Billiards Games for 2, 3, 4 or More Players (and Online)
The right billiards game depends on how many people are holding cues. Two players: 8-ball or 9-ball. Three: cutthroat. Four: teams or scotch doubles. Five or more: killer, kelly pool, 3-ball or ring 9-ball, which all keep a crowd moving without anyone sitting out for long.
Below is the full menu by headcount, with the rules you need to start each game and links to our full rule pages. If you came looking for a billiards game to play online or on a console, that's covered near the end.
Billiards games by number of players
| Players | Best games | Extra gear | Rack length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Playing the ghost, equal offense, bowlliards | None | Varies |
| 2 | 8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball, straight pool, one-pocket | None | Minutes (9-ball) to an hour (straight pool) |
| 3 | Cutthroat, ring 9-ball, rotation | None | Short to medium |
| 4 | Team 8-ball, scotch doubles, Fargo Flip | A coin for Fargo Flip | Same as the base game |
| 5 to 8 | Killer, kelly pool, 3-ball, ring 9-ball, golf | Kelly needs a pea bottle; killer needs a way to track lives | Short |
| 9 or more | Killer, 3-ball, kelly pool | Same | Short, but a long wait between turns |
One rule of thumb: the bigger the group, the more each game should rely on one shot per turn or a quick rack. Rack games where one player can run out leave everyone else watching.
How to play pool with 2 people
Two players is what most pool games were designed for. Lag for the break, then pick the game:
- 8-ball is the default, and Wikipedia calls it the world's most widely played cue sport. One player takes solids, the other stripes, and you win by clearing your group and then pocketing the 8. Start with our 8-ball rules, or bar rules for 8-ball if you're playing in a bar.
- 9-ball is faster: always hit the lowest-numbered ball first, and whoever legally pockets the 9 wins. See 9-ball rules.
- Straight pool, one-pocket and bank pool are slower, more strategic games for two players who want a real contest.
If the two of you aren't evenly matched, give the weaker player the break every game, or play a race where the stronger player needs more wins. New to all of it? How to play pool covers the table, the rules every game shares and your first week.
Pool games to play with 3 people
Three is the awkward number. Bob Jewett, writing in Billiards Digest, notes it's barely enough for a ring game, and most games assume two players or two teams. These are the ones that work:
Cutthroat
The classic three-player game. Each player defends a group of five balls (1-5, 6-10 or 11-15) and tries to pocket everyone else's. The last player with a ball on the table wins, and every foul gives each opponent one ball back, so nobody is ever fully out until the rack ends. Full rules, including the BCA version and the bar version, are on our cutthroat rules page. Jewett's caution: it works best among friends of roughly equal skill, because someone who can run ten balls ends the fun early.
Ring 9-ball
Rack 9-ball and shoot in a fixed order; each player takes over the table when the previous one misses. Whoever pockets the 9 wins the rack and breaks next. Casual groups often add a second payoff ball (usually the 5) and ban safeties so everyone keeps shooting. When money is involved, the structure and etiquette are on our ring game page.
Rotation, golf and 3-ball
Rotation scores points by ball number and plays fine three-handed. Golf gives each player one ball and one target pocket, and 3-ball (fewest strokes to clear three balls) works for any number.
4 player pool games
With four, pair up. Any two-player game becomes a team game, and the question is only how partners rotate.
| Format | How partners rotate | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Team 8-ball (alternating innings) | Partners take turns at the table; you shoot until you miss, then the other team's player comes up, and your partner shoots your team's next inning | Mixed skill. A strong player can carry a newer one |
| Scotch doubles | Partners alternate every single shot within an inning | Couples, league practice, close friends |
| Fargo Flip (ring 9-ball) | New teams every rack by coin flip; teammates shoot one shot each in turn | 4 to 8 players who want to keep switching sides |
Scotch doubles rules
Scotch doubles is an official league format with written rules. Under the CSI (BCA Pool League) rules, either partner may break, and after the break the partners alternate shots for as long as the team's inning lasts. The order has to stay the same between innings, and shooting out of turn is a foul. Partners may talk openly during their inning, but CSI asks for no more than about 45 seconds between shots, and the partner who isn't shooting can point but can't touch any ball. Your partner's leave becomes your problem, which is the whole appeal. Leagues such as TAP and VNEA run scotch doubles divisions; see how pool leagues work.
