The Box Game

Hello everyone!  Occasionally, I like to make up pool games for fun and as a practice aid.  One of these games I call, The Box Game.  It's pretty easy and will help you with position play.

Arguably, the best position (in most cases) to be on the table is in the middle of the table.  Obviously, is some instances, the middle of the table isn't going to work out for some shots, but most of the time, the middle of the table is a good place to be.  So this game will help you with position play to the middle of the table.

As with most of my games I create, it can be played either alone or with multiple players.

For solo practice.  Rack all the balls like you would for 8-ball, order of the balls doesn't matter.

Break the balls like you would for 8-ball.  Spot any balls pocketed.  If you leave the cue ball in the middle of the table in the blue box as indicated on Figure 1 (see below), give yourself 2 points.  If the cue ball ends up outside the blue box, but still contained within the red box (see Figure 2 below), then give yourself 1 point.  The goal here is to break the balls with a good spread, leaving the cue ball in the middle of the table to have a good shot on the remaining balls.

For each ball pocketed after the break, if the cue ball ends up in the red box after coming to rest, give yourself 1 point.  If the ball is pocketed and comes to rest in the blue box, give yourself 2 points.

The maximum score is 32 (15 balls x 2pts = 30 + 2 bonus pts for leaving cue ball in blue box after break = 32pts)


For multiple players.  Rack all the balls like you would for 8-ball, order of the balls doesn't matter.

Player 1 breaks the balls as in 8-ball.  Spot any balls pocketed.  If Player 1 pockets a ball, their turn continues after any pocketed balls are spotted.  If Player 1 leaves the cue ball in the middle of the table in the blue box as indicated on Figure 1 (see below) after the break, give them 2 points.  If the cue ball ends up outside the blue box, but still contained within the red box (see Figure 2 below) after the break, then give them 1 point.

For each ball pocketed after the break, if the cue ball ends up in the red box after coming to rest, give the shooter 1 point.  If the ball is pocketed and comes to rest in the blue box, give the shooter 2 points.

Player 1 continues shooting until a miss occurs.  After a miss, the next player shoots until they miss or all the balls have been pocketed.

The player with the highest score wins that round.  An alternative could be to play similar to 14.1, such as, play to 100, 150, or any number.

The maximum score is 32 (15 balls x 2pts = 30 + 2 bonus pts for leaving cue ball in blue box after break = 32pts)

Figure 1. The Inner Box.  Box is formed by drawing a line from the diamonds closest to the pockets on both the ends and sides of the table.

Figure 2.  The Outer Box.  Box is formed by drawing a line from the diamonds closest to the pockets on the end rails and the middle diamonds on the side rails.

*Note:  If half or more of the ball appears to be across the line, it is considered inside the box.

The 4 Types of Pool Practice

As I see it, there are 4 different types of practice in pool.  I will break down each type of practice and give my opinion on why each is good or bad.  Regardless of what you've heard about bad practice is bad, sometimes "bad" practice isn't all that bad.  I'll explain later.

Here are my 4 types of pool practice, in order of less desirable to more desirable practice types:

1.  Individual, relaxed, non-focused.
2.  Partner/Group, relaxed, semi-focused.
3.  Individual, structured, focused.
4.  Partner/Group, structured (or semi-structured), focused.

Now for the break downs:

Individual, relaxed, non-focused

In this type of practice, maybe you are at your favorite pool hall killing some time or at home playing (if you have a table at home).  You are not bearing down trying to pocket each shot, trying to run racks of 9 or 10-ball, nor are you concentrating on technique, aiming, or cue ball control.  You're just playing pool for the fun of playing.

Why this is important.

You may be thinking, "Shouldn't I be playing somebody as good or better than me to get better?" or, "Playing pool without focus and determination will make me play worse."  You need to occasionally play just for the fun of it.  If you're constantly pushing yourself and practicing hard, you will get burned out and frustrated.  You might even fall into a slump.  See my article about dealing with the slump.  You will definitely get better by practicing hard, but eventually you will reach a point where it's not fun anymore.  A bad day of playing pool will turn into a bad week, month, etc.  You might also be surprised when you relax and not worry so much about running racks or a high run in Straight pool, that you will fall into stroke easier than you might think.  Now, I'm not saying it will happen to everybody, but I've noticed over the years of playing that after practicing hard for a while, then going to play pool in a more relaxed mindset of enjoyment of the game, I shoot pretty good without concentrating hard.

