Fast Eddie's Pool and Billiards - Manual
Introduction
2 Welcome to Fast Eddie's Pool and Billiard Parlor! This is the
3 most ambitious billiards video game of our time--Fast Eddie's
4 combines the entertaining graphics and frivolity of an arcade
5 game with the customizability of great computer software to
6 create a product you will find thoroughly enjoyable, whether you
7 are a novice or an expert at pool or computers.
8 Every effort has been made to give you not only the feeling of
9 being there, but being in control! After all, if the computer won't
10 let you do what you want, what fun is that?
BACKUP
12 Before you do anything else, make a backup or working copy of
13 your diskette! The Fast Eddie's disk can be copied by simply
14 dragging its disk icon over another disk icon. Use the working
15 copy you have made, and archive the distribution diskette for
16 safety.
Getting Into Fast Eddie's Parlor
18 Fast Eddie's can be run from either CLI or the Workbench icon.
19 To run from the Workbench, double click on the Fast Eddie's Icon
20 or on an Instant Replay icon. If you chose the Instant Replay,
21 the program will immediately load the game and transfer you to
22 the table from which the replay was saved. This feature allows
23 you to restore the situation of the game just as it was when you
24 saved it.
25 To run from the CLI, type
26 Fast Eddie's
27 at the CLI prompt, and [Enter]. If this command is followed by a
28 instant replay filename,
29 Fast Eddie's mygame.replay
30 for example, the saved game `mygame.replay" will be restored
31 just as you saved it, ready to continue playing.
Hard Disk installation
33 Fast Eddie's can be installed on a hard disk in any drawer.
34 Installation is simple from the Workbench, drag the icon for Fast
3$ Eddie's from the distribution diskette to the drawer of your choice.
36 If running the program from either WorkBench or CLI fails to bring
37 up the program screen, you do not have sufficient chip memory
38 available to run the program. Fast Eddie's is designed to
1
1 multi-task with other programs, but it does use a great deal of
2 chip RAM. Because of this, we recommend that you not attempt
3 multi-tasking with this program if your computer only has 512K of
4 RAM. If Fast Eddie's is run with less than 512K free memory, no
5 attempt will be made to make use of the the Amiga computer's
6 built-in speech synthesizer software.
Please note: it is recommended that overscan
not be used on a 512k system. If you are
having trouble running in 512k, first try booting
off your working copy of the Fast Eddie's
diskette, if this was not done. Next, try
disconnecting any external disk drives and
rebooting. If all these steps fail, contact
Technical Support at Oxxi, Inc. The program
has not failed to run on any Amiga with 512K
or more, to the best of our knowledge.
7 If you are so fortunate as to have Amiga with a CPU
8 accelerator, you are in for a pleasant surprise--Fast Eddie's has
9 been designed to utilize faster CPU's in order to achieve much
10 smoother animation.
11 On a technical note: If you do wish to multi-task with this
12 program, please note that attempting speech or sound from
13 another task simultaneously is not recommended. Sprites #2 and
14 #3 are also requested, but if they are not available, they are
15 simply not displayed - no harm will result.
Copy Protection
17 The Fast Eddie's disk is not copy-protected and can be copied
18 under the conditions listed in the license agreement. When Fast
19 Eddie asks for word number N on line number Y on page number
20 P, count each word (but not punctuation), every line, including
21 chapter titles such as Introrduction (except text in illustrations or
22 boxed in note boxes) ad use the page number printed on the
23 manual page. Count hyphenated words as TWO words. For
24 example, Word 13 in line 11 of Page 2 (this page) is "this".
25 We're eager to offer program upgrades and free technical advice
26 to legitimate users, but not to unauthorized users of the program.
27 We need your cooperation in this matter, which consists of your
28 returning your registration card.
29 Software piracy is a crime. So please-spread the word, not the
30 disk! [You better do it!!]
2
The Pool and Billiard Parlor
2 Assuming there is sufficient RAM, the title screen will appear once
3 the program is fully loaded into memory. The crisp sound of the
4 cue ball striking other balls should accompany this image-you
5 can adjust your Amiga volume at this point. When done with the
6 credits, press any key or a mouse button to continue.
7 Next you will see the pool hall, with Fast Eddie himself behind the
8 counter instructing you to type in the necessary password,
9 followed by the [Enter] key. There is no time limit on looking up
10 the password. If you give the wrong password, you will be
11 tossed out of the pool hall--and out of the program.
12 Look Around
13 Once you have given the correct password, you are free to do as
14 you wish within the pool hall. To indicate that you are interested
15 in something in the room, just click the left mouse button over
16 that item. Releasing the button while over the item is not
17 necessary for certain items--for example, there is an exit door in
18 the upper left had corner. When the mouse pointer is positioned
19 over that area, and you depress the mouse button, the door
20 swings open. If you release the button while the pointer is still
21 over the door, you will exit the program. If you release the button
22 while the pointer is no longer over the door, the doors swing shut
23 and you can continue to play.
24 The pool hall is viewed from a vantage point near the back of the
25 room. The door is not the only active item in the room, of course.
26 An arcade game in the opposite corner displays EHB if your
27 Amiga has Extra Halfbrite capability. The arcade game can be
28 played by clicking once anywhere on it with the mouse. A
29 warning, though -- Fast Eddie has the game rigged, and is always
30 ready with a sarcastic comment if you lose the game!
31 Next to the front counter is a jukebox, playing Fast Eddie's
32 favorite song. (He turns it off whenever anyone gets serious
33 about playing a game.) The jukebox displays its On/Off, status, in
34 case you have the sound turned off on your machine. You can
35 turn off the jukebox yourself by clicking on the word ON, and turn
36 it back on just as easily. There are additional active areas to be
37 discovered--by clicking on Fast Eddie!
38 The Tables
39 The primary active areas, of course, are the four different tables.
40 One is set up for all the popular pocket pool games, and the
41 other three are for bumper pool, carom billiards, and snooker.
42 Selecting the table you want to play is easy: when the button is
43 depressed while the pointer is over a table, the table "lights up".
3
1 If the button is released while the pointer is still over the table, you
2 will be ready to play at that table. If the pointer has moved
3 somewhere else when you release the mouse button, the table
4 returns to its original appearance, and you are free to choose
5 other options in the pool hall.
6 Number of Players
7 If you choose a table, but it does not appear, ready for play, you
8 most likely do not have the right number of players selected for
9 play at that table. To change the number of players, go to the
10 rack of cuesticks on the wall between the jukebox and the arcade
11 game, and click on one to remove it or click on the area where
12 one used to be to put it back. Up to four players can be chosen
13 in this fashion. In play, the player's names appear in sequence as
14 their innings commence, with the first player's name in red, the
15 second in blue, green for the third, and the fourth in turquoise.
16 Zero is not a valid number of players, so if all four cuesticks are
17 on the wall, you will be told to grab some if you wish to play. The
18 default number of players is two, but this default, like most others,
19 can be changed. This feature is discussed later, under Saving
20 Your Configuration.
21 Playing A Game
22 When you select a table, the table zooms to fill the whole screen,
23 Fast Eddie turns off the music, and the game begins. The first
24 time you select the pool table, the default game is 15-Ball. Let's
25 start with that game--click once on the pool table (close to you
26 on your left).
27 The right mouse button now serves as the menu button, and it
28 will bring up a menu anytime it is pressed, except when the action
29 has already been paused to perform a menu operation. The left
30 mouse button, the selection button, is used to make selections
31 and perform game ections. If a joys1ick is used in port #2, the
32 fire button is the selection button.
