I almost fell out of our chair the other day when a customer emailed me with a simple request: can you teach me how to play Pill Pool?
This simple question transported me back to my college days when some exchange students from Australia invited me and my friends to play “Kelly Pool” back at their house. Because some of these students were co-eds – and attractive ones at that – we gladly accepted even though we had never heard of the game (one friend asked if we needed bathing suits). Once we learned how to play, what happened next was one of the most memorable nights of my life. We played Pill Pool (as it’s known here in “the States”) until the wee hours of the morning, sharing many laughs and enjoying many more adult beverages.
As my mind returned some 35 years back to the present day, I realized that Pill Pool is the perfect remedy for adding more excitement to your game night for 3 basic reasons:
- It’s a more inclusive pool game where you could have more than 5 players competing in a single round.
- It gives less experienced or skilled players a winning chance.
- Each game can be completed quickly, allowing for more fun.
Here are the rules for Pill Pool:
- To start the game, numbered markers known as “pills” are placed in a narrow-necked container specifically designed for Pill Pool. The bottle is then shaken and each player draws a pill to see which numbered ball will be their “object ball.” DO NOT SHOW YOUR SELECTED NUMBER TO ANYONE – KEEP YOUR OBJECT BALL A SECRET.
- After the break, each player must attempt to contact the lowest number ball on the table with the cue ball.
- The ultimate goal is for a player to legally pocket his or her object ball before any of the opponents.
- If a player knocks a ball in that’s not the lowest remaining ball, that ball is returned from the pocket to the break spot or as close as possible. The offending player does not lose points, but the incoming player has the option of either requiring the offending player to shoot again or taking the ball in hand from the kitchen.
- If a player scratches or jumps the ball off the table, the incoming player has the same option of requiring the offending player to shoot again or taking the ball in hand.
- If a player’s secret object ball is legally pocketed by another opponent, that player must announce his/her object ball before the next shot is taken, or forfeits. Once announced, that player loses one point but can continue playing.
- Scoring goes as follows:
- The player who pockets their secret object ball first receives 2 points from each opponent and wins the game.
- Players are awarded 1 point for pocketing an opponent’s secret object ball.
- If no player succeeds in pocketing their private ball, the game ends when the last private number is pocketed and either 1) the player with the most points wins, or 2) the game is played over again with all points values doubled.
Pill Pool is the closest thing to a bloodsport you can play on a billiards table, and there are so many variations to the rules you can add or amend to create even more fun. It may also be more fun to call it “Kelly Pool” if you want to position yourself as more worldly (and you’re worried about friends’ anxiety over the word “pill”)!
Blog Provided by Don Browne - Wordsmith Extraordinaire - Game Room Enthusiast
