Most pool games including 8 ball, 9 ball and snooker can be played exactly by two players (or two teams of players). However, it does not mean that you'll have to give up on playing pool when you don't have any partner or when you have too many partners. Some pool games are designed as single-player games while others can be played by three or more players.
If you are familiar with online pool games, the concept of a single-player pool game will not be foreign to you. Many online pool websites feature solitary versions of pool games such as 9 ball or straight pool whereby you compete against the clock and scored according to the speediness of your performances.
Speed Pool
Nevertheless, single-player pool games are not exclusively dominated by the online pool world.
Speed Pool is a relatively new pool game designed for one player who attracts many amateur pool players as well as some pros (including Jeanette Lee). As you might have guessed, the object of speed pool is to pocket the object balls as fast as you can. Speed ball rules are usually based on 8 ball rules, according to which the player must nominate both a ball and a pocket and to pocket the 8-ball only when it is the last ball remained.
Pool Games for more than Two Players
So, you've hooked up with some friends to play pool but for some reason, someone cancelled, someone else tags along, and the result is an odd number. If this scenario occurs, you can select from a number of pool games designated for at least two players.
Cutthroat Pool
Cutthroat is a pool game for three players. Each player is assigned one group of 5 object balls, and the object, in short, is to pocket the other players' balls. The last object ball that remains on the table gives its holder the right to claim victory.
Cutthroat pool, as its name implies, is known as a ruthless game in which a proper strategy includes causing quarrels between the two opponents.
3-Ball Pool
3-ball, on the other hand, is a much friendlier pool game commonly played as a money game.
3-ball pool is played with three object balls and each player strives to pocket all of them using minimum number of shots. Since each player's turn at the table ends with the end of his game (i.e. when he has pocketed all three object balls), the game can be played by any number of players.
