I got a request to explain a couple of games I mentioned in an earlier post. If you don't play pool, you may not have heard of them. I assume everyone has heard of nine-ball, eight-ball, and straight pool.
Cowboy is a game apart and the link will take you to the rules. What may not be clear from the link is that this is a combination of pool and billiards. The pool part is sinking balls to score a particular number value. When you hit a particular number, you switch to billiards, or what the link calls carom shots. A carom shot is when the cue ball strikes two balls in the order you called them in. You then win by scratching off the one ball. That means you have to pocket the cue ball after the cue ball has made contact with the one. Also, the balls traditionally used in cowboy are much bigger and heavier than the typical pool balls. This makes it harder to score because you have less margin for error around the pockets. It is a very challenging and fun game. You can lose hours on this one.
The rules to Cut-throat can be found at that link. Basically, you divide the balls into three groups of five. One group is taken by each player. The person who breaks chooses first. The object is to shoot at the other groups and hope you can sink them before they sink your group. The last one with a ball on the table wins. This is a very social game and involves all sorts of conspiracies as you make alliances with other players and then break them.
Posted by Random Penseur at June 7, 2004 08:36 AM