Billiards: Play 8-Ball, 9-Ball and Snooker Free Online
Free billiards with real physics: 8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball and snooker against the computer at four levels, a friend on the same device, or online as a guest or on the Hive blockchain, plus practice racks and trick-shot challenges.
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.
Billiards in your browser, with real physics
MES Billiards is free pool and snooker that plays like the real thing. Every ball slides, then rolls; spin from where the cue hits the cue ball makes it follow, draw back or swing off a cushion; balls click off each other and rattle in the pocket jaws. Choose 8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball or snooker (full 15 reds or six-red), play the computer at four levels, a friend on the same phone or computer, or someone online: as a guest with a link, or on the Hive blockchain where every shot is signed and kept for good. There are practice racks and trick-shot challenges too. Nothing to install, no account, no adverts inside the game.
How to aim and shoot
- Aim
- Press on the table and drag. The cue points from the cue ball toward your finger or mouse; dragging further away gives finer control. The ⟲ ⟳ buttons and the arrow keys turn the cue a twentieth of a degree at a time.
- Read the guide
- The dotted line shows the cue ball's path, the circle where it will touch the first ball, the yellow line where that ball will go and the blue line where the cue ball goes after the hit. Turn the guide to Short or Off for a real test.
- Power
- Drag along the power bar and let go to shoot. Most pots need far less power than you think: a third of the bar sends a ball the length of the table.
- Spin
- Drag the red dot on the small white ball. High = follow, low = draw (screw back), left or right = side spin, which changes the angle the cue ball takes off a cushion.
How good is the computer?
The computer looks at every ball it is allowed to hit and every pocket, checks which paths are clear, then actually simulates its best few shots with the same physics you play with and picks the one that leaves it the best next shot (or, when nothing is on, a safe shot that leaves you little). Easy misses often and never uses spin; Medium is a decent club player; Hard rarely misses an easy pot; Pro plays position with spin and only small aiming errors.
Questions
- What is the difference between pool, billiards and snooker?
- Billiards is the family name for cue games on a cloth table. Pool is played on a smaller table with numbered balls (8-ball, 9-ball). Snooker is played on a 12-foot table with 15 reds and six colours, smaller balls and tighter pockets, and is scored in points.
- Is the physics realistic?
- It models sliding and rolling friction, top, back and side spin, ball-to-ball and cushion bounce, and pocket jaws, with the real sizes of a 9-foot pool table and a 12-foot snooker table. Not modelled: jump and massé shots, cloth nap and ball throw.
- How does online play work?
- Make a guest game on the Play online tab and send the link, or join an open game. Each shot is just a few numbers (angle, power, spin, where the cue ball was placed); both browsers and mes.fm's server run the same physics, written so it gives exactly the same answer everywhere, so you both see the same table.
- How do Hive games work?
- Each shot is a custom_json operation (id
mes_pool) signed with your Hive posting key through Hive Keychain. Both browsers read the shots from the two accounts and replay them, so nobody can change a shot or the result. You can also save the result of a game against the computer to your account; that is marked as self-reported, but anyone can replay its shots to check it. - Can I play on a phone?
- Yes. On a phone held upright the table turns upright too; Fill window and Full screen make it as big as your screen, and turned sideways the controls move to a side panel you can hide.
Related: Backgammon · Connect Four · Tic-Tac-Toe · Poker · Minesweeper · All MES tools