Snooker-Billiards
Liverpool Echo, Saturday 05 September 1925
A NEW GAME.
Messrs. Thurston are about to publish a new game for the billiards table, called “snooker-billiards.” The game, as its title implies, combines billiards and snooker pool, and it played with the six snooker colours, one red, and the white object ball. The advance copy of the rules which have been sent to me is well set-out, and little room is left for doubt on playing points. The balls are set out on the six spots, and the game is opened by the first player playing from hand on to the black, which is on the billiard spot. Winning and Iosing hazards count, as well as cannons, and in addition all the colours must be pocketed or played off into their correct pockets. To illustrate the latter point, the yellow must go into the left-hand bottom pocket of baulk, the blue into the right-hand centre pocket, and so on.
Personally, I am not enamoured of anything but pure billiards, and my objection to these variants of the grand old game is in the befogging number of foul strokes and penalties they include. Here’s a little list, which doesn’t pretend to be exact to a unit, but is fairly well borne out by the rule-book: —
FouI Strokes. | Penalties. | |
Pool | 13 | 9 |
Pyramids | 10 | 6 |
Snooker | 13 | 12 |
Volunteer do. | 14 | 11 |
Russian Pool | 13 | 9 |
Billiards | 10 | 4 |
Snooker-Billiards | 12 | 12 |
That is omitting the great rule that if you refuse to play on you are disqualified, which applies to all games. Snooker-billiards goes a step further than the other variants. Its rules stipulate what are legitimate strokes—and there are only six. However, every man to his game. Just as there are those who prefer mere putting to all-golf; an there are those who will be glad to save their “lives” and welcome this introduction of billiards into snooker, for there are no “lives” in the new game. And, as in chess, you can get your 100 up without taking a man off the board. Copies of the rules may be had from Messrs. Thurston, Leicester-square, London, for 2s 4d, including postage.