Balls Pool 8 setup Full 3D 2016 (New)

It's a big world, and there's a lot of balls out there, especially when it comes to the game of pool.

Sure, a lot of us may only be familiar with their primary American uses (e.g. use the white cue ball to hit, choose between stripes and solids, get the 8-Ball in last, etc), but some of you may be surprised by the history of the pool ball itself, as well as the varying weights, sizes and colors used in the different forms of billiards out there, ranging from carom, snooker, to what many of us have come to know as the traditional game of eight-ball.


The History of Pool / Billiard Balls:
Since the game's inception in the 15th Century, billiard balls have been made from many different materials, such as clay, bakelite, celluloid, crystallite, ivory, plastic, steel and the earliest form, wood. From 1627 to the mid-20th century, the most dominant of billiard ball material was ivory. The search for a substitute for ivory use was, oddly enough, not for environmental concerns but based mostly on lowering the high production costs and the growing fear for the safety of those poor, sympathetic elephant hunters.

After the reign of ivory, the 1900's brought the first viable pool ball substitute, celluloid. Unfortunately, celluloid only achieved minimal success to due to the fact that it often exploded during the delivery, which many people tend to frown upon. Thanks to the success of brands like Aramith, the most popular material used in billiard balls today is phenolic resin, which is closely followed by polyester and various other polymers.


The Major Differences:
Many unique variations of the game of billiards have been created throughout the world. Because of this, many different versions exist of the billiard ball itself, all varying in number, type, diameter, color, and pattern. It all depends upon the specific game being played. .

Here's a quick breakdown of the balls associated with some of the world's most popular billiard games.

American-Style Balls:
Size: 2 1/4 in. Weight: 5 1/2 - 6 oz.

In the US, the term "billiard balls" generally refers to balls used to play various pocket billiard games such as eight-ball, nine-ball and one-pocket. In the UK, the American version of the billiard ball is referred to as "Kelly pool". In an average game of 8-Ball, Balls # 1 - 7 are often referred to as solids, with balls # 9 - 15 being the stripes. Despite having a similar look, the 8-Ball is set apart from the rest of the solids due to its unique significance within the American game of pool.

Visual Number/Color Breakdown:



Snooker Balls:
Standard Size: 21⁄8 in (52.5 mm).

An extremely unique form of billiards, Snooker is played using a white cue ball, 15 red balls, as well as 6 additional balls of various colors.

Snooker Balls The red balls are racked in a fashion similar to the American game of 8-Ball, with the six assorted colors aligned to specific positions along the table. Once one of the red balls is pocketed, a player can choose to hit one of the colored balls, which are each assigned a different point value. This point value is as follows:

Yellow Ball - 2 points

Green Ball - 3 points

Brown Ball - 4 points

Blue Ball - 5 points

Pink Ball - 6 points

Black Ball - 7 points