33 The Counters and Timers
34 Below the table is a band containing play information. Each
35 player's name will be displayed in turn, starting with Player 1 at
36 the left. Under the player's name are the counters which tally
37 number of balls ad shots. The Balls tally represents the player's
38 score. At the right of each player's area is a timer display. With
39 the initial skill setting, Novice, for Player 1, this timer displays the
40 word UP during Player 1's turn. Between the two player tally
41 areas is the enlarged picture of a cue ball--more about this
42 gadget in a moment.
4
1 Positioning the Cue Ball
2 First the cue ball must be positioned on the table. It can be
3 placed using the mouse, joystick, or the cursor arrow keys. Once
4 you decide on a location, press the selection button to place the
5 ball on that spot. Think carefully before pressing the
6 button--there is no quick way to undo this action!
7 Aiming the Cue
8 Next you aim the cuestick. To aim the cuestick, move the mouse
9 left or right. The graphical image of the cuestick will rotate. When
10 you have your aim set, press the selection button. Do not
11 release it immediately. Hold the selection button down as you
12 fine-tune our aim, if necessary, with the left and right cursor
13 arrows. (This can also be done by moving the joystick left or
14 right with the firing button held down.)
15 Calling a Pocket
16 15-Ball does not require it, but if the game being played calls for
17 the destination pocket to be named before the shot is
18 made-calling the shot-an X will appear above one of the
19 pockets. Move the mouse up or down (toward the top or the
20 bottom of your mouse pad) to cycle through all of the pockets.
21 The joystick or up-and-down cursor arrow keys can also be used
22 to select a pocket.
23 In bumper pool, you will sometimes have the option to choose
24 which ball to shoot as the cue ball. In a bumper pool game,
25 moving the mouse up or down (or using the cursor arrow keys)
26 cycles through all balls that you are eligible to shoot.
Make Your Shot
28 The final step is executing the shot. A crosshair will appear at the
29 bottom of the screen, hovering above the enlarged cue ball
_____
/ F \
/ \ F: Follow stroke
/ \ D: Draw stroke
| | | Reverse English
|L --+-- R| R: Right English
| | | curves ball left
\ / L: Left English
\ D / curves ball right
\_____/
1 between the player tally areas at the bottom of the scree. The
2 crosshair, which looks like a "+", can be moved in any direction
3 by using the mouse or joystick. This crosshair position is used to
4 apply spin to the cue ball.
5 Spin
6 To apply Spin or `English" to the cue ball, position the crosshair
7 off-center. Lateral spin, left-hand or right-hand English, is
8 produce if the crosshair is located to the left or right of center.
9 For Follow (backward spin), position the crosshair above the
10 center of the cue ball. Draw (forward spin or "reverse English) is
11 created when the crosshair is positioned below the center of the
12 cue ball. Often, it will be most strategic to place the crosshair at
13 the center, which imparts no unusual spin to the ball.
14 If you do apply spin, be careful not to miss the ball--and don't
15 jump the table! Fast Eddie gets very annoyed if your ball breaks
16 the glass in his trophy case.
17 Power
18 Having chosen the crosshair position, all that remains is
19 determining how hard to hit the cue ball. The crosshair is
20 constantly growing and shrinking, representing the velocity of the
21 shot should the selection button be released at that instant. The
22 larger the crosshair, the greater the velocity of the shot. To hit the
23 cue ball hard, release the selection button when the crosshair is at
24 its largest.
25 The Shot
26 When you release the button, the shot is executed, and the cue
27 ball is sent on its way. While the shot is played out, the menu
28 and selection buttons do not function. Pressing the right mouse
29 button during the animation of the snot invokes a requester which
30 asks whether you wish to Abort the shot in progress. If you say
31 Yes, the shot is immediately terminated, leaving all balls at their
32 current position. You will not need this feature for normal use.
33 To return to the pool hall screen, use the menu button to select
34 Quit under the Game menu.
6
A Different Game
2 Pool and Other Games
3 You can stop playing any game at any time, without leaving the
4 table. The New command under Game allows you to select any
5 of the games available at the table. The pocket pool table offers a
6 selection of one to nine games, depending on now many players
7 there are.
8 Playing By Yourself
9 When you are the only player, the pocket pool table offers you
10 only one game, Golf. Every other game at this table requires at
11 least two active players, one or more of which can be the
12 computer. With two, three or four players, nine games are
13 offered. 15-Ball, Rotation, 14.1, Moon, Golf, 6-Ball, Wild Sevens,
14 and 9-Ball are available for two to four players. Cutthroat is
15 available only if exactly three players are at the table, and 8-Ball
16 requires two or four players.
17 Moving To a New Table
18 To play a game offered at a different table, you must Quit from
19 the current table. Select Quit from the Game menu, or press
20 Right-Amiga-Q. if you are actively playing a game at this table,
21 you will be prompted to see if you really wated to Quit the
22 current game.
23 Once you are back in the pool hall, press the selection button and
24 release it while you are over the desired table. If you are playing
25 with the correct number of players for that table, you will be at the
26 table, ready to play. The other three tables in the pool hall do not
27 have muitiple games offered.
28 Demonstration Play
29 You can set Fast Eddie to play another pool-hall layabout, Las
30 Gatos Fats, in a demonstration of ay game--in fact, you may
31 want sometimes to get the real "heavies" at Fast Eddie's to play
32 for your amusement or instruction. Watching Los Gatos Fats,
33 West Chester Wally play a fast game of 8-Ball at the Legend level
34 is epic.
35 To set up demonstration play at any level, simply set all the
36 players to Amiga type, and select the skill levels preferred. The
37 player's names appear in sequence as their innings commence,
38 with the first player's name in red, the second in blue, third, green,
39 and the fourth in turqouise.
7
1 Instant Replay
2 One of the most interesting features of Fats Eddie's is Instant
3 Replay, allowing you to review the last shot.
4 To activate Instant Replay's VCR control panel, select Replay
5 from the Shot menu. At the bottom of the screen will appear six
6 buttons, like the controls of a Video Cassesette Recorder. These
7 are operated with the left mouse button or the function keys F1
8 through F6, and perform .[Rewind, Play, Pause, Stop, Slow, and
9 Record respectively.
10 The Rewind button winds the replay "tape" back to the beginning.
11 Play begins the animation. Pause allows frame-by-frame viewing
12 of the recorded action. The Slow button toggles the speed of the
13 replay from slow-motion to full speed. Stop terminates the replay,
14 removes the VCR control panel, and restores the setup of the
15 game as it was before instant replay was selected. The Record
16 button, like the Stop button, stops the replay and removes the
17 VCR control panel; however, it does .[1;3mnot restore the game setup.
18 This resets the game in progress to to the situation recorded in the
19 replay tape-this feature is used in restoring old games from disk,
20 discussed later.
21 Save Instant Replay
22 Instant Replay shots of interest can be saved to disk for viewing
23 or playing at a later time. The Save item under the Shot menu
24 pops up a file requester, which prompts you for the filename to
25 call your replay file. When you have entered the name, and the
26 file has been saved, the game continues.
Load a Saved Replay
28 To view an instant replay file later, choose Load under the Shot
29 menu. The file requester will appear. When your choice has been
30 selected and loaded, the instant replay VCR control panel will
31 automatically be activated. You can choose to view the replay,
32 then continue with the current game you were playing--to do
33 this, simply select the Play button, followed by the Stop button.
