Chalk

Aim, set power and release

Drag on the table to aim, then let go. Move the separate power slider and release it to take your shot.

Aim from the cue ball towards your chosen point. Use the same controls with a mouse or trackpad. Tapping the power slider without moving does not shoot.

Use the small cue-ball control beside the table to set spin. Move its dot away from the centre to choose the tip contact; return it to the centre for a straight strike. Spin resets after a shot. There is no chalking step or hold-to-charge stage.

Solids, stripes and visits

Clear your group, then pot the 8 in the called pocket to win. Solids are balls 1 to 7; stripes are 9 to 15. The table stays open after the break. The first legal pot after the break assigns the group of the first object ball potted to the shooting side and the other group to its opponents.

After the break, hit one of your remaining group balls first. On an open table, either group is legal, but the 8 cannot be hit first. Once your group is clear, the 8 becomes your legal first contact.

A legal pot of your own ball keeps your side's visit; otherwise play passes to the other side. With more than two players, seats alternate between the two sides and teammates take turns shooting within their side. Each side wins or loses together.

The break

Pot an object ball or send at least four object balls to a cushion for a legal break. A scratch, no contact or an insufficient spread is a foul. The incoming side then has the cue ball in hand behind the head string. Potting the 8 on the break respots it and play continues; it does not win the game.

Fouls and ball in hand

A scratch means potting the cue ball. It is also a foul to hit no object ball, hit an illegal ball first, or make no pot without sending any ball to a cushion after contact. Outside the break, a foul gives the other side ball in hand anywhere on the table.

When you have ball in hand, start a drag on the cue ball to move it, then release to place it. The position must be on the playing surface without overlapping another ball. After a break foul, keep it behind the head string. Set your aim separately after placing it.

Call the 8

Once your group is clear, tap a pocket to call it for the 8. If you shoot without choosing, the game calls the pocket implied by your aim. A call applies to one shot only, so check the highlighted pocket before releasing power.

Pot the 8 legally in the called pocket to win. Potting it before clearing your group, with a foul or in a different pocket loses the game. Simply missing the 8 is not an automatic loss; normal turn and foul rules still apply.

Clocks and shot history

8-Ball has no shot clock. Speed Chalk allows 30 seconds for each shot; when your time runs out, the game takes a weak shot for you. Pass and play has no shot clock. Open Stats to review pots, fouls and up to 64 recent shots recorded in this session.