For those of you that still play pool...
It's called -V- ball and was designed for the, "Is it my turn yet" and the "Uncooperative Partner" scenarios...
The nice part about this game is everyone gets to play...
The game is 2 to 4 players, which makes it good for those times that you only have 3 people in your group, won't matter, because all 3 of you can play at the same time...
The money ball is the 1 ball, this ball is a neutral ball on the table and is given a point to the player that makes the ball in intentionally or by accident, doesn't matter they are still given a point...
For example, if the person is trying to make their ball in and misses, but makes the 1 ball in by accident, their turn continues, but they only get to hit the 1 ball for a point each time it makes it in...
sidenote: You cannot intentionally hit the 1 ball in by any means while you still have your balls on the table...
Now if the player can't hit the 1 ball on their shot they have a choice not to hit the ball, but they lose 1 point, which in this instance will take away the point they just made...
If the person decides to try to make the 1 ball and misses the 1 ball altogether, meaning the cue ball never makes contact with the 1 ball, they lose a point, like a table scratch and the cue ball will be picked up and put in the kitchen for the next player...
If the 1 ball is hit and makes it in, they make a point and they get to continue hitting the 1 ball up to 5 times total...
So, being that the 1 ball is neutral if the 1 ball goes in by accident when trying to hit your ball in, that's a free play, you then have 5 chances to continue hitting the 1 ball in to increase your points by 5 points...
Once the 5th shot is done the player that was next in rotation of the normal play will take their turn, this person is called the -V- player...
That person has to call themselves -V- in order to secure their position, if the player before them hits the 1 ball in by accident, and if they don't yell -V- they will lose their turn in Rotation and miss their turn while passing their turn on to the next player...
The person that is hitting the 1 ball is only allowed to hit the 1 ball, regardless if their balls are still up on the table, they must continue to hit the 1 ball only until they miss, the fifth shot is reached or they decide not to continue after shot 1 is completed...
sidenote: The 1 ball can never be hit first in a combination, it can however, be used as a second or third, fourth, fifth etc. ball in a combination to make one of your object balls in...
If the person hitting the 1 ball misses the pocket they intended for it to go in, nothing happens other than they lose the chance to continue trying to make the additional 5 points, in other words just because they miss the shot doesn't mean they lose a point they just lose their next shot...
They only lose a point if either they can't hit the 1 ball on their shot, or they decided to forfeit their shot they will lose a point...
sidenote: They can also lose a turn and a point if they hit another players ball in...if they make the 1 ball as well, doesn't matter which one goes in first, the player loses their turn - the 1 ball comes back up and, they lose a point while the other player gains a point for a ball of theirs going in...
Also, the 1 ball bonus points can only be started by two ways:
1. If the 1 ball is accidentally put down
2. If the player has hit in all their balls
Keep in mind, if the 1 ball is hit in by accident while hitting in your balls you must stop hitting in your balls and only hit the 1 ball...
Once the first shot of the 5 point system has been established the player has the choice to stop and pass on the play or continue to try and make all 5 points, remember that if the 1 ball goes in accidentally that's 1 point, but not to be considered one of the 5 points, it in turn is the 6th point...
The 5 point bonus play is after the fact...
Now, if the 1 ball is never hit in by accident and the first player that gets their balls in first will be allowed to hit the 1 ball for their shot once their shot comes available...
clarity: The player is not allowed to hit in the 5 points on the turn that puts all their ball in, they have to let the other players get a chance to hit all their balls in on their turn, then once the first 1 ball hitters turn comes around are they allowed to start the 5 point bonus round...
So, the other players still have their balls to make in, they are only allowed to hit their balls in unless they accidentally hit the 1 ball in, now they get a chance to make the 5/6 point bonus points, but remember, once they hit 5 in, they must pass their turn to the next player in line, the -V- player, if only of course they secured their role by calling out -V-...
sidenote: This is also a drinking game, so if the person doesn't call out -V- they have to do a Shot or chug a beer...
The 1 ball player is allowed to hit in the 1 ball up to 5 times every time their turn comes available and they must hit at least one time regardless if they have a shot or not, they either try to hit the one ball or they lose a point automatically...
To be clear, if and when it's time for the 1 ball player to hit the 1 ball they have to hit it at least once, doesn't matter if it goes in or not, if they hit the ball but it misses the pocket the game goes onto the next player and the 1 ball shooter will not lose a point as long as the cue ball makes contact with the 1 ball...
Also, if it's just normal ball rotation, in other words, each person is trying to hit their designated ball in there is no reason for the person to call out -V-, this is only needed to be done if the 1 ball goes in accidentally, because remember, once the 1 ball goes in, you must stop shooting your balls...
Now, what balls are yours...
If you are playing with two people your balls are: 2,3,4,5,6,7, 8 and 9,10,11,12,13,14, 15
If you are playing with three people your balls are: 2,3,4,5-6,7,8,9 and 10,11,12,13
If you are playing with four people your balls are: 2,3,4-5,6,7-8,9,10-11,12,13
The 14 and 15 ball is taken off the table so that an even number of balls can be established for three and four person play...
Each Players ball of their set is worth 1 point, so once you make your ball you get a point, but once the ball is made it stays down, however, if you scratch while making your ball, you lose the point the ball comes back up to be placed on the spot and the cue ball is picked up and placed in the kitchen for the next player...
sidenote: The point can be regained once the player makes their scratched ball in again once their turn comes available...
Now, for the player that hit all their balls in they get to continue making their 5 points until the other players make their balls in, once all the players have made their balls in, the game is over...