34 Resume Playing An Old Game
35 You can also use this feature to abandon the current game, and
36 take up play of a saved game at the point where you saved the
37 replay. To do this, select the Record button. To include the very
38 last shot made when this game is saved, select the Play button
39 first, and wait for all balls to stop before selecting Record.
40 Create Your Own Shots
41 Have you ever wanted to try some trick shots? Fast Eddie's lets
42 you do just that, and more! Simply select Create from the Shot
43 menu. The pointer will change to an image of a hand to indicate
42 you do just that, and more! Simply
44 you are in create mode.
8
1 Game play and menu operations are suspended during create
2 mode. Due to the precision input necessary, the keyboard and
3 Joystick cannot be used in this mode, only the mouse.
4 In create mode, you have the ability to move any ball to any place
5 on the table. Move the pointer to the desired ball and click the
6 left mouse button to select that ball. Any movement of the mouse
7 will result in a corresponding movement of the selected ball.
8 In most games, an object ball can be removed from the table. Just
9 move the ball to the very top of the screen, and place it over the
10 marker for that particular ball. Click the left mouse button, and if
11 successful, the ball will be dropped at that spot. If the ball was
12 not in the correct position, the ball will still be "in your grasp".
13 To put a ball back on the table, simply grab it from the top of the
14 screen and move it back onto the table.
15 In all games except bumper pool, it is not possible to remove the
16 cue ball, and in billiards, no ball can be removed from the table.
17 However, in bumper pool, the bumpers and even the pockets can
18 be moved--be careful not to place the pockets up on the rail!
19 The setup which exists before the first shot of a bumper pool
20 game will be used at the beginning of all subsequent games, until
21 it is changed again before the beginning of a game. Use Create
22 to customize the initial setup--even handicap your opponent by
23 removing one or more balls or placing the holes in different
24 positions.
25 To restore the bumper pool setup to its original setting, select the
26 Create menu item and click the button labeled [Default]. This
27 moves all balls, holes and bumpers back to the standard
28 positions. Remember that if you do this after the first shot of the
29 game, next time you begin a bumper pool game, the initial setup
30 will revert to the positions which were in effect before the defaults
31 were restored.
32 At either side of the storage spots for balls removed from the
33 table, you are offered two choices for quitting create mode.
34 [Proceed] will accept the changes you have made, returning you
35 to play the shot you have created. You may also chose to
36 [Cancel] all changes made, in which case the original positions of
37 the balls, before Create was selected, will be restored.
38 Since all shots can be saved as instant replay files, if you devise
39 an interesting setup using Create, consider saving a shot made
40 with that setup. At a later time, by loading in the replay and
41 pressing the Record button, and you can try your interesting
42 setup again!
9
The Options Menu
2 Under the Options menu is a array of different parameters
3 you can customize for your play at this table.
4 Edit Player
5 Is your name Human? Many computer games make this
6 assumption. For those of us who do not answer to that moniker
7 in our day-to-day lives, Fast Eddie's allows you to put in your own
8 name. If no name is entered, Player 1 is the default name
9 displayed for the first player. Names can be entered fo up to four
10 players.
11 Some games require at least two people to play. Not Fast
12 Eddie`s--the Amiga computer can play, and plays reasonably
13 well, at that. The computer can also "fill in" for any player at any
14 time in the game. In fact, you can set the computer to play itself.
15 Skill Level
16 You also can change your skill level--the default is Novice, which
17 means you need things as easy as possible. As you become
18 more proficient, you may wish to advance to Expert, or even
19 Legend. These more--difficult settings can be used to handicap
20 yourself when facing others who are playing the game for the first
21 time--or use them to handicap the computer for easier tutorials.
22 The Novice player has an unlimited time to make a shot. The
23 Amiga computer at the Novice setting makes its shot in 30
24 seconds or less (usually less than 10 seconds). Experts and
25 Legends are timed--the timer appears at the right of the player's
26 counters at the time play passes to the player, and counts down
27 30 seconds for the Expert, and 10 seconds for the Legend. At
28 timeout, if no shot has been made, a foul buzzer sounds, and
29 play passes to the next player in the sequence.
30 Order of Play
31 The initial defauit order of play is Player 1, yourself then the
32 Amiga. You can reset this, so the Amiga breaks, and you are
33 second. Other human players can be set up just as easily.
34 Name, skill, and preset order of play are adjusted using the Edit
35 Player command from the Options menu. The name is edited by
36 clicking the cursor down into the player name box. Change the
37 skill level and player type (Human or Amiga) by clicking the
38 button next to the player name. The requester allows you to
39 define these characteristics for up to four players. The attributes
40 for all participating players can be changed, and will be reflected
41 immediately after the requester is dismissed by selecting the OK
42 button.
10
1 Preferences.
2 In the Preferences sub-menu are settings which affect the display
3 of the pool balls, order of play, and other features of the pool and
4 billiards games.
5 To turn on any option, select Preferences under the Options
6 menu, and release when the item you want turned on is
7 highlighted, so that it becomes check-marked. Unlike the other
8 menus in this program, selecting items in this one does not turn
9 off the other settings in this sub-menu; it only toggles the selected
10 item. As a resuit, there may be muitiple items check-marked in
11 Preferences. To toggle muitiple settings in this menu, click the
12 left mouse button over each of the items you wish to change,
13 holding the menu button down until all selections are completed.
14 Show Numbers
15 Show Numbers toggles the display between showing the
16 numbers on each ball, and showing an animated, more realistic
17 look. For novices to the game or those with color-blindness,
18 being able to read the number of the ball can be a real boon.
19 Normally, you will want Show Numbers turned off. This menu
20 item applies only to the pocket pool games which require
21 numbered balls.
22 Drop Shadows
23 The ability to turn off Drop Shodows is included for users whose
24 Amiga computers lack the Extra Halfbrite display mode capability.
25 When Drop Shadows is checked, the program renders pool ball
26 images which look great in Extra Halfbrite, but unattrective on
27 machines without this capability. To determine whether your
28 machine has Extra Halfbrite, look for the initials EHB on the
29 arcade game in the pool hall. If you do not see these initials, you
30 do not have Extra Halfbrite display mode, and should turn off
31 drop shadows to obtain more accurate ball images.
Reverse View
33 The Reverse View item rotates the positions of all the balls 180
34 degrees. This feature is provided as a change of pace.
35 Normally, the pool, snooker or billiards table is displayed with the
36 foot spot on the right and the head spot on the left. Reverse
37 View reverses not only the display of ball positions, but also the
38 points where balls are re-spotted, the areas where the cue ball may
39 be placed during break, and so on.
40 If you are playing Bumper Pool, the default display shows the
41 white balls and white pocket at the top. Selecting Reverse View
42 in the Bumper Pool game puts the red balls and red pocket at the
43 top.
11
1 Lag for Break
2 If a preset order of play does not suit you, you may choose to
3 "lag for break", determining not only who goes first, but the order
4 of turns for other players as well. The object of a lag is simple:
5 bounce the cue ball off the far rail and end up as close as
6 possible to the near rail, without scratching (pocketing the cue
7 ball). Each player shoots in the preset order of turns. To avoid
8 any strategical advantages, the other players should not watch
9 while a player is making a lag shot. (In real life, each player
10 would perform this shot simuitaneously, but for practical reasons,
11 it is implemented differently in this program.)
