Poolgame: Kill the King

Ah that's a good one! And yes, I'd be able simulate my play (I will take my best form though, from 10 years ago: shaky on long pots, love english, sometimes a bit too much getting out of position, liked Banks and talking a risk).

So current situation: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/08d5e
I recruited the 12 (= the 4-ball)

Pin: 12 - 1 = 11 points left.
DaWizard: 12 - 4 = 8 points left

To reiterate the rules of the recruitment phase:
You can spend up to 12 points. You don't have to buy in numerical order. The King is free.
If you leave points unspend you can use them to reorder the reservist-queue (cost = 1 point per ball). This allows you to move a ball up or down the queue.
 
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I place the 6:

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I place the 3

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I place the 7 and I'm finished

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ChalkySticks Pad is an advanced billiards / pool diagramming tool. Recreate any pool situation on a variety of different table types and share with others.
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That is very cheeky. I was sure you were going to place your 2 (Kingslayer) somewhere and then I had the possibility of placing a very offensive King, threatening this shot: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/ff505

But you didn't, and now I'm in a little bit of a predicament. I place my King here: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/54398

You have 2 points left to reorder your reservist queue. Both are by default in numerical order. Do you want to change the order? (you can change up to 2 balls, after that the points are lost)
Also I will send @tomatoshooter the number of the ball that is my Assassin. If you do the same, we are ready to go.

(and I'll be away untill a couple hours from now)
 
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Ah, I like your idea. It would have been a good shot.

I've swapped my 4 and 5, and messaged Tomatoshooter.

As you have no points left (and to keep us moving along), I've taken the liberty of taking the first 'shot', which is to recruit the 2:

ChalkySticks Pad

ChalkySticks Pad is an advanced billiards / pool diagramming tool. Recreate any pool situation on a variety of different table types and share with others.
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The current state of the game:
king1.jpg

So the recruitment phase is done. I have to say I quite enjoyed it! It feels very tactical: every turn there are various tactical options. Which ball will I place and where? What will you do and do I need to react?

Not necessarily for now, but two questions for evaluation:
- is 12 points too much? Would 11 be better?
- when to assign the role of Assassin? Personally I think it's overpowered to assign after the Kings are placed. I think it's better to assign just before the King is placed. I can't think of a scenario where you wouldn't want the King to be placed last. So perhaps it should be a rule: place your recruits, assign the role of Assassin and then place the King.

Reiterate the rules
To reiterate the rules: each turn the player has two options:
1) recruit the first ball in line of the reservist queue (for you that was the 2-ball, for me it's the 9-ball)
2) make a shot

And for 2) we obviously prefer to take down an enemy ball by shooting one that is lower or equally numbered.
But really you can do anything. You can just role one of your balls somewhere without touching anything. Just don't pot your own balls, that's by definition detrimental. (King = loss, other balls go to the back of your queue)

Back to our game
My first response was: banking that 2 with my King is about my favorite shot. And place my King safe behind my Saboteur (11). But that would leave my 12 wide open and vulnerable.
Another option would be to place the 1 in between the 2 and my King in such a way that a cannon is almost impossble. But that somehow seemed weak.

So I decided to attack the Kingslayer with my 3 (11-ball): https://pad.chalkysticks.com/424bd
The cut was too thick though, rattling the pocket. Since your 2-ball has been touched by my Saboteur, you cannot use your 2 as a cue ball this turn. And I regret my choice of shot :)
 
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I enjoyed the placement bit too. I think that could be at least half of winning the game.

Regarding rules about placing the king, it's your game and your choice, but my view would be the fewer rules the better (and where there are rules, the simpler the better), so I'd say allow the king to be placed at any time, but if everyone does it last, so be it.

Maybe the assassin could be nominated before any balls are placed?

I have no view about whether 12 is the right number, I think it would take a bit of experimentation to see what was best. 12 seems to work fairly well though.

--------

For my shot, I roll the 3 into the 15, gently breaking the 15-12 cluster. The 3-ball didn't hit the 12 (because I was worried about the 12 blocking the 15's lane to the corner pocket), so it's still 'live' for the next shot. But I think I've put you in a tricky position. (On first reading, I wasn't sure the saboteur would be much use, but I'm starting to see the possibilities...)

