Great Party Game for Home Tables

TX Poolnut

TX Poolnut

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Several years ago, a friend suggested the following game when we got bored with the same ole thing. He didn’t have a name for it so we call it Ducks (named for all the ducks sitting on the table). It can be played with any number of players so it makes for a really great party game if you have a home table and it’s harder than it looks. Let me know what ya’ll think.
Play begins with the following setup- two clusters of three balls on the footspot and headspot and 6 ducks hanging in the pockets.

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The object is to score a predetermined number of points. Each ball is worth one point. Try to pocket all 12 balls without missing. You must shoot all 6 ducks without disturbing the clusters. Player 1 starts out with ball in hand behind the headstring and shoots one of the ducks (or two in one shot if you’re feeling sporty). The next and subsequent ducks must be shot also without disturbing the clusters. The hard part is that Player 2 calls which duck Player 1 shoots! Obviously, the ideal position is center table after every shot. You’d be surprised just how tough this part of the game can be.

After all 6 ducks have been shot, the shooter gets one shot into one cluster to spread them out and then three shots to clear those three balls. Repeat with the second cluster for a total of 12 possible points in an inning. For an even greater challenge, you can move the ducks away from the pockets a bit. Whenever I have a party here at home, this is usually the game we all play because any number of players can participate. We usually race to 50 or 100 points and everyone throws in 10 or 20 bucks winner take all. I’ve seen all sorts of variations of this game. What do you guys think?:)
 
I haven't manage to find time or means how to learn and read those diagrams.
Regardles I run No Limt Holdem games on my home table :D
 
To make it even tougher, leave the rack over the 3 ball cluster...you aren't allowed to hit the rack with the cue ball. The rack comes off after all the ducks have been made. Now the ideal spot for the cue is much smaller and closer to the middle of the headstring.
Steve
 
When someone misses, do you reset the balls on the table or does the incoming player take the table as it lies?
 
When someone misses, the table is reset. If a player runs the table his inning is over (We've been thinking of changing that one though). Maybe reseting the table and playing the cue where it lies sort of like 14.1. Also occasionally a duck will be knocked away from it's original hole. We play that the ball must always be made where it originally started. If the sixth duck is shot and the cue hits a cluster, your inning is over. Slop counts but you must make the ball that was originally nominated. You can adjust the rules to your liking. This game will either sharpen your position skills or make you one heck of a kicker. We've toyed with NO jump shots too.
 
We play Bowliards at my house only I have to shoot the ten ball in rotation except for the first shot to get position on the one. My daughter is starting to do pretty good.
 
I've posted this to Billiards Drills .com (here). TX, if you'd like your real name and/or any other credit, please let me know. I'm always happy to give credit where it's due, and I did the best in this draft with what info I had available to me (the URL to this thread and your screen name was about it!).
 
TX Poolnut said:
After all 6 ducks have been shot, the shooter gets one shot into one cluster to spread them out and then three shots to clear those three balls.
Click to expand...

Quick question, you say that you get one shot to break the cluster and then 3 shots to make those balls. Do you get 3 shots regardless of if you miss one of the 3 balls or does your inning end whenever you miss?

Also, do you have to leave the second cluster undesturbed while shooting the balls from the first one or only while shooting the ducks?

Thanks!
 
NeZ said:
Quick question, you say that you get one shot to break the cluster and then 3 shots to make those balls. Do you get 3 shots regardless of if you miss one of the 3 balls or does your inning end whenever you miss?

Also, do you have to leave the second cluster undesturbed while shooting the balls from the first one or only while shooting the ducks?
Click to expand...

Do not disturb a cluster until all 6 ducks are dead. You get one free shot at either of the two clusters. After they are spread out, you get three shots to clear all three of those OB's. You then get one shot to break open the other cluster and then three shots to pot those three balls. You must not disturb either cluster until it is time to spread them out and only one at a time. Your inning always ends when you miss or when you unintentionally touch a cluster.
 
Oh, one more question...is the opening shot at a duck picked by the opponent or do you get to choose which ball to shoot first and then the opponent picks the subsequent ducks?
 
When we first started, we let ourselves off easy. Nowdays we play that the first duck is chosen by the opponent (usually a bank out of the kitchen to one of the two behind the line). The great thing about this game is that it can be adjusted to accomodate any skill level.
 
Yeah, that might be a little too hard for me and my friends. I think we'll either go with shooter gets to choose the first duck or one of the following...

1) Opponent chooses but can't pick one of the two ducks in the kitchen.

2) Opponent chooses but no requirement to shoot out of the kitchen prior to pocketing one of those ducks.
 
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