12 Show Path
13 The Show Path oplion displays a straight line along the aim of the
14 cue, which extends across the table to assist you in your aim. It
15 acts like `laser sights" to let you know precisely where your cue
16 ball will move if it is struck dead center.
17 Side English on the cue ball will tend to move it off this straight
18 path after the ball is struck. Straight follow or draw strokes should
19 not curve the cue ball off the path.
20 Table Speed
21 The table speed can be changed at any time in the game.
22 Settings ranging from very slow to very fast are chosen from the
23 Table Speed menu under Options. A "fast" speed means the
24 balls take a long time to slow to a stop. An additional setting,
25 Random, randomly changes the speed every game. A
26 checkmark indicates which setting is active; only one table speed
27 setting can be active at a time. To change the setting, move the
28 mouse to highlight the new setting and release the menu button.
29 Table Color
30 The color of the table cloth can be changed in a similar fashion.
31 The Table Color item under the Options menu permits several
32 classic choices, with green as the defauit. To change the setting,
33 move the mouse to highlight the new setting and release the
34 menu button.
35 Ball Makeup
36 The behavior of the pool balls also can be changed at any time in
37 the game by changing the ball makeup. The default is ivory,
38 which resuits in normal behavlor. The other settings will be left for
39 you to explore. To change the setting, move the mouse to
40 highlight the new setting and release the menu button
12
1 Save Options
2 Save Options, the last item of the Options menu, performs a save
3 of all parameters pertaining to the Options menu to a file on disk.
4 This configuration file will be saved under the name S:Pool.cfg.
5 From then on, when Fast Eddie's is run, the program will
6 automatically grab its defauit settings from this file, and your
7 favorite options come to life, just as they were when they were
8 saved!
9 To restore the factory settings for the Options menu, simply
10 delete S:Pool.cfg. Saved parameters include the number of
11 players, the jukebox setting, and the Option menu settings.
13
Practice Makes Perfect
2 Undo, Create and New Games
3 Because accidents can happen, a command has been provided
4 which will allow you to undo a shot you have just made. It is
5 called Undo and is found under the Shot menu. If you should
6 inadvertently select Undo by accident, or feel remorse after doing
7 a premeditated undo, don't worry. Simplychoose the same menu
8 item. It will be called Redo instead of Undo, and it will restore the
9 game to the way it was before the Undo was made.
10 By creatively using the Create, Undo/Redo, and New Game
11 options, you can polish and perfect your--even practice
12 pool "hustling" with your unwitting friends.
13 Break
14 In the chosen game, set the playing order with yourself first. Turn
15 off Lag for Break in the Options menu. Break, with the object
16 being to maximize your score in the break---or practice scattering
17 the balls for a "safety", to give your opponent the most difficult
18 shot possible. After the break shot, you can continue to pocket
19 balls until your frame ends, or you can halt the shot and set up to
20 break again with the New Game command (Right-Amiga-N).
21 Bank Shots
22 Sending the cue ball into the object ball by rebounding it off one
23 or more rails is called a Bank Shot, and requires practice to
24 master. By using the Abort Shot and Undo fetures, you can
25 polish your technique. To practice bank shots, use Create to set
26 up one or more object balls, then turn on Show Path
27 (Right-Amiga-5), or select Show Path from the
28 Options-Preferences menu. The cue ball will rebound from the
29 rail at the same angle as it encounters it (the incident angle
30 equals the rebound angle). Use the diamonds (the eighteen
31 spots in the rails) to help you eye-in the angle.
32 If your shot does not go as planned, press the right moue button
33 to abort the shot, then press Right-Amiga-Z to undo the shot. The
34 table will return to its pre-shot situation, and your cue will return to
35 its original angle. Use the fine-tune options (press the left mouse
36 button and use the left and right cursor arrow keys) to adjust the
37 aim of the cue stick, or position the crosshairs differently to redo
38 the shot.
14
1 Kiss or Carom Shots
2 Striking an object ball with another object ball which has been set
3 into motion by the cue ball striking it, is a Kiss or Carom Shot,
4 and it is a difficult technique to perfect. Instead of the motions of
5 the cue ball and a single object ball, carom shots require you to
6 understand how three or more balls will interact on the table.
7 Force from the striking cue ball is transmitted through the first
8 object ball, at an angle that depends on the characteristics of the
9 cue ball's motion. The cue ball's spin, speed, and the point at
10 which it strikes the object ball all help determine where the struck
11 ball will travel. For example, a cue ball with left-hand English on
12 it, striking "square" on the object ball (at the nearest point of the
13 ball's circumference) will impart a right-hand spin to the object ball.
14 Likewise, a cue ball with no spin on it, striking the object ball
15 on its right side, will also give the object ball a right-hand spin.
16 Again, you can use the Abort Shot and Undo features to polish
17 your technique. To explore the behavior and interaction of the
18 cue ball and multiple object balls, or just to practice carom shots,
19 use Create to set up one or more object balls, then turn on Show
20 Path (Right-Amiga-5), or select Show Path from the
21 Options-Preferences menu. Use the diamonds to help you
22 figure all the angles.
23 If your shot misses, simply abort and undo It. The table will return
24 to its pre-shot situation, and your cue will return to its original
25 angle. Use the fine-tune options to adjust the aim of the cue
26 stick, or position the crosshairs differently to retry the shot.
Combination Shots
28 Another difficult type of shot is the Combination. This involves
29 shooting your cue ball into a number of object balls-often a
30 cluster, with several balls touching--in order to pocket an object
31 ball at the outside of the grouping. Combination Shots are
32 usually classed as trick shots, and are very useful to awe and
33 astound onlookers.
34 Fast Eddie's Undo, Create, and Abort features will help you hone
35 this technique to a fine edge. In fact, Combination shots are a
36 special kind of carom shot, and the method described above
37' works very well to give you plenty of practice perfecting them.
38 New Game
39 If you select New Game from the keyboard (Right-Amiga-N), what
40 you get is a new break set-up for the previously-selected type of
41 game.
42 At the Pool table, to select a totally new kind of game, pull down
43 the Game menu and open the New Game submenu. You will see
44 the A-N notation next to the current game type. Select a different
45 game to change this default.
15
1 Fourteen Ready-to-Play Games
2 Practice playing each of the different pool, billiards, snooker and
3 bumper pool games. Not counting the irifinite possibilities of the
4 Create option, Fast Eddie's provides 14 defined games, for up to
5 four players.
16
Menu Overview
1 Game
3 About Program version is displayed.
4 Help A-H Game's rules are displyed.
& New A-N Start a new game at this table.
e Quit A-Q Quit this table, return to the pool hall.
7 Shot
8 Reploy A-I instant replay remote control panel.
9 Load A-L Load a replay from disk.
10 Save A-S Save a replay to disk.
11 Delete Delete a file.
12 Undo A-Z Undoes the last shot made.
13 Create A-C Allows placement of balls in any
14 position.