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ChalkySticks Pad is an advanced billiards / pool diagramming tool. Recreate any pool situation on a variety of different table types and share with others.
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This is pretty interesting. I know you are still fine tuning the rules, but have you thought about a simplified version to introduce people to the game? It may not be as complicated as I think, but if you could show someone the simple game, and once they understand the concept, introduce more detailed rules that add nuance, it may be easier to appeal to people. Then again I guess I could come up with a simplified version on my own to introduce the game.
 
tomatoshooter said:
This is pretty interesting. I know you are still fine tuning the rules, but have you thought about a simplified version to introduce people to the game? It may not be as complicated as I think, but if you could show someone the simple game, and once they understand the concept, introduce more detailed rules that add nuance, it may be easier to appeal to people. Then again I guess I could come up with a simplified version on my own to introduce the game.
Click to expand...
Good idea! A simplified version would have less of everything. Fewer balls, fewer roles.

Balls 1 to 5, 1 being the kingslayer, 5 being the King. 8 (= the wall) I would keep. No saboteur or assassin.

Supersimple:
Player setup their balls on one half, one by one until all 5 balls are placed. No reservist queue; potted balls are lost. Unless illegally potted. Go hunt for the King!

Simple
At the beginning both players get 8 points to purchase and place balls. A reservist queue is used.

Up to the players to use the saboteur. With just 5 balls the assassin is pointless.

Other simplified version
All balls and all roles, just not a recruitment phase and no reservist queue.
So on each half you and the opponent place their balls, taking turns. And then it's game on. Balls do not return on the table, unless illegally potted.
 
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I love that use of a reservist, to create a blocker. I hadn't thought of that!

I use my 3-ball to pocket your 12 and run into the 15/king, bumping him back into trouble.

This game could be very good for teaching people to do 2+ things with one shot.

ChalkySticks Pad

ChalkySticks Pad is an advanced billiards / pool diagramming tool. Recreate any pool situation on a variety of different table types and share with others.
pad.chalkysticks.com pad.chalkysticks.com
 
Pin said:
Oh no, I just realized I can't pocket the 12 with the 3. Oh well. Illegally pocketed ball then!
Click to expand...
Yeah, up to you if you want to turn back? Id be fine with that. If we continue this is the current rule for potting a ball with a higher number:

If you shoot and the ball that was wrongfully potted was your opponents' ball it results in respotting the ball anywhere on the table. In the next turn however, the ball cannot be used as a cueball and in the turn of the opponent it cannot be called - it's immune, so to say. The immune, respotted ball(s) may however be moved by other balls.
Click to expand...
Edit: illegally potting the ball could also be done intentionally by the way.

Edit2: in fact this rule might not really work. Say I managed to get my King in a place where I got 2 options: pot your 6 or the 4. You're almost certainly losing one. So instead you just wrongfully pot the King with either of them. I could put it back, but per the rule it cant be used as a cueball. And so you've saved yourself from the situation. Hmm this seems like quite the loophole.
Ons the other hand: per the rules you can also not even pot it but just bumps it away with the 4 or 6 in this hypothetical situation. A fully legal shot.
 
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Let's keep my shot to illegally pocket the 12, and we'll see what the consequences are!

---

In your example, I suppose if the 4 and 6 were both hanging in a pocket, moving the king might not help much (it's likely at least one of them would be accessible), but pocketing the king could be useful (for the reasons you gave). So illegally pocketing a ball might be more useful than relocating it.

But on the other hand, the victim of the illegal pocketing would be in a very powerful position, if they could place the ball and use it immediately.

Personally, I like the idea that illegally pocketing a ball could be tactically useful - it's an extra option, and an extra nuance to the game. It reminds me of 9-ball, after the break/push-out, when you might pocket a hanging 9 so your opponent can't take an easy combo - very clever stuff.
So I'd keep the freeze-out after re-spotting rule.

However, I don't understand the reason the opponent (the player who illegally pocketed the ball) can't call that ball next turn. Is it just an extra punishment? But it makes the rules more complex.
 
That's one for the evaluation. Is indeed to punish the player that wrongfully potted a ball. But all in all its unelegant and definetly up for review.

I respot the 12 and pot your saboteur. Lots of low left: https://pad.chalkysticks.com/2d63b
(that was really juicy english in hindsight, but for sure a shot I could pull off)
 
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