll if they have actually watched more than one match of Bonus Ball. :grin:

Fast Lenny said:

It is too bad only people could take this poll if they have actually watched more than one match of Bonus Ball. :grin:

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Well -

Watching one pocket wasn't on the list.

Ken

Ken_4fun said:

Well -

Watching one pocket wasn't on the list.

Ken

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Agreed....watching one-pocket can be confusing.....
...so is watching football
...it didn't hurt football.

pt109 said:

Agreed....watching one-pocket can be confusing.....
...so is watching football
...it didn't hurt football.

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Watching bonus ball is way more confusing then 1hole.

I'd honestly rather watch Bonus Ball than 9 ball. In fact I turned off the Swanee last night to watch yhe WPBL Championship.

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I am still warming up to bonus ball. There are some aspects to the presentation of it that kinda get on my nerves, but not anything that has to do with the game. It is a young game and has some....aspects that are a bit novel and sometimes has a feel that the core of the game is just...how do I say this...like someone said 'hey, lets just make some complex procedure for the sake of making a new game?' and once the novelty wears off, it is just another game like kelly or cowboy. Heard of by many, played by some, but mostly just another set of rules filed away in book or played on a rainy day for fun.

I'm still a big Nine Ball fan but have actually started to enjoy BB and hope they come back after this first season. Hey, if it's good for pool and hopefully attracting new players/viewers/fans then I'm all for it!!!

I get an ab/chest workout sweating bonus ball.


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Bonus ball is the most entertaining cue sport to watch I have ever seen - including all disciplines including snooker and English 8 ball.

Watching 9 ball since that's a game I'll be playing. Have watched BB just didn't blow me away.

Don't get me wrong, I like watching pool of all kinds. I'm still struggling to support a product that has done so much damage to the events I LOVED watching. That's my biggest problem. The fact that they have seemingly alienated almost all other products/organizations in pool just turns me off.

I have watched two matches though. The game is confusing at first, but it's fairly easy to catch on. There are some fun shots to watch, and good pool being played. The teams seem to gel fairly well. It seems professional, and looks good as a product. Something shiney and new, yet just can't seem to capture my interest.

The team concept I really like. But that being said... The teams being from here, there and everywhere just seems silly. (I'm guessing only 1 of the "Minnesota Outlaws", has ever even been to MN...)

All of that being said, i just can't seem to catch the bug. I try to watch, and just can't seem to care for it. I'm all for getting players paid, supporting the industry, etc. It all just seems out of touch for me.

Bonusball without a doubt in my mind is the better game for spectators of all levels.

The concept is simple enough for the casual sports fan to follow: purple, orange, black, in 3 labeled pockets to 30 pts. Plus the game is filled with much more drama that the casual fan can enjoy.

The game also has enough strategy and skill needed to keep even the best players challenged and that is fun for the hardcores to watch.

And for the sports gambler it is a dream come true. It is easy to assign a handicap, has plenty of prop bets, and you can bet on each game within the match individually too.

I started watching BB by accessing the archived footage. I downloaded the rules and read them over. All new games seem awkward and confusing at first, but as I watched the game played, I really started to enjoy the game and identify some of the components they incorporated from other pool games. When I was in Vegas and saw Brett selling 15 ball sets of BB, I jumped all over them. I've also started introducing some of my buddies to BB and the interest is growing.

I think we just need to stop bashing and listening to the nay-sayers and give it and honest chance. You can't give it an honest chance by watching 10 minutes of video, then posting a bashing thread. Watch 3 or 4 full matches and try to figure out the rules that confuse you, I think you will be pleasantly surprised how fun it can be and the available strategies in the game.

Just my 2-cents worth

Jason

jhanso18 said:

Don't get me wrong, I like watching pool of all kinds. I'm still struggling to support a product that has done so much damage to the events I LOVED watching. That's my biggest problem. The fact that they have seemingly alienated almost all other products/organizations in pool just turns me off.

I have watched two matches though. The game is confusing at first, but it's fairly easy to catch on. There are some fun shots to watch, and good pool being played. The teams seem to gel fairly well. It seems professional, and looks good as a product. Something shiney and new, yet just can't seem to capture my interest.

The team concept I really like. But that being said... The teams being from here, there and everywhere just seems silly. (I'm guessing only 1 of the "Minnesota Outlaws", has ever even been to MN...)

All of that being said, i just can't seem to catch the bug. I try to watch, and just can't seem to care for it. I'm all for getting players paid, supporting the industry, etc. It all just seems out of touch for me.

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Just to clarify.... Jesse Engel is a Minnesota native and Thorsten Hohmann is moving to Minneapolis to open a large pool room downtown.

I mostly watch pool based on who's playing and how much I care about the rivalry or the stakes.
I don't really care that deeply about which particular game they're playing.

But looking at JUST games and nothing else, Bonus Ball is more entertaining (for me).

9-ball is paint by numbers. There's no suspense in what ball they'll shoot, it's a given.
There's no guessing what ball they'll play shape for, it's a given.
And generally you know what pocket every ball will go into, 10 seconds after the break.

With bonus ball, there are a few choices (unlike 9b), but it's not like 8b where
there are so many choices you can just build your own roadmap.
And there are moves to leave the opponents semi-safe on their holes.
There's lots of tough shots that players hesitate to try, and it's fun to see
them come up with 2-way position to make these shots worth firing at.

Part of it is the newness of the game too, I've seen 100,000 racks of 9b and only a few dozen of BB.

But what I like about bonus ball is, I can't predict what the players will do.
That makes it interesting. There's a little strategy. Not as much as 1p, but the tradeoff
is you can't get endless games where all the balls are wedged in the kitchen either.
A BB rack/match is over in a reasonable timeframe.

One of the really cool things is watching/learning safeties/digs/two-way banks etc. but then in the shootouts which happen a lot it's 100% offense and they go for shots you've never ever seen them go for.


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Teams from here and there that never even promoted in their city was totally a Larry Chiborak idea. The reason there was no formal promotion was the financial costs of doing this. Of course it makes sense but Chiborak struggled to even launch, never mind promote. This is a fact that has been covered since day one on here.

One thing Chiborak did do was raise enough capitol to at least build an arena and at least buy equipment and fulfill his vision. A mini-season and a $120k playoff was reasonable compared to almost no income generated. The million dollar promise was ridiculous and never was in the cards. I'm going to give him an A for trying and a F for business sense.

The game needs to be re-worked. That is no secret. It is very slow most of the time, which is no surprise, considering it is a One Pocket clone. The excitement from the play-offs was not so much the game but the excitement that it was urgent to win or go home! No matter how slow the games go as the balls dwindle, it still is far more entertaining than nine ball. Season two? I hope so, can it happen, doubt it. I see him trying to raise more funds to do another mini-season. I see him having to convince investors to anti up again and maybe find another couple of new investors to fund season two. Most rich people like to play with their money. They don't alway care if they make money. Some like to be part of fun stuff. Bonus Ball is just that. No income but fun to watch.

Vpbb always said, great game that has a poor leader. If Chibby would have just raised money and let Bremner continue to operate the pool end of the business, including the construction of the arena and location, this might have a different ending. Bremner is a solid pool player who ran many amateur events and had a strong grasp on reality. Chibby needed to hustle for money and let Bremner and Nathan do their stuff.

meximan2469 said:

Just to clarify.... Jesse Engel is a Minnesota native and Thorsten Hohmann is moving to Minneapolis to open a large pool room downtown.

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Any more info might be in Minneapolis this summer.