15 Options
16 Table Speed Change rate at which balls slow down.
17 Slowed
18 Slow
19 Normal
20 Fast
21 Fastest
22 Random
23 Table Color Change the color of the table cloth.
24 Green
25 Red
26 Gold
27 Tan
28 Black
17
1 Preferences Switch various game toggles.
2 Show Numbers A-1
3 Drop Shadows A-2
4 Reverse View A-3
5 Lag for Break A-4
6 Show Path A-5
7 Edit Flyer Edit player parameter.
8 Name
9 Skill level
10 Human or Amiga
11 Ball Makeup Change behavior of the pooI balls.
12 Boingite
13 Ivory
14 Velcro
15 Save Options Saves configuration file to disk
18
The Rules Of The Game
1 For All Games
2 Help
4 With so many different bliliard games to choose from, it is easy to
5 forget the rules of a particular game. It would be very annoying if
6 the rules were not readily available to the player during the course
7 of a game. The rules are also spelled out in this manual--but
8 who wants to go fetch a manual and search for game rules in the
9 middle of a contest? So this information is provided online.
10 With the touch of a key, you can get the basic rules of the game
11 that is being played. Just press the HELP key (Right-Amiga-H) or
12 select Help under the Game menu.
13 Foul Buzzer
14 In any game, at any table, when the cue ball is sunk or hits or
15 sinks the wrong ball first, a loud buzzer sounds, a statement of
16 the type of foul appears at the top of the screen (and of course,
17 Fast Eddie makes a sarcastic comment!) Driving balls off the
18 table is also a foul, and provokes the buzzer.
19 Force Player to Break Again
20 In many pool and billiard games, a foul shot on the break requires
21 the player to break again. At Fat Eddie's, however, a requester
22 will appear to ask if you want to force this player to break again.
23 If you select YES, the balls will be racked again, and the player
24 who fouled will have another chanoe to break. Selecting NO
25 passes the play to the next player in sequence, who will break.
26 Pocket Pool
27 The standard pool table is a rectangle 9 feet long, and 4.5 feet
28 wide, with six pockets, one in each corner, and one at the
29 mid-point of each long rail. Two spots, the head spot and the foot
30 spot, are located one-quarter of the way along the table from
31 each short rail, and centered between the two long rails.
32 An imaginary line (marked on some championship tables)
33 extends between the center diamonds on the foot and head end
34 of each long rail, through the foot or head spot. The line which
35 extends through the foot spot is called the foot string. Balls are
36 always racked with the lead point of the triangle on this line, and
37 re-spotted balls are placed, touching each other, in a straight line
38 from the foot spot toward the foot rail (perpendicular to the foot
39 string).
19
1 The line extending through the head spot is called the head string,
2 and it defines the furthest forwars point at which the cue ball may
3 be placed for the break. The section of the table between the
4 head string and the head rail is sometimes called the
5 "kitchen"--many games require the cue ball to leave the kitchen
6 for the shot to be legal.
7 Pool Balls
8 Pocket pool games are played with 16 balls, a white cue ball, 8
9 solid balls, and seven striped balls. The balls are numbered 1 through
10 15, and have specific colors.
11 Ball Number Color Characteristic
12 1 Yellow Solid
13 2 Blue Solid
14 3 Red Solid
15 4 Purple Solid
16 5 Orange Solid
17 6 Green Solid
18 7 Brown Solid
19 8 Black Solid
20 9 Yellow Striped
21 10 Blue Striped
22 11 Red Striped
23 12 Purple Striped
24 13 Orange Striped
25 14 Green Striped
26 15 Brown Striped
Racking the Balls
28 At the beginning of the first five games listed, all of which use 15
29 balls, the balls are racked with the ball at lead point over the foot
30 spot, in semi-random order in the racking triangle. Order is
31 semi-radom because each game has one or three specified
32 balls which must go in the points of the triangle.
33 Game Lead Point Left Back Right Back
34 15-Ball 15
35 Rotation 1 2 3
36 14.1 1 5
37 Moon 1
38 Cutthroat 1 6 11
39 Golf uses all 15 balls, but they are placed about the table in a
40 random pattern, different for each game. After the 8-Ball is sunk
41 during a Golf game, a flashing "8" may appear at the top of the
42 screen throughout the rest of this player's turn.
20
1 One other game uses all 15 balls--8-Ball. In this game, the 8-ball
2 is racked in the middle of the third row, with the other balls racked
3 at random within the triangle.
4 Games which use fewer than 15 balls have a specified order and
5 pattern in which the balls must be set for break:
6 Game Rack Shape Number balls Order
7 6-Ball Triangle 6 Lead=1
8 Second Row=2,3
9 Third Row=4,5,6
10
11 Wild Sevens Hexagon 7 Lead=1
12 T Clockwise from
13 1-ball=2,3,4,5,6
14 7-ball in middle
15 9-Ball Diamond 9 Lead=1
16 9-Ball inside
17 2 through 8
18 random.
15-Ball
20 Number of Players: 2 to 4
21 Object: Outscore your opponent(s) by sinking as many
22 balls as possible, in any order.
23 The value of each ball is equal to its number. The game ends
24 when any player reaches 61 points (15-Ball is sometimes called
25 "61" for that reason) or when all object balls have been sunk from
26 the table. Sinking the cue ball is a foul, and the foul penalty is
27 always three points. After a foul, play moves to the next player in
28 the sequence.
29 15-Ball is an easily-understood game. You don't need to know
30 which balls have what numbers and there is only one way to foul
31 (pocket the cue ball)--this makes it ideal as a beginner's game.
32 In 15-Ball, all 15 balls are racked in the triangle, with the 15-ball at
33 the lead point. The other ball are placed at random positions in
34 the triangle. Any ball on the table can be the object ball, and
35 there are no limitations as to which ball must be struck first.
38 Illegally-sunk balls (balls sunk during a foul shot) are replaced on
37 the table, spotted in a straight line from the foot spot to the foot
38 rail.
21
Rotation
2 Number of Plyers: 2 to 4
3 Object: outscore your opponent(s) by sinking as many
4 balls as possible, in any order.
5 Like 15-Ball, the value of each ball is equal to its number, but a
6 game of Rotation ends when all object balls have been sunk. To
7 be a legal shot, the cue ball must first touch the lowest-numbered
8 ball on the table.
9 In Rotation, all 15 balls are racked in the triangle, with the 1-ball at
10 the lead point, the 2-ball in the upper (left) back corner, and the
11 3-ball in the lower (right) corner. The other balls are placed at
12 random positions in the triangle.
13 The cue ball must strike the 1-ball first on the break--if you fail to
14 touch the one-ball first, play passes to the next player in the
15 sequence, and any balls pocketed on the break are re-spotted on
16 the table. On the break, if the 1-ball is struck first, you get credit
17 for all balls pocketed on the break. As each ball becomes the
18 object ball when the lower-numbered balls have been pocketed,
19 any balls pocketed are credited to you as long as the first ball
20 struck by the cue ball is the object ball--even if you don't pocket
21 the legal object ball.
22 Sinking the cue ball is a foul. There is no point-penalty for a foul,
23 but three consecutive fouls is loss of game. After a foul, play
24 moves to the next player in the sequence.
25 When you first begin playing Rotation, it may help to press
26 Right-Amiga-1 to turn on the Shadow Numbers feature. Of course,
27 as you becorne more familiar wl1h the game, you willi not need to
28 see the numbers to avoid fouls.
14.1
30 Number of Plyers: 2 to 4
31 Object: To be the first to score 25 points.
32 This game, sometimes called "straight pool", is the classic
33 game in which the player "calls" each shot. It is sometimes called
34 14.1 continuous, because the 14 pocketed balls are re-racked
35 when one object ball remains on the table. Each ball is worth 1
36 point, but only if the fiirst ball sunk is in the specified pocket.
