Party Games

[Str8PoolMan]

Hi folks,
A co-worker is having a social gathering at his house on Saturday, Feb. 4. He has a pool table so, of course, I will be playing. While I am not a very good player, I can usually trounce the average banger. So I was looking for some games that could be played at the party that would allow a maximum number of people to get time at the table. I don't want people to get tired of me holding the table (I want to get invited back) and I have never been good at laying down. Also, most people act a little indignant if you try to give them weight in a game at a party (if only they felt that way when I was gambling).

So any good party pool games out there?

Of course, now that I have bragged on myself, I probably won't win a game all night.

 

[scottycoyote]

try introducing the old "race you to 5 for your wife" game

 

[Barbara]

Play Cutthroat (search for earlier thread on this game).

Three people can play at one time and the King (Queen) of the game holds the table while two newbies come in for each game.

Barbara

 

[TheBook]

Try playing pea pool. It is a rotation game and there are no fouls for ball in hand to the next player. You make your ball you win and everyone pays you, someone else makes your ball, you pay and are out of the game.

Another is poker pool. Everyone is dealt a five card hand. You can either play in rotation or shoot in any ball. When all of your balls are in you win no matter who is shooting. Ties go to the shooter. Ranking, suits and etc don't have anything to do with who wins, naturally if you have 3 or 4 of a kind you only have to make 2 or 3 balls to win.

Another would be 3 ball. Everyone ante ups and take turns trying to shoot in a rack of 3 balls with the least amount of shots. If there is a tie everone antes up again and all the money carries over until there is only one winner. A variation is besides the ante you also pay for every shot it takes to sink all 3 balls. A scratch is counted as an addtional shot and if a ball is made it is spotted. The cueball is then played from behind the line.

 

[Mind4Pool]

Here's a game called "Killer Pool".

You place everyone who wants to play on a list. They can put a dollar each for a prize pool or any other amount if they are willing.

Each player in turn will take a single shot. Flukes count so if you have someone who is inexperienced or an amateur, they can hit anything and hope.

If they make a ball, you just go to the next player and they take a shot.

If they miss or scratch the cue ball, they get an "X".

Fouls entitle the next player to shoot from the headstring and shoot in any direction.

Three X's and they are eliminated.

Once you go through the list, you simply go back to the top and keep going.

The best players should be able to stay in but so do the lucky ones and everyone will start oohh-ing and aww-ing as they fluke balls in.

This game is a great crowd pleaser for parties.

If you make the groups too big, it will be hard to gather everyone early on in the game so someone should keep score and call out who's next to shoot.

I have played this game with up to 20 people but that could take a while if there are alot of good shooters. Around 8 to 10 players is good.

I there are alot of people, split them up into different groups and have the winners play in a finale.

The breaker get's an extra turn if they do not make a ball but will still get an X if they scratch a ball into a pocket.

When all the balls are sunk, you simply re-rack and the next player breaks under the rules above.

Hope you enjoy this game. I have found that even non-players have fun and are involved since you don't need skill to play but you do need skill and some luck to win.

It's called Killer Pool since the two main objectives of the game are to make a ball and then to leave a tough shot for the next player.

Mind4Pool

 

[kyle]

There's a version of golf (not the gambling game) using a few balls for each hole (2 balls=par 3, 3 balls=par 4 etc) similar to 3 ball but each hole is arranged differently.http://www.palason.ca/a_billiard_golf_game.htm

 

[Cornerman]

Hi folks,
A co-worker is having a social gathering at his house on Saturday, Feb. 4. He has a pool table so, of course, I will be playing. While I am not a very good player, I can usually trounce the average banger. So I was looking for some games that could be played at the party that would allow a maximum number of people to get time at the table. I don't want people to get tired of me holding the table (I want to get invited back) and I have never been good at laying down. Also, most people act a little indignant if you try to give them weight in a game at a party (if only they felt that way when I was gambling).

So any good party pool games out there?

Of course, now that I have bragged on myself, I probably won't win a game all night.

Scotch Doubles. If there are, say, six people, you can play Scotch Triples.

Fred

 

[chefjeff]

3 ball....It's perfect for a party and one table. Each person can put in a dollar or whatever. Anyone can quit at anytime.

The nice thing about 3-ball is the party doesn't have to be constantly involved with the pool game. You just shoot when you turn comes up and then go back to whatever you were doing before. And the game can last for the whole party.

Jeff Livingston

 

[CaptainJR]

I had groups of varied talent at my house to play. I have everyone play bowliards. Rack 10 balls, player breaks and continues with ball in hand behind the head string. makes as many as they can. That would be the first square bowling score. If they make them all it is a strike. If the miss they get one more chance. If the make the rest of them it is a spare. If they make a couple more that would be the second square on a bowling sheet. Keep score just like bowling. Play as many or as few people as you want. If you have a lot of players. Three or four frame games works good. You can also handicap this if you know the people there. I play that I have to make the balls in rotation. Maybe the children get two misses per square, etc.

