Share the post "Snookball/Footpool (All You Need To Know)"
Some people love soccer, and others love playing pool. But if you love both, you don’t have to choose between them; you can play them as a combined game.
Snookball, footpool, futpool, or Soccer pool, is an exciting and engaging game combining pool and soccer. The concept of a snookball is that the field is a giant pool table with pool balls that are mini soccer balls. These balls are potted using the foot instead of a cue stick like a traditional billiards pool.
In this article, we shall delve into everything there is to know about snookball, including:
- What is a snookball
- How big is a snookball table
- How do you play snookball
- Snookball rules
Snookball is a fun game that can be played by all of the family, so let’s find out more.
Soccer and Pool Combined
- Soccer as we know is a sport with 5 or more players on each side with one soccer ball. The players use their feet to hit the ball to a goal at opposite ends of the field.
- Billiards, pool, and snooker is a game with 1 or 2 players on each side. They use a cue to hit balls on a table to get them into pockets that are around the table – 6 pockets in total.
Pool, popularly known as pool billiards, is a cue sport played on a table with 16 balls. The table used to play pool has six pockets along the edges where the balls are potted.
You can play different games on this table, including seven-ball, eight-ball, nine-ball, ten-ball, black ball, straight ball, one pocket, and bank pool.
What Is a Snookball/Footpool?
The most popular pool game in snookball is the eight ball. The game uses 16 balls with one white ball and one black ball. The black ball is the eight ball.
The other balls, numbers one to seven, are known as solids, and the other balls, numbers nine to fifteen, are known as stripes. The game’s main aim is once you choose your balls, either solids or stripes, you have to pot all the balls before you pot the black ball.
Whoever clears their balls and then pots the black ball wins the game. Playing using the solids or the stripes is designated by having an opening shot, and the type of ball you pot first is your designation.
There are two common names for the same game;
- Snookball is the American version.
- Futpool is the Meixican version.
- Footpool is the UK version.
How Big Is a Snookball Table?
The snookball table has to be a giant pool table since players have to kick the ball with their feet. Usually, the table is 3.5 by 6 meters. You use your own feet rather than a cue on this true-to-scale billiard table.
How Do You Play Snookball?
The billiard eight ball is the most popular version of snookball. But instead of the cue stick, you use your foot for potting the balls, which changes the experience. As much as it is a billiards game, the experience is different from playing a standard billiards pool.
As much as there are standard rules, in-house rules also apply. You can also come up with your own rules with your opponents to make the game more interesting.
- Get your Pool game on with the American Challenge Billiard...
- A Complete set of Billiard Balls - including the "Cue Ball"...
- All Balls are Size 4, Hand Sewn and Guaranteed for 6 Months...
- Gloss outer casing material with Butyl bladder - hold air...
- 3 Layers of cotton lining, pre-stretched polyester thread
Product: Updated 2024-04-24 | Images: Amazon Product Advertising API | #ad - soccerblade.com is an Amazon Associate
Players and Equipment
To play snookball, you need a giant table, two players or two teams, or up to seven players on a team and soccer pool balls that are distinct into two (preferred solids and stripes but can also be different colors), and a black ball and a cue ball.
Buy a Snookball Table
There are a few options to play snookball. For a temporary setup, you can get the inflatable game from Amazon. For someone looking for a more permanent setup, there’s a fixed wooden-type game. Click the images for more details to Amazon.
Alternatives Available
Snookball Rules
Before starting the game, you have to set it up appropriately. Here’s how;
The Setup
- All the balls except the white ball are racked in a triangle arrangement using a triangle rack.
- When racking, the balls at the apexes at the back of the triangle should be a striped ball and a solid ball.
- The black ball (eight-ball) should be placed directly behind the ball at the front apex of the triangle.
- The white ball (cue ball) starting position is on the other end of the table at a player’s choice position.
