Our series of games will not be complete without a description of the ever-popular Billiard Golf. This game is played by pocketing the Red in all six pockets in turn, and the winner is he who achieves this in the fewest number of strokes.
At the commencement of the game the red ball is placed on the centre spot and the cue ball is in hand. As a rule, the left top pocket is made No. 1, and the remaining pockets counted from left to right, making the left hand middle pocket the sixth and last. Each time the red ball is potted, it is placed on the centre spot, and if the player make a losing hazard, the cue ball is again in hand. In all of the cases, each stroke is made with the balls in the after position of the previous stroke. Each stroke counts one, a miss counts one, and a losing hazard two.
A round in ten or under is an exceptionally good performance.
We have been informed that the record is a round in seven, but the average player who gets round in twice that number may congratulate himself; and if he takes three times seven strokes at his first attempt he need not despair.
Billiards Golf can be played by a single player, by a pair of players against each other, and makes quite an entertaining "foursome." It can be further extended if six or eight cuemen play successive rounds. These contests are often keenly fought. Apart from its intrinsic merits as a game pure and simple, billiards golf is of great value to the average player because it improves his winning hazard striking, and makes him study the strength of every stroke; thus tending to remedy two very general defects.
An older "two ball game" and not quite such a good one, is known as "billiards patience." This is played by placing the red ball tight against the side cushion in baulk and equidistant from the baulk line and the bottom cushion. The cue-ball is in hand, and must be played out of baulk via the side and top cushions to strike the red and pocket it in the bottom pocket nearest to the ball. After each stroke the cue-ball is picked up and played afresh around the table, and the idea is to pocket the red in the fewest number of strokes. Truth to tell, it becomes more than a little wearisome after a short trial, yet it is decidedly useful on account of the knowledge it gives of what to do when a double baulk proposition has to be tackled in actual billiards.
Mention of Billiards Golf brings to mind other outdoor games which can, so to speak, be paraphrased on the billiard table. Billiards Bowls must be placed high in the list of such games, though the rules are quite simple. First, draw a circle a foot or so in diameter somewhere in the middle of the table between the billiard and pyramid spots. Draw the circle lightly, and with tailor's pipe clay, if possible, as ordinary white chalk is apt to leave a permanent mark on the cloth.
Having drawn your circle, the rival teams are chosen. All can play, old and young, good players and bad. The pool balls are dealt out, each player receiving a ball of a different colour, or, especially if the number of players is large, it is better to give pool balls to one side, and red balls from the pyramid set to the other. Every stroke must be played from the "D" to a side and then a top cushion with the idea of leaving the player's ball in the circle. Direct strokes are not allowed under any circumstances, each stroke must be made off the two cushions. It is as well to appoint a "skipper" for each side, who leads off and is allowed to advise his team. Each player is followed by a member of the opposing side, and when everybody has played the balls within the circle are counted and reckoned a point each to the side owning them.
Twenty points or so makes a good game, and usually a very merry one, particularly if a last player whose side is behind on the round puts plenty of vim into the stroke with the idea of knocking as many balls out of the circle as possible.
A cue is used by all who play billiards ever so little, but ladies who have yet to become acquainted with billiards, and young boys and girls who are sure to want to "join in" may be permitted to trundle the ball by hand. Played in free and easy fashion the game is most amusing, and those who care to take it quite seriously will find that it makes no small call on both skill and judgment.
We will now pass to a game which possesses the advantage of novelty. Probably few of our readers have even heard of it. "Billiards Cricket" is the name of the innovation, and it is not at all a bad game. Sides are chosen, and a "wicket" is pitched by making three white marks on the top cushion, one directly behind the billiard spot to represent the "middle" stump, and two other marks, six inches to the right and left of the "middle" stump. The centre spot of the "D" is the bowling stump, and the ball must not be delivered from any other position. For "fieldsmen," eleven pool or pyramid balls are dealt out, and they may be placed at the discretion of the bowler anywhere round the table, provided that no ball is further than one foot from any cushion. "Fieldsmen" placed on the top cushion must be tight against the rubber, and not less than eighteen inches clear of the "wicket." The game is played by the "bowler" playing the white ball down the centre of the table with a cue, while the "batsman," cue in hand, stands behind the top cushion to defend his wicket and score if he can. Runs are scored by striking the ball direct on to a cushion, which counts one; and sending the ball clean into any pocket, which counts two. But if the "batsman" sends the ball direct to any of the "fieldsmen" he is "caught" out. (Hitting a "fieldsman" after a run has been scored by sending the ball against a cushion does not matter.) The "batsman" is "bowled" out if he misses the ball or plays it in such a way that it strikes either of the "stumps" or the space between them. He is out for hitting the ball twice, if he stops the ball and then hits it with a subsequent stroke, and is given out for "obstruction" if he plays a ball with any portion of the cue except the tip.
Obviously, the thing to guard against is fast "bowling," as a ball played full strength up the table would be altogether too much for any "batsman" except a man with & wonderfully quick hand and eye, and even then the business would knock tips off cues at a frightful rate.
There is also the matter of "side" in conjunction with speed, as it is evident that a fast ball spinning with "twist" would break down any defence. On the other hand, a slow ball loaded with "side"; is a legitimate "teaser" for the "batsman." The objection named is overcome by the rule that if the" bowler "sends up a ball fast enough to rebound from the "wicket" or any other part of the top cushion, and strike another cushion, or any "fieldsman," except those placed against the tap cushion, it is a "no-ball," and one run is added to the "batsman's" score. In practice, this stops fast bowling altogether, and abolishes what may be called "medium fast" bowling with enough spin on it to carry the ball over to either side cushion or an adjacent "fieldsman." But it should be noted that a rebounding ball must strike a "fieldsman," or cushion. If it misses a "fieldsman" and fails to reach the cushion, it is the fortune of war, and the batsman is out if the ball struck his "wicket." The "bowler" may shift his "field" as often and where he pleases within the limits prescribed, and may bring his "men" as close together as he pleases. But he must do so before bowling a ball, he must not adjust his "field" while the "batsman" is shaping for a stroke, or striking, or while the ball is moving after a stroke.
We have given this game a good trial, and find it distinctly amusing, both to players and spectators alike. A score of a dozen or so is not easily knocked up, especially if the "bowler" can impart both "drag" and "side" to a ball. It does not injure one's billiards, on the contrary, it instills quick and accurate cue delivery, and is really excellent practice for a player whose style is cramped. Considerable judgment in placing the "field" can be exercised with advantage, especially with the idea of stopping the favourite stroke of a particular "batsman." Ladies should be allowed the option of "batting" with the butt of the cue, which is a very material advantage, especially if the fair one is wily enough to indulge in "stone-walling." Taken altogether, "Billiards Cricket" is a capital game for a party at a country house, and the element of fortune is enough to give a sporting chance to all.
When we experimented with the game, some of the best billiard players in the company got out for "ducks" through trying to do something clever, and a bonny young miss home from school for the holidays, and handling a cue for the first time in her life, manipulated the "butt" with such effect that she won an exciting match for her side by a fine "not-out innings" of ten "runs," eight of which were scored by four amazing consecutive hits direct into pockets. (To be continued.)