Fargo Flip
Jewett describes this ring 9-ball format, which Mike Page, owner of Fargo Billiards in North Dakota, showed him. It plays with three or more, and Jewett thinks it's best with four to eight. Before each rack every player flips a coin: Heads play Tails, and Tails break. The game is standard 9-ball with safeties, ball in hand for fouls and the three-foul rule, and teammates rotate shot by shot as in scotch doubles. Teams reshuffle every rack, so nobody is stuck on a losing side for long, and anyone can sit out a rack by not flipping.
Games for 5 or more players
Big groups need games where turns are short and getting knocked out is quick and painless.
Killer
Every player starts with the same number of lives (agree on it before you start; more lives means a longer game). Players shoot one shot each in a fixed order, and the only requirement is to pocket a ball. Fail and you lose a life. A scratch usually costs an extra life. Lose your last life and you're out, and the last player standing wins. Re-rack whenever the table runs out of balls. Wikipedia notes common house rules: an extra life for sinking the 8, and no life lost for missing on the break. Killer handles a dozen players and needs no explanation, which is why it's a pub favorite.
Kelly pool
Each player draws a numbered pea from a shake bottle and keeps the number secret. Players shoot in rotation, always contacting the lowest-numbered ball first, and you win by legally pocketing the ball that matches your pea. The hidden numbers level out a mixed-skill group well. The full rules and variants are on our kelly pool rules page.
3-ball
Rack three balls, break, and count every stroke it takes you to pocket all three, the break included. Fouls add a stroke. Lowest total wins, and ties play off. Everyone shoots their own rack, so any number can play, and the quick rules are in our bar rules guide.
Golf
Each player owns one ball and plays it into an assigned pocket in as few strokes as possible, hole by hole around the table. See golf billiards rules.
Party games that aren't really pool
When the group cares more about laughing than about rules, these formats come up again and again:
- HORSE. One player calls and makes a shot; the next must copy it or take a letter. Spell HORSE and you're out. Good with a couple of easy trick shots in your pocket.
- Baseball pool. Each player gets nine innings, and the number on every ball you pocket counts as runs. Most runs after nine innings wins.
- Poker pool. Deal playing cards that stand for ball numbers; you only need to sink the balls in your hand, and nobody knows which ones those are.
- One-handed pool. Regular 8-ball, but no bridge hand. Humbling and fair.
- Break contest. Each player breaks a full rack, and the most balls made with the cue ball still on the table wins.
- Reverse pool. Pocket the cue ball by shooting the object balls into it. It sneaks in some cue ball control practice.
Bowlliards (bowling scored with ten balls) also works as a group game, since every player shoots their own frames. Its scoring is explained in our solo pool games guide.
Picking a game for a mixed-skill group
The fastest way to ruin a group night is a game where the best player runs the table while everyone else holds a cue. Two fixes:
- Use luck and short turns. Kelly pool hides the targets, killer gives everyone one shot at a time, and golf and 3-ball let each player play their own ball. A strong player wins more often, but never by sitting at the table for ten minutes.
- Use teams. Put the strongest and weakest players together in team 8-ball or scotch doubles, or let Fargo Flip shuffle teams every rack.
Cutthroat has its own handicaps (fewer balls for the strong player, or bank and kick shots only), listed on the cutthroat page. Whatever you play, agree on the house rules before the first break; our pool etiquette guide covers the rest of the unwritten code.
Single player pool games
Playing by yourself? The best one-player pool games give you a score to beat: playing the ghost (run the rack with ball in hand; miss and the ghost wins), equal offense (ten innings of straight pool, 200 max) and bowlliards (300 max). Rules, scoring benchmarks and a one-hour practice plan are on our solo pool games page.
Billiards games online and video games
Plenty of people searching for billiards games want something to play on a screen. We don't review apps, but here is what the main options are and what they're good for:
- Browser games. Coolmath Games' Billiards plays a version of 8-ball against an opponent. Its own page says its rules differ from the official game (in its version, a scratch on the break just hands your opponent the break), and when we checked on October 15, 2026, it showed a notice that the Flash game may not play in every browser, with a link to its online-multiplayer 8 Ball Pool instead.
