snookball?

So what is Snookball?

My family and I recently spent a few days in Orlando, FL; just doing the parks thing. But we were surprised to see a new (at least for us) sport activity at the Airbnb where we stayed... Snookball!

Snookball (a.k.a. Soccer Pool, Footpool, Foot Billiards) is a ball sport that combines elements of snooker and soccer, played on a ~20 feet by 10 feet billiard "table" on the ground.

The court and equipment

You can purchase kits to build the "table" as well as the billiard-colored balls, but this can get rather costly depending on how you want to set it up. The one in the Orlando Airbnb was rather simple, made with 6 free-floating large railroad ties.

We chose DYI; building our own using ground contact pressure-treated southern yellow pine lumber for the sides, each with three metal fence post stakes which I used to secure them to the ground.

The grass in our backyard grows rather fast making it difficult for the balls to roll, so we also installed artificial turf. All in all, the cost came to about US $1,200 - including the cost of the set of 15 balls (purchased at Amazon) and the paint for the wood.

Rough dimensions (in feet)

Fundamental Rules

It is played by hitting the cue ball with your feet instead of a cue stick to push the colored balls into the pockets. It is similar to 8-ball pool, but you use your feet to kick the volleyball-size (#4) white cue ball. Just as in billiards, you arrange the balls into a pool triangle and kick the white ball to break the balls apart. When the first ball is pocketed, the player who pocketed it chooses a group of balls as their option for the next play (but we play it by selecting the same color pattern as the first ball into the pocket). The game is won when a player kicks all of their balls from their group into the pockets and, in the final shot, pockets the 8 ball. Sudden death occurs when a player kicks the 8 ball out before any of their other balls.

Typically, games can be played in singles or doubles. However, feel free to have as many members on both teams! The more fun you have... or not. The following is for the version called "The game of 8".

Set up. As in billiards, 15 numbered balls are arranged in a triangle. The 1 ball is placed at the top of the triangle, and the 8 ball in the middle of the third row, leaving everything else randomly placed around the 8 ball, or if you're anal as I, alternate solid then stripes then solid and so on.

How it is played. The player who pockets the first ball may choose which group of balls to target, solid or striped. The first player to pocket all the balls in his group, then the #8 ball, wins the game. During play, a player continues to play as long as each player pockets his own balls and commits no fouls.

Mistakes. When the following fouls are committed, the opponent may play twice if he does not commit an infraction during the first attempt:

touch the opponent's ball first
the white ball does not touch the player's own ball
If the white ball is pocketed, the opponent can place it anywhere for the next shot.

Ultimately, a player loses if the cue ball is pocketed or leaves the table at the same time as the 8 ball, or if the 8 ball is pocketed before all of its target balls are pocketed.

So you decided to build your own?

This is how I built it

Here's a chronological photo shoot of the construction process. Note I am by no means a handyman, but was able to build the whole thing by myself in about 3 days (just to let the paint dry and to wait for items I ordered online). Also note I did not go the railroad tie route as I read they are often treated with creosote, a toxic chemical that can cause health problem. The water in my house comes from a well so I did not want to risk it.

For a professional look, before laying artificial turf you should prepare the base with a layer of compacted crushed rock (sub-base) for drainage and stability, followed by a fine layer of crushed sand or decomposed granite (laying course) for a smooth, level surface. A weed barrier is then laid on top of this base to prevent weed growth. I was trying to keep cost down (i.e. I'm cheap) so I just added the weed barrier.

Step 1. Cut the boards to size and paint to your liking. Attach the fence posts to the boards with exterior, rust proof, wood screws. Clear the area as much as you can and place the boards on the ground held by the fence posts. Do not push the fence posts all the way down until Step 3.

Step 2. Remove one board, put the weed barrier in place. and secure with the fence posts for that board. Repeat with all boards until the weed barrier covers the whole area. Spread lines of artificial turf glue to get ready for next step. Cut any excess weed barrier.

Step 3. Install the artificial turf. I had to lift the boards a bit so the turf was secured on each edge.

Note that most creases disappeared with time.

Step 4. Game on!

Time to play.

I did not explain how to build the triangle to hold the balls in place when starting a game. I'll add that later.

Governing bodIES

It's your game... make up any rules you want to make it fun. But please agree on them before starting a game.

Hope this is enough to get you started. Don't fret, it's not as complicated as it seems; hopefully you'll get the hang of it soon.

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