The Game
The snookball game starts with a player kicking the cue ball onto the racked balls to break them and possibly pot one ball but not the eight ball.
- When a player breaks and pots the eight ball, the balls are re-racked, and the same player goes again. If the starting player breaks the balls, but none of the balls is potted, the other player, in turn, tries to pot either of the ball types (stripes or solids).
- If they pot, the kind of ball potted is the balls they will play with.
- If the breaking player pots either a striped ball or a solid in their first attempt, that becomes the ball they play with.
- If a breaking player fails to break strongly and when the balls move, none of the balls touches the edges of the table, that is considered a weak break, and the balls are re-racked, and the opponent gets a chance to break.
- After a successful break and the players have picked their playing balls, they continue taking turns potting their balls.
Whenever the player pots all their balls, they focus on potting the black ball. The player has to call out the pocket where they intend to pot the black ball.
They lose if they pot the black ball in a pocket they had not called. They also lose if they pot the white ball instead of the black ball.
Snookball Fouls
The snookball game combines traditional football and traditional billiards pool. Therefore, most of the rules used in this game are those from the billiards pool. It is, therefore, necessary to understand what counts as a foul from billiards and apply that to pool soccer.
The rules might not be strict, depending on your game. If the game is competitive, you can opt to make the fouls more stringent.
In different competitions, different rules apply. For instance, organizations like the United Kingdom Footpool can have their own rules depending on events and occasions.
The following are considered fouls when playing snookball:
- Pocketing the cue ball directly. If a player pots the white ball while attempting to break the balls, that is considered a foul. The balls are re-racked, and the player is given another shot at breaking.
- After the game breaks, if the player aims to hit their ball, they mistakenly hit the opponent’s ball before they hit their ball, which is foul, and their penalty is not playing one turn, which the opponent player plays in their place.
- If the player fails to hit any ball during their turn, they have fouled and are charged by not playing their next turn.
- While playing, if a player hits the black ball before they have potted all their balls, the player is punished by not playing when their next turn comes.
- Potting the opponent’s ball. If a player pots an opponent’s ball, they have fouled. As a result, they miss their next take.
- Suppose any ball leaves the platform. If a player hits the white ball and it goes beyond the platform, they miss their next take, and the opponent gets a chance to place the white ball anywhere on the table as they wish and play from there. If another ball goes out of the platform, the player who kicks it out misses their next take, and the ball is brought back on the table and placed at the black spot in the center of the racking area where the next player takes it from.
- Playing out of turn. If a player is not following the game and plays out of turn, they miss their next take.
- Playing before all balls have come to rest. All balls must be allowed to rest so that every player knows where each ball is and avoid unfair advantages. For instance, if a player kicks the ball before other balls come to rest, they foul and miss their next turn to play.
- Striking the white ball more than once. One has to be precise while hitting the white ball, and they have to hit it once. Hitting it twice qualifies the player to miss their next turn.
A player can only lose the game if the following happens:
- They pocket the black ball before all their balls have been potted.
- Player potting both the white ball and the black ball at the same time
- Any other ball is potted with the black ball.
- They pot the black ball in a pocket they had not called.
There can also be a stalemate when:
- There is no legal shot possible on the table. The game restarts.
- Neither player is progressing the game. The referee can call it a stalemate and order a restart of the game.
Why Play Snookball?
The game is a great activity to have fun and exercise simultaneously. With the combination of two games, this emerging game is engaging and a great way to hang out with friends and create new friends.
Snookball is a fun and friendly way to enjoy an afternoon with friends and family. It’s a playful game for the whole family. There’s no competition in the game – the aim of the game is to laugh.
Share the post "Snookball/Footpool (All You Need To Know)"
Joel is a seasoned soccer journalist and analyst with many years of experience in the field. Joel specializes in game analysis, player profiles, transfer news, and has a keen eye for the tactical nuances of the game. He played at various levels in the game and coached teams - he is happy to share his insight with you.
