How to play 8-ball pool in your browser
This is a free, no-download version of blackball-style 8-ball pool. Work your way up ten levels against the computer, from a backyard shed to the final under the lights, or pass the device to a friend for a head-to-head match. Everything runs on your device, and your progress and settings are kept only in this browser.
Ten levels, ten tables
Every level moves you to a new venue with its own cloth and atmosphere, and each one asks a little more of you. The computer aims more accurately and starts planning where the cue ball will stop. The pockets tighten from generous to tight. The aim guide shortens: on levels 1 to 3 it shows the full path of both balls, on levels 4 to 7 only the start of the object ball's path, and from level 8 just the point of contact. Early levels are a single frame; levels 4 to 7 are a race to two frames and the last three are a race to three. Win a level to unlock the next.
Modern or retro
The modern look is a lit, felt-and-walnut table. Retro turns it into a chunky pixel table in a classic grey desktop window, complete with red LED frame counters. Switch at any time without losing your frame.
The rules on this table
- The table starts open. The first colour you pot after the break, red or yellow, becomes yours; your opponent takes the other.
- Keep shooting while you pot your own colour on a fair shot. Miss, and it's your opponent's turn.
- When all seven of your colour are gone, the black is yours to pot. Sink it on a fair shot to win the frame.
- Potting the black early, or on a foul, loses the frame.
- Fouls give your opponent ball in hand: potting the cue ball, hitting no ball, or hitting the wrong ball first. On an open table the black can't be hit first.
Controls
With a mouse, the cue follows your pointer. Press anywhere on the table and pull back away from the shot to set power, then release. On a phone or tablet, drag on the table to aim and use the power bar to strike; the small arrow buttons make fine adjustments. The dotted guide shows where the cue ball will make contact and the path the object ball will take.
Getting better
Think one shot ahead. A softer shot usually leaves the cue ball closer to where you need it next, and a thin cut sends the cue ball wide, so pick the pot that sets up the one after it. If nothing is on, roll the cue ball gently behind one of your own balls to leave your opponent without a clear shot.
Built on Classic 8-Ball Pool by Chen Shmilovich, released under the MIT licence.