The flip-side.

If you are a serious pool player, should you do this all the time?  Absolutely not.  Taking a relaxed, just-shoot-for-fun mindset will not improve your game much over time.  You have to put yourself in a more concentrated, focused mindset of practice to see improvement.

Partner/Group, relaxed, semi-focused

This type of practice is similar to Individual, relaxed, non-focused, except as the name suggests, you are playing with a partner or group of players.  This is also an important form of practice in that you are playing in a more relaxed, enjoyment of the game mindset, only with another individual or group of players, which adds an important factor...competition.

Why this is important.

You may have noticed instead of "non-focused" I used "semi-focused" as part of the practice type.  The reason for this is when you are playing a partner or with a group, there is some degree of competition that goes on.  Whether you are playing a beginner, an average, or a semi-pro player, at least for me, there is some level of "I'm going to beat my opponent until they leave crying."  It happens, don't deny it.  Just know when to ease up or you might end up on the couch if it was your significant other you just tortured on the pool table!!

Remember, HAVE FUN!!  Pool is fun!  I guarantee you the pros do this from time to time.  They play because they love the game not just for a paycheck.

The flip-side.

So there's usually a flip-side to most things.  Like I mentioned in the previous practice type, don't fall into a habit of always going out with a playing partner or group of players to just "knock balls around."  You need concentrated, focused practice time more than relaxed, play-for-fun practice.

Individual, structured, focused

OK, now we are starting to get serious. If you want to improve your game, this is where you need to pay attention.  Having individual, structured, and focused practice WILL IMPROVE YOUR GAME.

Why this is important.

What this type of practice means to you is different for everybody.  There are countless ways to practice.  Maybe you know your technique needs work, maybe you are having trouble with a particular cut shot, or maybe it's your bank shots that need more practice, whatever it is, you need the individual time on the table where you are really concentrating, bearing down, and giving focused effort.  By structured, I mean set up a shot that is giving you trouble and shoot it until you can make it 8 or 9 times out of 10, or play the ghost in 9-ball until you reach an obtainable goal for yourself.  Tell yourself, "Today I'm going to practice (insert shot, game, position play, senario, etc. here) until I master this goal."  Whatever it is, practicing with an intense, focused, and structured effort and you will improve your game.

The flip-side.

The only real down-side to this type of practice is that sometimes it might be hard to gauge your improvement...which is where the last type of practice comes in.

Partner/Group, structured (or semi-structured), focused

This last type of practice, in my opinion, is probably the best type of practice, provided you can find a practice partner(s) that is good for you.  Finding a good practice partner who is around your playing speed or slightly better WILL IMPROVE YOUR GAME.

Why this is important.

Practicing by yourself with concentration, structure, and focus, is good, but it's lacking one thing, competition.  Find a practice partner who is as serious about improving their game as you are yours, and you will have struck gold.  Not only will you have the competition factor, but another person (or persons) to split the table cost :)  You will not get bored racking for yourself over and over, you will have a "bar" to gauge your playing, and someone to potentially learn from to further improve your game.  Sometimes you shoot a particular shot a certain way, while your partner might shoot it differently...the different approach to the shot might come it handy down the road.

The flip-side.

About the only thing I can think of is if you have found a good practice partner, just make sure it's understood from the beginning that the relationship is for practicing and improving each other's game.  I wouldn't let the competition get to the point where a friendship is broken.  Nor would I play each other for money.  It should be a positive, beneficial situation, with the goal being to improve each other's game.

GO FORTH AND PRACTICE!!!!

15 Draw

I got bored today and decided to come up with a new pool game.  If nothing else, for practice.  I call it 15 Draw, since you use all 15 balls and a pill bottle to draw your next ball.  As you will see in the rules below, it is a game of randomness and creativity.

Here is the table layout I chose:

General rules of the game

Object of the game:  The object of the game is to pocket all 15 balls in the lowest number of shots.  The player with the lowest score at the end of the game wins.

