To the Editor.
A friend and myself have been playing a game of billiards lately which we have dubbed the "Coronation" game, and, as we have found that it has greatly, improved our ordinary game, I am sending an account of the way we play it as it may perhaps interest some of the amateur readers of The Billiard Monthly.
It is a nomination game, and for each score made we count one, a double score such as a five or six shot we count two, etc., and when a score is made by striking a cushion first we add one for the cushion, and if two or three cushions are struck before scoring we add one for each cushion, such as, for instance, a score in baulk where the ball has to go all round the table striking perhaps three or four cushions before scoring. If a cannon is scored we call that one, and if four cushions have been struck we add one for each of the cushions. We do the same with in-offs, or any other stroke played off the cushion first. As to "hard lines," such as missing a difficult cannon by a hair's breadth, or the red wobbling in the jaws of the pocket, or a very near shave for an in-off, or when we play out of baulk all round the table and hit one of the balls but do not actually score, we count this as if it was an actual score and call it one.
All this, we find, tends to encourage good and careful play. For a fluke we count nothing. The player stops and his opponent goes on to play just as if no score had taken place. This tends to discourage careless off-hand play.
The points we generally play are *0 up and as a variation and for good practice we recommend amateurs who wish to improve their play to try the "Coronation" game.
J. MARR.
Cardiff
To the Editor.
I would like to thank you for the usefulness of The Billiard Monthly, as it has improved my billiards a good deal. I had never made a 50 break before I took it, and, since reading it carefully, I have made a 50, 53, and 61, all sound breaks.
M. D.