 

[CaptainHook]

Scotch Doubles.
Fred

Boy/Girl Doubles or Guys against the Girls is always fun.

This is your best bet. Most everyone knows how to play 8 ball, so you wont have to explain a bunch of rules all night. Just pick teams and play.
You can mix it up by playing, incoming team breaks, that way everyone gets a chance and there will be no hard feelings when you and your partner destroy them all.

Girls with short skirts get picked first.

 

[macguy]

Hi folks,
A co-worker is having a social gathering at his house on Saturday, Feb. 4. He has a pool table so, of course, I will be playing. While I am not a very good player, I can usually trounce the average banger. So I was looking for some games that could be played at the party that would allow a maximum number of people to get time at the table. I don't want people to get tired of me holding the table (I want to get invited back) and I have never been good at laying down. Also, most people act a little indignant if you try to give them weight in a game at a party (if only they felt that way when I was gambling).

So any good party pool games out there?

Of course, now that I have bragged on myself, I probably won't win a game all night.

Scotch can be fun with mis matched players. In general it is best to just let them play and not try to be the center of attention if they can't play at all. There is no real need for you to play, let them have their fun. You'll get a sense of the situation when you are there and try not to be a showoff.

 

[Cornerman]

Boy/Girl Doubles or Guys against the Girls is always fun.

Just in case there was some confusion, although many parts of the country play Scotch Doubles as Man/Woman teams, I normally call non-gender specifica alternating shots as "Scotch Doubles." Mixed Scotch Doubles would be Men/Women specifically.

IMO, my way is consistent with other sports. Scotch Doubles is borrowed from golf. Mixed Doubles is borrowed from tennis.

Fred

 

[DaveK]

There's a version of golf (not the gambling game) using a few balls for each hole (2 balls=par 3, 3 balls=par 4 etc) similar to 3 ball but each hole is arranged differently.http://www.palason.ca/a_billiard_golf_game.htm

Folks the game Kyle refers to is a GREAT party game. I've said it before, but it really deserves mentioning again, it is the best game to play with a bunch of people with different skill levels. Everyone gets a chance at the table on a regular basis. The best shooters turns are over quickly, they cannot dominate the table. The poorest shooters get the most time at the table, but the 8 stroke maximum rule limits any embarasement. You can easily handicap the game, we give a ball on 1 to 18 holes. The way we play is that the handicapped shooter can physically remove a ball from the table anytime after they break (on a handicapped hole only, you pick how many holes and what holes).

It also works a test game for more serious players, kinda like the Skills or DM Tournament type games. It provides a mechanism to measure offensive pool skills.

Just out of curiosity I checked out the link the Kyle provided. While the game is pretty much the same as the one I play, my board shows different ball patterns. As an example, the standard 3-ball rack is hole #1 on my board, and hole #5 on the linked board. There are a few patterns on the link that do not appear on my board. Kinda makes you want to say "hmmmmm".

Dave

<edit by Dave!> I just saw this on rsb of all places http://www.eaglepoolballs.com/ .... interesting balls

 

[Mike Templeton]

Just in case there was some confusion, although many parts of the country play Scotch Doubles as Man/Woman teams, I normally call non-gender specifica alternating shots as "Scotch Doubles." Mixed Scotch Doubles would be Men/Women specifically.

IMO, my way is consistent with other sports. Scotch Doubles is borrowed from golf. Mixed Doubles is borrowed from tennis.

Fred

And there is always "Strip" Scotch Doubles. I've lost on purpose when I had the correct partner

Mike

 

[sniper]

3 ball....It's perfect for a party and one table. Each person can put in a dollar or whatever. Anyone can quit at anytime.

The nice thing about 3-ball is the party doesn't have to be constantly involved with the pool game. You just shoot when you turn comes up and then go back to whatever you were doing before. And the game can last for the whole party.

Jeff Livingston

I was gonna suggest the same game, the best thing about 3 ball is that no one will be left out, you can have as many (or as little) players as you want. This game is great if you want to socialize and play pool as well.
PM me if you need the rules.

 

[Snapshot9]

Chinese 9 ball

You're going to love this one. Divide up into teams of 3-4 players.
Team members take turns on a rack of 9 ball. When the 9 ball is
the only ball left on table, the incoming team member has to pick
up the 9 ball without using their hands, and pass it to the next
team member. The remaining team members are spread out around
the table. A complete circle of the table has to be done when passing
the 9 ball without hands (usually under chins) and when last team
member gets ball and table has been circled, they let the 9 ball roll
back onto the table and shoot the 9 ball in.
Each team is timed from opening break till the 9 drops.
The team with the lowest time gets a prize of some kind.

or you could just play 'bob' for the 9 ball .... lol

 

[smittie1984]

Ghetto Pong. You take a cue stick and lay it from 1 side pocket to another. Then you play ping pong on your table.

You can also buy ping pong conversion tops where you can play my favorite game of all time. Beer Pong. I can expand on that if wanted.