So that means, that if one player doesn't hit in all their balls and the other players have, they all have a chance to make up points by hitting the 1 ball in for the 5 point bonus points...
For the person that goes out first, they get 1 point for going out first, nobody else gets a point for being 2nd or 3rd going out, only the 1st person gets a point...
You can set w/ever number you want to play to, but the game minimum is 100 points, so the first person to get 100 points gets a point, regardless if they went out first or not...
This is an additional bonus point...
sidenote: More than likely you won't reach 100 points the first game, you just rack them up again once the game ends and continue to play until the 100 points is reached or the desired number of points that were established before the games started is reached...
Remember, if the 1 ball goes in accidentally that person has a chance to make additional points regardless if their balls are in or not, so they could make extra points...
We use the term loosely here, when we say accidentally, if you call a "Combination" shot to hit one of your balls in and you use the 1 ball in your combination, and the 1 ball goes in, regardless if your ball goes in or not, you get the 5/6 point bonus round...
sidenote: Loosely means, you can never intentionally make the 1 ball if your balls are still on the table, but if you create a shot that looks accidental, then the bonus round starts...
sidenote2: Example, if you call a three ball or more combination and your intent "Secretly" was to make the 1 ball in on a creative deception, then yes, the bonus round starts, remember, creative deception, not deceptive intention...
You do however, have to hit your ball first in the combination in order for it to count, otherwise, you lose your turn and you lose a point...
Only the player that has hit all their balls in can hit the 1 ball directly, or use it as their first ball to hit...
Even though the 1 ball is neutral, you CANNOT use it as your first ball of a combination to hit your ball in, if you do, you lose your turn and you lose 1 point and the ball stays down...
You can use the 1 ball in your combination providing you hit your object ball first...
Combinations can be started with anybody's ball, that means you can start the combination with your opponents ball, no problem there, you just can't hit the 1 ball first unless all your balls are in, or your on your bonus points...
sidenote: If you have hit all your balls in and/or you are on your bonus points, you cannot hit another persons ball first in order to hit your 1 ball in. You can use other balls in a combination to make your 1 ball bonus point, but you must hit the 1 ball first "ALWAYS" when in the bonus round...no exceptions...
Also, hooking a player is also allowed, if you hook a player so they can't hit their ball, they lose a point...
To hook a player, you must hit your ball first and that ball must either hit another ball and/or at least one ball has to hit a cushion, or it's a foul and the player loses a point and the cue ball is picked up and put into the kitchen...
There is no ball in hand for this game, considering that there are so few balls to play with, so the ball must go back into the kitchen...
There is only "ONE FOUL" play in the game that allows you to put the ball into the kitchen and that is when the other player is trying to hook the other player into missing their next shot and they miss their ball or they don't hit a rail...
sidenote: You may not be trying to hook a player and just miss your ball altogether, if this happens, the cue ball is picked up and is put back into the kitchen, this is the "Table Scratch" rule...
sidenote2: Table Scratch also means the person has to do a shot, or chug a beer...
sidenote3: All the player has to do is hit one of the balls of theirs, even if they miss the object ball first, but the cue ball bounces around and hits another ball of theirs, there will be no table scratch, but if the player misses their object ball first and hits another players ball first then hits their ball, this is a table scratch and the Cue Ball will go into the kitchen...
sidenote4: The combination rule, even though you hit another persons ball first, that's okay providing the ball hits your object ball, if this doesn't happen, table scratch, but in the event that the object ball isn't hit first, but the Cue Ball hits one of their balls before the combination ball hits the opponents ball, there is no table scratch...
Sidenote5: Just to clarify, if the object ball is not hit either directly of by use of a combination ball before the used ball or the cue ball hits another persons ball, this is a table scratch, all table scratches the person loses a point and the cue ball is picked up and put back into the kitchen for the other player...
The game is over when when all balls are off the table, regardless if 100 points is achieved, this is only a point for the person who gets to 100 first, they are still allowed to make points off the 1 ball until all balls are off the table and the 5th shot is done...
When the 1 ball is hit in, the 1 ball will go up on the spot and the cue ball will stay wherever it was from the previous shot, this is why the 5 shot rule has been put in place, because a good player could just draw all day long and continue to make the 1 ball in the corner lol...
Also, the last player to get their balls in will not have a chance to make additional points by hitting the 1 ball in, only the players that have hit their balls in are allowed to make the 5 point bonus until the final player makes their last ball...
We'll continue to think about this to make sure we've covered all the bases, but if you have a question about it, please feel free to leave a comment...
sidenote: We're trying to think how to rack the balls to begin with, we're trying to decide if the 1 ball should be the first ball or if the 1 ball should be behind the rack...
UPDATE: If an opposing player hits another players ball in by accident or on purpose that player will lose their turn and a point will go to the person who's ball went in, if both of the Opponents Ball goes in the player that knocked the wrong ball in will lose their turn, their point and their ball will need to be brought back up and put on the spot...
UPDATE: How to choose which balls people will be hitting. Take a couple of balls off the table one high and one low and put them behind your back and let the other person choose a hand w/out knowing which ball is in which hand. The person who is holding the balls will have w/ever ball the other player didn't choose. If there are 3 people that third person will get 10, 11, 12, 13. If there are 4 people two players will hold two balls one from each set and the other two people will choose from one or the other of those people. Whatever they choose the holder will take the ball of the unchosen.
UPDATE: We've decided how you should rack the balls. The 8 ball will go at the front of the rack and the 9 will go back to the middle of the back row. They should be racked solid, stripe, solid, stripe just like you would do for an 8 ball rack w/the exception of the 8 going at the front of the rack.