Determining opening shooter:  For more than one player, a numbered pill shall be drawn from a bottle to determine shooting order.  Player with the lowest numbered pill shoots first, player with the next lowest numbered pill shoots second, and so on.

Called shots:  All balls are called shots unless it is blatantly obvious in which pocket the shooter is trying to make the ball.

Arrangement of the balls:  All 15 balls are to be arranged and ordered as diagrammed above.

Opening shot:  Incoming player shall draw a numbered pill from a bottle to determine first ball to shoot.  Once the opening ball is determined, player shall have ball in hand*.  Ball in hand only applies on the opening shot, or after a scratch or ball jumped off the table.

Legal hits:  Player shooting must hit the cue ball once, causing the cue ball to hit an object ball.  The object ball must then hit at least one rail after contact.  If an object ball is frozen to a rail, the cue ball must hit at least 2 different rails after contact, or the object ball must hit a different rail from which it was frozen.

The shooter is not required to hit the ball drawn by numbered pill from the bottle.  For example, in the diagram above, if the shooter legally pockets the 1-ball and stops the cue ball where the 1-ball was, then draws the 4-ball as the next ball to shoot, the shooter is not required to hit the 4-ball in the next shot.  The shooter may hit another ball first to get position on the 4-ball.  As long as the object ball was legally contacted and rules of a legal hit followed, then the shooter may continue until the 4-ball is legally pocketed.

A ball pocketed that was not called shall be spotted as closely as possible to the original location of the ball illegally pocketed before the next shot is taken by the player at the table.

Fouls:  A foul occurs if the rules of legal hits above is not followed.  Shooter is assessed a 1-shot penalty for each occurrence of the foul.  Cue ball shall remain in place for the next shot.  If the shooter scratches the cue ball, a 2-point penalty is assessed, unless the object ball was made in the called pocket, in which case, only a 1-point penalty is assessed.  The incoming player shall have ball in hand* for the next ball.   A cue ball jumped off the table is a 2-point penalty, unless the object ball was pocketed in the called pocket, in which case, only a 1-point penalty is assessed.  The incoming player shall have ball in hand* for the next ball.

*See rules of Solo game vs. Multi-player game for rules of ball in hand.

Solo game

1.  Draw a pill from the bottle to determine first ball to shoot.
2.  Give yourself ball in hand anywhere on the table for the opening shot.
3.  Shoot the ball that was determined by drawing a numbered pill.
4.  Record the number of shots it took to legally pocket the ball.
5.  Leaving the cue ball where it came to rest after legally pocketing the first ball, draw another numbered pill from the bottle to determine next ball to shoot.
6.  Repeat Steps 3 to 5 until all 15 balls have been legally pocketed.
7.  Total the number of shots it took you to pocket all 15 balls.

If you foul by scratching or jumping a ball off the table, assess a penalty as described in the general rules of the game and give yourself ball in hand anywhere on the table for the next ball as determined by a pill drawn from the bottle.

If a foul occurs by not following the rules for a legal hit, then the shooter is assessed a 1-shot penalty for each occurrence of the foul.



Multi-player game

1.  Draw a numbered pill from the bottle, player with the lowest numbered pill shoots first.
2.  Following the same general rules for the Solo game, draw a pill to determine first ball to shoot.
3.  Opening player has ball in hand behind the headstring.  If the first ball to shoot, as determined in Step 2, is behind the headstring, player must shoot past the headstring, legally contacting an object ball or rail before hitting an object ball behind the headstring.
4.  Shoot until the object ball is legally pocketed in the called pocket.  Record the number of shots it took to pocket the ball.  The object ball made by player A is then spotted as close to the original placement of the ball and player B has ball in hand behind the headstring.  Player B shoots until the object ball is legally pocketed in the called pocket.
5.  Continue drawing numbered pills to determine the next ball until all 15 balls have been pocketed.
6.  The player with the lowest score for the game wins.

If a foul occurs by scratching or jumping a ball off the table, assess a penalty as described in the general rules of the game and incoming player has ball in hand behind the headstring for the next ball as determined by a pill drawn from the bottle.

If a foul occurs by not following the rules for a legal hit, then the shooter is assessed a 1-shot penalty for each occurrence of the foul.


Let me know what you think.  I've got a few more games I've made up and I might post them some other time.