- Mobile multiplayer. Miniclip's 8 Ball Pool started as a browser game in 2008 and moved to iOS and Android in 2013. It's free to play with in-app purchases: you spend virtual coins to enter games and buy cues.
- Console and PC. Full pool simulations such as Pure Pool (VooFoo Studios, 2014, on PlayStation, Xbox, Windows and later Switch) are sold as regular video games, with single-player and multiplayer modes.
Which is the best billiards game? The one that matches what you want: a quick browser game to kill five minutes, a phone app to play friends, or a console or PC game if you want a full simulation on a big screen. None of them trains your stroke, though. They're good for learning rules and angles, and the real table does the rest. If an app offers real-money matches, that's gambling, and the rules where you live apply; our money games page covers the question of whether pool counts as gambling.
Sources
- Bob Jewett, "More the Merrier III," Billiards Digest, February 2011 (cutthroat, Fargo Flip, multi-player games)
- CueSports International Official Rules, Section 9: Scotch Doubles (PDF)
- Wikipedia: Killer (pool)
- Wikipedia: Three-ball
- Wikipedia: 8 Ball Pool (Miniclip)
- Wikipedia: Pure Pool
- Coolmath Games: Billiards
Our picks
Links open the current selection and price on Amazon so you can compare real reviews before buying.
Kelly Pool Shake Bottle with Tally Balls
Kelly pool for any headcountThe shake bottle and numbered peas are the only extra gear kelly pool needs, and the bottle also settles shooting order for any group game in seconds.
Check price on Amazon
DGZZI 16-Piece Numbered Tally Pea Set
Replacement peasSixteen numbered plastic tally peas, sold for kelly and pea pool. Peas go missing fast in a busy room, and a spare set keeps the game going without buying a new bottle.
Check price on Amazon
Aramith Crown Standard Ball Set
A set that survives group nightsGroup games mean more breaks per hour than a quiet two-player night. This regulation 2-1/4 inch Aramith set is phenolic resin, which Aramith says lasts up to five times longer than polyester balls.
Check price on Amazon
Wooden Bead Score Keeper
Tracking lives and team scoresA 63-inch wall string of wooden scoring beads. Hang it over the table and killer lives or team-game scores are visible to everybody, which ends the who-has-two-lives argument.
Check price on Amazon
DA VINCI Ruote Plastic Playing Cards, 2 Decks
Poker poolPoker pool needs a deck, and a pool table is no place for paper cards near drinks. These Italian-made cards are 100% plastic and washable, poker size, two decks in a hard case.
Check price on AmazonFrequently asked questions
What is the best pool game for 3 players?
Cutthroat. Each player defends five balls and tries to pocket the other two groups, and the last player with a ball on the table wins. Ring 9-ball is the best alternative if one player is much stronger than the others.
How do you play pool with 4 players?
Split into two teams of two and play any two-player game. In team 8-ball partners alternate innings; in scotch doubles they alternate every shot. Fargo Flip, a ring 9-ball format, reshuffles teams by coin flip every rack.
How do you play pool with 5 or more people?
Play killer, kelly pool, 3-ball or golf. They all give each player short turns and let a big group rotate quickly, so nobody waits long for the table.
What is scotch doubles in pool?
A team format where two partners alternate every shot during their inning. Under CSI rules either partner may break, the order of play must be kept, and shooting out of turn is a foul.
How do you play killer pool?
Everyone gets the same number of lives and shoots one shot per turn in a fixed order. Fail to pocket a ball and you lose a life, and a scratch usually costs an extra one. The last player with a life left wins.
Is there a single player pool game?
Yes. Playing the ghost, equal offense and bowlliards are all built for one player and give you a score to track. Our solo pool games guide has the rules.
Can you play billiards online?
Yes. Browser games such as Coolmath's Billiards, phone apps such as Miniclip's 8 Ball Pool and console games such as Pure Pool all let you play against a computer or other people. Their rules don't always match official rules.
What is the best billiards video game?
We don't rank apps. Pick by what you want: a browser game for a quick round, a mobile app to play friends, or a console or PC simulation such as Pure Pool.
Related guides
LeaguePool is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this site we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.