8-Ball Pool: Play Free Against the Computer or a Friend
Play 8-ball pool free in your browser: break, take solids or stripes and pot the 8, with real spin and cushion physics, a computer opponent at four levels, two players on one device, or online and on Hive.
Options
The video plays in a small player in the corner and keeps going between shots, in 2D and 3D, Fill window and full screen. Turn the game's own sounds off in Options if you like. Only you hear it; nothing is shared with the other player.
Drag on the table to aim, then press on the cue stick, pull it back and let go to shoot (or use the power bar). With ball in hand, drag the white ball to place it. Keys: ← → aim (Shift = bigger steps), ↑ ↓ power, W A S D spin, J / Shift+J raise / lower the cue (jump shots), Space shoot, R replay, U undo, N new game, V 2D / 3D, K camera, Page Up Page Down tilt the 3D view, M music, G guide full / short / off, F full screen. Your games and settings stay in this browser.
Play someone online as a guest
No account needed. Make a game and send the link to a friend, or pick an open game from the list below. Every shot is worked out by the same physics on mes.fm's server and in both browsers, so you both see exactly the same table.
Game:
Open games
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Play on Hive
Every shot is signed with your Hive account (the Hive Keychain extension or the Keychain phone app) and kept on the Hive blockchain for good. No mes.fm server decides anything: both browsers read the shots from the chain and run them through the same physics, which is written so every browser gets exactly the same result, so the whole game and its result are public and can't be changed. A shot takes about 3 to 6 seconds to reach the other player and costs no HIVE (only a little of your account's free Resource Credits).
Game: · who breaks: the setting above.
Empty = an open game anyone on Hive can join from the list below (it stays open for an hour). With a name, only that account can join: send them the link.
Open Hive games
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My Hive games
Recently on Hive
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Guest online games are kept on mes.fm's server for a few hours, then deleted. Only the game itself and the names you type are stored. Hive games and saved results are public and permanent, like everything on Hive; mes.fm only keeps a short list of open and recent Hive games so players can find each other.
Set shots to practise the skills that win games: straight pots, cuts, banks, combinations, draw and follow. Pot the ball (or balls) within the shots allowed without the cue ball going in. Your best results stay in this browser.
Kept in this browser only (nothing is uploaded), per game and level. Games left unfinished are not counted.
8-ball pool, free and with real physics
8-ball is the most played pool game in the world. Break the rack, claim the solids (1 to 7) or the stripes (9 to 15) with your first pot, clear your group and then pot the black 8 to win. This version uses a full 9-foot table and real ball physics, so stun, follow, draw and side spin all work the way they do in a pool hall. Play the computer at four levels, a friend on the same device, or someone online as a guest or on Hive. The MES Billiards page has 9-ball, 10-ball, snooker, practice racks and trick-shot challenges as well.
The rules used here
- The break
- Break from behind the head string (the dashed line). Any ball potted on the break lets you play on, but the table stays open. The 8 potted on the break is put back on its spot.
- Choosing groups
- On an open table you may hit any ball except the 8 first. The first ball you pot after the break makes that group yours.
- Legal shots
- Hit one of your own balls first, then either pot a ball or make any ball touch a cushion.
- Fouls
- Potting the cue ball, missing every ball, hitting the wrong ball first, or no cushion after the hit. The other player gets ball in hand anywhere on the table.
- Winning and losing
- Pot the 8 after your group is cleared, without a foul, to win. Potting the 8 early, or in the same shot as a foul, loses the game.
Shots are not called: any legal pot counts. That is how most friendly games are played.
8-ball tips
- Hit the break hard and full
- Place the cue ball near the middle of the head string and hit the front ball dead centre with nearly full power and a touch of draw so the cue ball stays in the middle of the table.
- Plan three balls ahead
- Pick the next ball before you shoot and use follow or draw to stop the cue ball where that shot is easy. Leave the ball closest to the 8 for last.
- Play safe when nothing is on
- A soft shot that hides the cue ball behind your own balls often wins more games than a hopeful long pot.
More: 9-Ball · Snooker · All billiards games · All MES tools