Bumper Pool & Cowboy

Bumper Pool- Bumper pool billiards is a game that is nearly unrecognizable as traditional billiards in that the balls are structurally set around the table and around bumpers. Each shooter or team of shooters has five white or five dark balls with a specific ball marked as the “marked” cue ball. Eight bumpers are set up in the middle of the billiards table and two other bumpers are on each side of the table with balls being set up around the bumpers or cue balls.

The marked ball is set right in front of the pocket for the defending billiards player and both players attempt to make balls in the opponent’s pocket. If the shooter happens to shoot his/her last ball into his/her own pocket he/she then forfeits the game to his/her opponent. Marked cue balls must be the first to be pocketed in the bumper pool billiards game, not sinking the marked cue ball first is a foul that has a penalty allowing the competing shooter to remove two of his/her balls from the table.

Cowboy- The billiards game of Cowboy is another example of a quick paced game that is played with three balls and requires a good amount of skill. The cue ball is set in a far corner with the one ball set closest to the cue, the five ball in the middle, and the three ball on the far side of the table. The goal of the game is to be the first one to get to 101 points by completing a variety of combination shots and carom shots that result in a good number. There is no traditional break shot as the first player is only required to hit the three ball with the cue.

Scoring is kept by combining the totals of the points on the numbered balls, making a carom off of two balls, or making a carom off of three balls. Pocketed balls are reset after every shot to ensure that every shot includes the same setup of the one, three, and five balls. The ninetieth point must be reached by scoring exactly at ninety, not going over, and each additional shot that it takes to reach 101 must be a carom, no direct shots. If a player fouls three consecutive times it is a loss for that player and the game is effectively over.