How to play Pool

Drag back from the cue ball to aim and set power. Release to keep the guide, then press Shoot. On touchscreens, swipe elsewhere to turn your aim and orbit the centered ball. You can also tap the felt to aim, or drag with a mouse away from the ball to look around. With ball in hand, tap to place, then tap to aim. Tap the white ball to place it again. Left/Right aim, Up/Down adjust power, and Space shoots. C toggles ball/top-down views; Escape cancels. Hold an aim arrow for over a second to turn faster; hold Shift for finer adjustments. In ball view, the camera follows your aim around the white ball. A white ring marks ball in hand: drag the white ball into place. After a scratch, wait for the cue to return and land before placing or shooting it. Play again keeps your camera view.

A random player breaks. The first legally pocketed solid (1–7) or stripe (9–15) assigns that player’s group, including on the break. No calling balls or pockets for solids and stripes. Keep shooting when you pot one of your own balls.

Hit your group first, then pocket any ball or send a ball to a rail. A scratch, wrong first contact, or no rail is a foul: your opponent gets ball in hand. After clearing your group, click a glowing pocket to call the eight’s hole before shooting. That choice stays locked for the rest of the rack. Pot it in that hole to win; any other hole, an early eight, or scratching with the eight loses the rack.

Break from behind the head string. Pocket a ball or send four object balls to a rail. House break rule: an illegal break or break scratch gives the opponent ball in hand behind the line. An eight on the break is spotted. No jumps or spin.

Ranked online play uses a separate skill rating, with five placement games against other newcomers. Matchmaking starts within 100 rating points and widens to 200 after 30 seconds and 300 after a minute. The newcomer bracket and 300-point limit are never removed.

Completed online matchmaking racks award 12 points for a win. Created friend rooms award 2 points for a win. Losing awards 0 points in both modes. These points share golf’s spendable balance. Friend tables are unranked. AI and same-device games are practice.