37 All 15 balls are racked at the start of the game, with the 1-ball in
38 the upper or left-hand back corner, and the 15-ball in the lower or
39 right-hand back corner. Each player's frame continues until a
40 shot is missed, when play passes to the next player in sequence,
41 with the existing situation of the table.
42 When only one object ball remains on the table, the rest are
43 re-racked--not spotted in a straight line, but placed in standard
22
1 format in the traangle and racked, with the lead point of the
2 triangle empty. If the cue ball or a remaining object ball lies in the
3 space normally occupied by the triangle, the balls are racked with
4 the lead ball above the foot string, as close as possible to the
5 normal position.
6 Because of the way the balls are re-racked on the table,a point of
7 strategy in a game of 14.1 is the position of the break ball (the
8 object ball remaining on the table before the others are re-racked)
9 and the cue ball after the key ball (the last ball pocketed before
10 the re-rack) has been pocketed. Obviously, if the cue ball is
11 badly positioned for the break after re-racklng, you may miss your
12 shot, and play will pass to another player. Less obvious is the
13 role of the break ball--but its position helps determine where the
14 re-racked balls will be placed.
15 In 14.1, the pocket is called. Any object ball may be sunk in the
16 called pocket, but sinking object balls in another pocket without
17 any ball going into the called pocket is a foul. Penalty for fouls is
18 two points on the break, and one point thereafter. Whenever a
19 point is lost, one obJect ball is returned to the table, spotted
20 normally at the foot spot.
21 Three consecutive fouls is a five-point penalty. Sinking the cue
22 ball is also a foul. After a foul, play moves to the next player in
23 the sequence.
Moon
2 Number of Players: 2 to 4
3 Object: To be the first to score 25 points.
4 The legal onject ball is the lswest-numbered ball on the table, and
5 it must be the first ball hit by the cue ball for a shot to be legal.
6 If the object ball is sunk first, each ball sunk after it is worth 3
7 points, otherwise, each ball is worth 1 point.
8 All l5 balls are racked at the start of the game, with the 1-ball at
9 the lead point, and the others placed in the triangle at random.
10 Play begins with the break--the 1-ball must be struck first on the
11 break--and continues until the player fouls or misses a shot,
12 when play passes to the next player in the sequence.
13 When only one ball remains, the rest are re-rack--not spotted
14 in a straight line, but placed in a standard format in the triangle
15 and racked. If the cue ball or a remaining object ball lies in the
16 space normally occupled by the triangle, the balls are racked with
17 the lead ball above the foot string, as close as possible to the
18 normal position.
19 Like 14.1, Moon thus involves some foresight in your
20 strategy-the position of the cue ball and the break ball are
21 important when the balls are re-racked.
22 The penalty for a foul shot is one point. Scratch, or sinking the
23 cue ball, is a foul with a penalty of 3 points. After a foul, play
24 moves to the next player in the sequence.
23
Golf
2 Number of Players: 2 to 4
3 Object: Sink the 8-ball in the designated pocket in as
4 few shots as possible.
5 Table setup is random, but is identical for all players. The game
6 ends after each pocket has been made, for a total of six "holes"
7 of golf. Foul penalty for sinking the 8-ball in the wrong pocket is 1
8 "stroke" (an additional shot added to your total), and is assessed
9 when the 8-ball is sunk in the wrong pocket. A 1-stroke penalty for
10 scratching or jumping the cue ball off the table is also in force.
11 After a foul, play moves to the next player in sequence.
12 Golf is the only pocket pool game which can be played solitaire.
13 In fact, playing games of solitaire Golf is a good way to develop
14 your eye or agles of shots, and practice bank, carom, an
15 combination shots. Turn on tje Show Path option
16 (Right-Amiga-5) for a some assistance with sighting and lining up
17 your shots. You can endlessly Undo and re-shoot your shots if
18 you're using the game as a practice session. And each new
19 game of Golf lays out a completely new table situation for your
20 enjoyment.
Cutthroat
22 Number of Players: 3
23 Object: Sink the balls of your opponents.
24 Before the break, all 15 balls are racked with the 1-ball in the lead
25 point, the 6-ball in the upper or left-hand back point, and the
26 11-ball in the lower or right-hand back point. The first player to
27 sink a ball chooses which group of balls to protect: 1 through 5,
28 6 through 9, or 10 through 15. The second player chooses one
29 of the two remaining groups to protect, and the last player
30 protects the remaining group. A player wins when all the balls left
31 on the table belong to that player's group.
32 If the cue ball hits a ball from the player's own group first, it is
33 a foul. On a foul, one ball of each opponent is returned to the table
34 at the racking point, and play moves to the next player in the
35 sequence.
36 Cutthroat gets its name from the style of play it encourages--your
37 goal during any frame is not only to sink as many of your
38 opponent's group as possible (the offensive game), but also to
39 leave your group in as difficult a lie as possible (the defensive
40 game). A practiced player sets up one opponent to sink most of
41 the other opponent's group, then polishes off the remaining
42 opponent in the next frame.
24
6-Ball
2 Number of Players: 2 to 4
3 Object: To legally pocket the 6-ball.
4 To be a legal shoot, the cue ball must hit the lowest-numbered ball
5 first. Players may sink the 6-ball on any shot, as long as this
6 requirement is met. Each player continues to shoot as long as a
7 ball has been legally sunk on the previous shot. 6-ball is not a
8 scored game--the only way to win is to legally pocket the 6-ball,
9 nobody is "ahead" at any point in the game, and there are no ties
10 or draw games.
11 A foul shot is any shot in which the cue ball does not touch an
12 object ball, does not touch the lowest-numbered ball first, or in
13 which the cue ball is pocketed. Balls sunk on a foul shot are
14 returned to the table, re-spotted touching in a straight line with
15 the lowest-numbed at the foot spot, and higher-numbered balls in
16 numeric sequence toward the foot rall. There is no point penalty
17 for fouls, but three cosecutive fouls loses the game. After a foul,
18 play moves to the next player in the sequence.
19 An unusual aspect of 6-Ball play is that, after a foul, the
20 succeeding player may spot the cue ball anywhere on the table.
21 This is the true penalty for fouls--the next opponent in the order
22 of play can make the shot an easy set-up!
23 6-ball is a lightning-fast game, ideal for players who have only a
24 little time to spare for play. Even at the novice level, two players
25 can finish a game in a few minutes, yet 6-ball involves all the
26 elements of skill needed for the longer games.
8-Ball
28 Number of Plyers: 2 or 4
29 Object: To legally pocket the 8-ball.
30 8-Ball is a fast pool game, as demanding in its own way as 14.1
31 or Cutthroat. Except the 8-ball, the seven object balls may be
32 sunk in any pocket, without calling the shot. Only in the end
33 game, when all other balls of this player's group have been
34 pocketed, does the player need to call a shot--the 8-ball.
35 The game begins with all 15 balls racked in random order except
36 the 8-ball, which must be placed in the middle of the second row,
37 or the center of the triangle. The first player to sink a ball after
38 the break chooses a group of balls to sink, stripes (1 through 7) or
39 solids (9 through 15). Any ball on the table, including the 8-ball,
40 may be used in carom or combination shots, but the player
41 automatically loses ff the 8-ball is pocketed while any other object
42 balls remain.
43 When no more of this target group remains, the object becomes
44 to sink the 8-ball into the called pocket. The player automatically
25
1 loses if the cue ball is pocketed while attempting the 8-ball, or if
2 the 8-ball is sunk in the wrong pocket. Three consecutive fouls
3 also loses the game. After a foul, play moves to the next player in
4 the sequence.
