NineBallTextVersion

This is an AutoGeneratedTextVersion of NineBall

Nine Ball
Adapted as a flicking game for the piecepack
by Mark A. Biggar

Version 1.0, December 2003
Copyright © 2003 by Mark A. Biggar
2 players, 10-20 min

Description
This is an adaptation of the billiards game Nine Ball as a piecepack
coin flicking game. The board layout comes from an early group
discussion between James Kyle and Chris Young.

Definitions
Flick (verb) to propel a game piece (such as a piecepack coin) across the
playing area with a single finger. A flick is not a sustained push, but a
sudden snap. A proper flick is performed by resting a single fingertip on
the playing surface with the fingernail against the game piece, then
either (1) straightening the finger with the hand held motionless, or (2)
straightening the whole hand at the wrist with the arm held motionless.

Setting Up The Game
Create the board out of tiles like the diagram on the next page. The
game should be played on a smooth surface table that allows the
coins to slide easily. A polished wooden surface works well. Place
ten coins showing distinct faces as shown in the diagram. The null
coin will be used as the Q-ball. The other nine balls (coins) should be
placed as shown, touching and tightly packed. The gaps between the
tiles serve as the pockets and should be a tile width wide. Each line of
4 tiles should be tightly packed.

Playing the game
The game is played the same as the regular billiards Nine Ball game. Choose
a first player, who breaks by flicking the cue-ball at the other balls. The balls
must be pocketed in the order ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, Red, Black, Green, and Blue. A
ball has entered a pocket if its center has passed the line between the inside
corners of the tiles at the edge of a pocket. Pocketed balls are removed form
the board. Each flick (including the break) should be an attempt to pocket the
next unpocketed ball in the above sequence, but strategic placement of the
cue-ball when you have go good shot is allowed. If the next ball in the above
sequence is already pocketed, then it is skipped and the following ball is the
target. If a player sinks the next correct ball, then that player gets another flick of
the cue-ball, otherwise the turn passes to his opponent. Pocketing the cue-ball
also causes the turn to pass to the opponent, in which case the opponent may
place the cue-ball any where on the board before taking his turn. The player

that sinks the Blue ball wins the game. If a player pockets both the target ball
and the Blue ball at the same time, then that player also wins, unless the Q-ball
also goes in a pocket. If the blue ball is pocketed at any other time, it is placed
back on the board as close to its original position as possible with out moving
any other ball. At any time during a player’s turn, the player may require his
opponent to hold down up to two lines of tiles (and may hold down one himself)
to allow for controlled banked shots. If a tile is knocked out of place, it must be
returned before the next shot, even if that requires moving one of more balls.

Diagram 1. Board setup

History
20031208 1.0 mab first web page version

Thank you for playing my game. Please report rules problems or
variant suggestions to mark@biggar.org.

Copyright 2003 by Mark A. Biggar. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or
modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License,
Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the
license can be found at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl.html.