5 Behind the 8-ball
6 There are many ways to automatically lose a game of 8-ball, most
7 of them involving the 8-ball itself--in fact, there are more ways to
8 lose than to win! No wonder the expression "behind the 8-ball"
9 became part of the language, describing a feeling of being in a
10 no-win or hopeless situation.
9-Ball
12 Number of Players: 2 to 4
13 Object: To legally pocket the 9-ball.
14 A game of 9-Ball begins with balls 1 through 9 racked in a
15 diamond shape, with the lead "point" of the diamond, the 1-ball,
16 on the foot spot, and the 9-ball in the center of the diamond. The
17 other balls are placed in any order to complete the diamond.
18 The player who breaks--this is one game in which it is to your
19 advantage to break because you might make the 9-ball and
20 win-tries to pocket any ball in any pocket. A player continues to
21 shoot until a ball is not sunk in a specified pocket--except on the
22 break, when the shot does not need to be called.
23 After the break shot, the cue ball must hit the lowest-numbered
24 object ball first on any shot. The object is to sink balls in the
25 called pocket. The 9-ball can be sunk at any time.
26
1 A shot is a foul if the cue ball does not hit the lowest-numbered
2 ball first, when a ball is not sunk in the called pocket or if the cue
3 ball is sunk. Play passes to the next player in the sequence on a
4 foul. There is no penaity for fouls, but 3 consecutive fouls is
5 automatic loss of game.
Wild Sevens
7 Number of Players: 2 to 4
8 Object: To legally pocket the 7-ball.
9 To be a legal shot, the cue ball must hit the lowest-numbered ball
10 first. Players may sink the 7-ball on any shot, as long as this
11 requirement is met. Each player continues to shoot if a ball has
12 been sunk. Three consecutivee fouls loses the game, and the
13 player automatically loses if the 7-ball is sunk on a foul shot.
14 After a foul, play moves to the next player in the sequence.
15 Pockets need not be called on any shot.
16 Wild Sevens is a fast rotational pool game like the games
17 developed for the time requirements of television, averaging about
18 three minutes per game. Players need skills in carom and
19 combination shots. A special circular rack or the diamond rack of
20 9-ball may be used to rack the balls clockwise in numerical order
21 with the 1-ball at the lead point and the 7-ball in the center of the
22 circle.
27
Bumper Pool
2 The bumper table is octagonal, and its standard configuration
3 calls for 14 bumpers, 10 of which are arranged with
4 four pairs forming an opened-centered cross, and two more located
5 one on either side at about mid-point between the horizontal
6 arm of the cross and the rail. The bumpers thus form four
7 four vertical, two horizontal, and two diagonal "channels" through
8 which the balls must pass to cross the table.
9 A pocket at the "top" and a pocket at the "bottom" of the table are
10 each bracketed on either side by two of the remaining four
11 bumpers. Four plain red balls are lined up on one side, two
12 along the rail on each side of the bumpers. The fifth, a spotted
13 ball, is placed in front of a red-rimmed pocket. This setup is
14 echoed on the opposite side with five white balls and a white-
15 rimmed pocket.
16 Because of the bumpers, this game combines the skills of kiss or
17 carom shots, bank shots, and careful eyeing of angles for an
18 expert tecnique. Use the Create and Undo features to set up
19 and re-shoot practice shots until you are comfortable with the
20 characteristics of rebound from the bumpers and oblique
21 angles of the rails.
22 The Game
23 Number of Plyers: 2 or 4
24 Object: To be the first to sink all the balls of your color
25 in the opponent's pocket.
26 Each "side" has a spotted ball which serves as the cue ball until it
27 is sunk. The spotted ball must be sunk before the others, or it is
28 a foul. Shooting a ball into your own pocket is also a foul, and
29 results in the removal of one of your opponent's balls, and the
30 return of all illegally-sunk balls to the center point between the
31 bumpers. After a foul, play moves to the next player in the
32 sequence.
33 The point or tally area of the screen reports how many of each
34 side's balls are left on the table at any time.
35 Once the spotted ball has been legally sunk, any of the player's
36 balls may be used as the cue ball. To cycle through the balls that
37 you are eligible to shoot, move the mouse or joystick up or down
38 (or use the cursor arrow keys).
28
Snooker
2 Snoker can be played on any pocket pool table, but it is played
3 with 15 solid red balls (the "reds"), 6 balls of other solid
4 (the "coloreds"), and the white cue ball.
5 At the start of the game, the 15 red balls are racked with the lead
6 ball over the foot spot. The pink ball is placed in line with the
7 lead ball, touching it. The back ball is placed midway between
8 the center ball of the back row of the rack, and the foot rail. A
9 blue ball is placed on the center spot. Green, brown and yellow
10 balls are each placed along the headstring, with the brown ball on
11 the head spot, and the other two equidistant from it, not quite half
12 the way along to the side rails.
13 An imaginary semi-circle bounded by the head string and the
14 green and yellow balls is referred to as the "D". Play begins with
15 the first player placing the cue ball anywhere within the "D".
The Game
17 Number of Players: 2 or 4
18 Object: Be first to sink all your balls in the goal pocket.
19 The initial stroke of each turn must strike the cue ball against a
20 red, so long as any reds remain on the table. The second stroke of
21 your turn must strike the cue ball against a colored ball first, the
22 third against a red, and so on. The ball which is next to be struck
23 is referred to as the "on" ball.
24 Reds are not returned to the table after pocketing, but any of the
25 colored balls thet are pocketed are respotted to their original
26 start-of-game positions. When another ball occupies this original
27 position, the ball will be re-spotted at the closest original poisition
28 of another colored ball.
29 Reds are worth one point each, credited when the ball is legally
30 pocketed. The colored balls must be pocketed in ascending
31 order of their point value for the points to be credited to the
32 player; pocketing a colored ball out of order is a foul.
33 Point Values of Balls in Snooker
34 Ball Color Points
35 Red 1
36 Yellow 2
37 Green 3
38 Brown 4
39 Blue 5
40 Pink 6
41 Black 7
29
1 Play continues as long as the player keeps pocketing red balls,
2 until there are no more red balls on the table. This puts the player
3 in the end game, when the colored balls must be pocketed in
4 ascending order, beginning withg the Yellow and ending with the
5 Black. In the end game, colored balls are not replaced on the
6 table.
7 After any foul shot, play passes to the next player in the
8 sequence, and the player who fouled looses any points that might
9 have been credited from the foul shot. If the cue ball failed to hit
10 the appropriate type of ball first, the opponent receives 7 points.
11 Fouls
12 Scratching (pocketing cue ball)
13 Missing all balls
14 Hitting first a ball which is not "on"
15 Stiking simultaneously two balls, other than two reds
16 Pocketing on the same shot two balls, other than
two reds or the "on" ball and another ball
18 Pocketing the wrong ball
19 Snookered
20 A player is said to be snookered when a ball which must not be
21 played obstructs a straight line between the cue ball and the ball
22 that is next to be struck. The player must attempt the shot, but it
23 in dire straights of being penalized--so the phrase "snookered"
24 came to be used for any situation where you are punished if you
25 do, and punished if you don't.
30
Billiards
2 Billiards is played on a slightly larger table then a pool table,
3 without any pockets. At Fast Eddie's, the Billiards table is the one
4 nearest you on your right when you are in the pool hall. The
5 game is sometimes called Carom Billiards, to distinguish it from
6 English billiards (which is played on a table with six pockets, like
7 pool). Only three balls are used--solid white, a solid red, and a
8 spotted white ball. The white and spot white balls are used as the
9 cue balls, one by each player or pair of players. The red ball
10 must never be hit by a cue ball, only by knocking other balls
11 against it.
12 At start of play, the red ball is placed on the foot spot, and the
13 opponent's cue ball on the head spot. The first player may place
14 his cue ball anywhere in a semi-circular "D", similar to the cueing
15 area of the snooker table. Each player continues until no score is
16 mede on a shot, or a foul is committed, whereupon play passes
17 to the next player in the sequence.
18 The Game
19 Number of Players: 2 to 4
20 Object: To be the first to score ten points.
21 A point is scored when both object balls (the opponent's cue ball
22 and the red ball are struck by your cue ball during the execution
23 of the stroke. The cue ball may kiss from one object ball to
24 another--as long as both object balls are struck by the cue ball, a
25 point is tallied. In any shot except the break shot, the player's
26 cue may contact either of the object balls first. A player's turn
27 continues until a shot makes no score or, a foul is committed,
28 then play passes to the next player in the sequence.
29 A shot in which no score is made, but no foul committed, is called
30 a "safety". A safety shot in billiards is any shot in which the
31 cue ball touches one object ball and sends it to the rail.
32 Foul shots include those in which one or no object ball is
33 touched, or in which the touched balls do not go all the way to
34 the rail. Each foul reduces the player's score by one point.
31
Glossary
Angle The relationship of the cue ball to the target (object)
ball.
Ball On A stright-in shot. In a combination shot, any ball which can
be stroked into a called pocket.
Bank A cushion or rail.
Bank Shot A shot in which the object ball is driven into one
or more cushions before it is pocketed.
Behind the 8-ball In a game of 8-ball, to be in a position where every
possible shot will lead to a penalty and loss of game;
any hopeless situation (slang).
Billiards Any game played on a billiards table. The name is thought
to come from the French word for stick, billiarts.
Break The opening shot of the game.
Bumper Any of the 14 cylindrical obstructions on a bumper pool
table.
Called Ball The ball which must be pocketed next in the game.
Called Pocket The pocket into which the player intends to drop the
called ball--in Fast Eddie's, the called pocket is
marked with an X and can be shifted with the mouse,
joystick or cursor arrow keys.
Carom A shot in which the cue ball strikes and rebounds from
and object ball.
Carom Billiards Another name for Billiards, to distinguish it from English
billiards, which is played on a different typoe of table.
Center Spot A point in the precise center of the pool table, where an
object ball may be spotted.
Count A score, a point.
Cripple A ball that comes to rest close to a pocket opening;
an easily pocketed ball.
Cue Ball Pool and Billiards: The solid white ball which is struck
with the cue. Bumper pool: Until the spotted ball is
sunk, it is the cue ball. After it has been pocketed, any
ball of the player's group may be selected as the cue ball.
Cuing Striking the cue ball with the tip of the cue. Cuing at
Fast Eddie's is controlled by the aim of the cue
stick, and the position and size of the crosshairs when the
mouse button is released.
Cushion The rails that form the edge of the table.
D An imaginary half-circle bounded by the head
string and the positions of the Yellow and Green
balls in snooker or a similarly sized and
positioned half-circle on a billiards table, where
the cue ball may be spotted for the break.
Diamond One of the eighteen spots spaced regularly
around the rails of the pool table.
Draw Sometimes called reverse English, draw is a
stroking technique which causes the cue ball to
reverse its direction after striking the object ball
(the cue "draws" the cue ball back toward it).
Draw is produced by positioning the crosshair
below the center of the cue ball.
Draw Shot A shot in which draw is applied to the cue ball.
English Any spin or twist applied to the cue ball or an
object ball.
English Billiards A game laid out like Billiards (or Carom
Billiards), but played on a pocket billiards table.
Follow A stroking technique which causes the cue ball
to continue rolling in the same direction as the
object ball (the cue ball "follows" the object
ball). Follow is produced by positioning the
crosshair above the center of the cue ball.
Follow Shot A shot in which follow is applied to the cue ball.
Foot Rail The short rail nearest the foot spot. Unless you
have selected Reverse View, the foot rail is on
the right. On a commercial pool table, this is
the short rail opposite the one with the
manufacturer's name on it.
Foot Spot A spot (usually marked) on the table,
equidistant from the center spot and the center
diamond on the foot rail, used for spotting
object balls. The foot spot is where the lead
ball of the rack is placed before the break.
Foul Any unfair stroke; a violation of the rules of the
specified game. After a foul, a specified penalty
may be applied, often including the passage of
playing turn to the next player in the sequence.
Frozen A ball touching the cushion or two balls
touching each other.
Frame A single turn or inning.
Head Rail The short rail nearest the head spot. Unless
you have selected Reverse View, the head rail is
on the left. On a commercial pool table, this is
the short rail with the manufacturer's name on it.
Head Spot A spot (usually marked) on the table,
equidistant from the center spot and the center
diamond on the head rail.
ii
Head String An imaginary line drawn through the head spot and the
center diamonds of the side rails on the head end
of the table (usually not marked) which is the limit
of the "kitchen", the area in which the cue ball may be
placed for the break. many games require that the cue
ball move past the head string for a legal shot.
High Run The highest toal of points scored by an opponent during
a single inning or turn.
Inning A playing turn or frame.
Kiss A carom.
Lagging Banking balls the length of the table (from head rail to
foot rail and return) to determine playing rotation.
Left English A stroking tecnique which spins the cue ball to the left.
Balls with left English on them will curve right as they
move across the table.
Long String An imaginary line drawn through the foot spot and the
center diamonds of the side rails on the foot end of
the table (usually not marked).
Miscue A faulty stroke.
Miss Failure to perform a shot as intended.
Object Ball A ball other than the cue ball.
On Ball In snooker or billiards, the object ball which is to
be struck next.
Pool Any game played on a pocket billiards table with pool
balls. Pool is distinguished from English billiards and
Snooker, also played on a pocket pool table, by the pool
balls, 15 consecutively-numbered balls, the first eight
of which are solid colors and the last seven striped.
Rack The frame in which the balls are grouped before the break.
The most common rack is triangular, but there are also
diamond-shaped and circular racks for specialized racking
set-ups. See also Triangle.
Reverse English Draw.
Right English A stroking tecnique which spins the cue ball to the right.
Balls with right English on them will curve left as they
move across the table.
Run A series of consecutive points or counts in one frame.
Safety A defensive shot, taken in an effort to leave the balls
in a difficult set-up for your opponent.
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Scratch A stroke in which the player forfeits a
turn--most often used to refer to pocketing the
cue ball, but actually any stroke which causes
play to pass to the next player in the rotation.
Set-up A simple shot.
Snooker A game played on a pocket billiards table with
snooker balls, 21 balls (not counting the white
cue ball) of which 15 are solid red, and six are
other solid colors.
Snookered To be in a position where any possle shot at
the obiect ball which must be hit next is blocked
by a ball or balls which must not be hit; any
impossible task or situation (slang).
Spotting Placement of balls on designated spots.
Triangle A triangular rack in which the 15 object balls are
placed to prepare them for the break shot. See
also Rack.
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Typed by Mictlantecuhtli and Stark of Skid Row |
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