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常用词：

cue ball (撞球中的)母球、主球

object ball 目标球

solid ball 全色球

stripe ball 花色球

chalk 巧克

top pocket 顶袋

middle pocket 中袋

bottom pocket 底袋

cue 球杆

rest 架杆

tri-angle 球框（用来摆球的那个三角框）

History

The game of eight-ball is derived from an earlier game invented around 1900 (first recorded in 1908) in the United States and initially popularized under the name "B.B.C. Co. Pool" (a name that was still in use as late as 1925) by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company. This forerunner game was played with seven yellow and seven red balls, a black ball, and the cue ball. Today, numbered stripes and solids are preferred in most of the world, though the British-style variant uses the traditional colors. The game had relatively simple rules compared to today and was not added (under any name) to an official rule book until 1940.

International rules

American-style eight-ball rules are played around the world by professionals, and in many amateur leagues. The rules for eight-ball may be the most contested of any billiard game. There are several competing sets of "official" rules. The non-profit World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), with national affiliates such as the Billiard Congress of America (BCA), promulgates the World Standardised Rules^[5] for amateur and professional play. The for-profit International Pool Tour has also established an international set of rules^[6] for professional and semi-professional play, used in major tournaments broadcast on television (as of 2007, this league has suspended operations, and is focusing on invitational matches, but is expected by many players to resume in 2009). Meanwhile, many amateur leagues, such as the American Poolplayers Association (APA) / Canadian Poolplayers Association (CPA), and the Valley National Eight-ball Association (VNEA) / VNEA Europe, use their own rulesets as their standards (most of them at least loosely based on the WPA/BCA version), while millions of individuals play informally using colloquial rules which vary not only from area to area but even from venue to venue.

A summary of the international rules follows (see the WPA/BCA or IPT published rules, which conflict on minor points, for more details):

Equipment

There are seven solid-colored balls numbered 1 through 7, seven striped balls numbered 9 through 15, an 8 ball, and a cue ball.

The balls are usually colored as follows:

• 1 and 9 - yellow
• 2 and 10 - blue
• 3 and 11 - red
• 4 and 12 - purple
• 5 and 13 - orange
• 6 and 14 - green
• 7 and 15 - brown/ maroon
• 8 - black
• Cue - white

The table's playing surface is approximately 9 ft. by 4.5 ft. (regulation size), though some leagues/tournaments may allow other sizes.

Setup

To start the game, the object balls are placed in a triangular rack. The base of the rack is parallel to the end rail (the short end of the pool table) and positioned so the apex ball of the rack is located on the foot spot. The balls in the rack are ideally placed so that they are all in contact with one another. This is accomplished by pressing the balls together from the back of the rack toward the apex ball. The placement of the balls, for a legal rack according to World Standardised Rules is that the 8 ball is placed in the center, while the two lower corners must be a stripe and a solid (see image). The cue ball is placed anywhere the breaker desires inside the "kitchen".

Break

One person is chosen (by a predetermined method, e.g., coin flip, win or loss of previous game, lag) to shoot first and break the object ball rack apart. If the shooter who breaks fails to make a legal break (usually defined as at least four balls hitting cushions or an object ball being pocketed), then the opponent can demand a re-rack and become the breaker, or elect to play from the current position of the balls.

If the breaker pockets a ball, it is still that player's turn and the table is considered "open" (meaning the breaker can still make any object ball to determine if he/she will only shoot solids or stripes throughout the game). If the breaker fails to make another ball after the break, the table is still considered "open" until someone legally pockets a ball.

According to World Standardized Rules, if the 8 ball is pocketed on the break, the breaker may ask for a re-rack or have the 8 ball spotted and continue shooting. If the breaker scratches while pocketing the 8 ball on the break, the incoming player has the option of a re-rack or having the 8 ball spotted and begin shooting with ball-in-hand behind the head string.

For regional variations, see below.

Turns

A player (or team) will continue to shoot until committing a foul (fault), taking a safety, or failing to legally pocket an object ball on a non-safety shot. Thereupon it is the turn of the opposing player(s). Play alternates in this manner for the remainder of the game. Following a foul, the incoming player has ball-in-hand anywhere on the table, unless the foul occurred on the break shot, as noted previously.

Pocketing the 8 ball

Once all of a player's or team's group of object balls are pocketed, they may attempt to sink the 8 ball. To win, the player or team must first designate which pocket they plan to sink the 8 ball into and then successfully pot the 8 ball in that called pocket. If the 8 ball falls into any pocket other than the one designated, is knocked off the table, or a foul (see below) occurs and the 8 ball is pocketed, the player loses the game. Otherwise, the player's turn is over (including if a foul occurs on an unsuccessful attempt to pocket the 8 ball; in some leagues, such as the VNEA, such fouls are also loss of game, but not in World Standardized Rules).

Winning

Any of the following circumstances result in a game win:

• A player legally pockets the 8 ball into a designated pocket, after all his or her object balls have been pocketed
• The opposing player illegally pockets the 8 ball (e.g. before clearing all of his/her object balls, does so on the same shot as the last such object ball, or it falls into a pocket other than the one that was designated)
• The opposing player commits any foul, including scratching the cue ball into a pocket, or knocking it off the table, during the same inning that the 8 ball is pocketed. A scratch or foul is not a loss of the game if the 8 ball is not pocketed or jumped from the table.
• The opposing player knocks the 8 ball off the table.

Fouls

• The shooter fails to strike one of his/her own object balls (or the 8 ball, if all of said object balls are already pocketed) with the cue ball, before other balls (if any) are contacted by the cue ball. This includes "split" shots, where the cue ball strikes one of the shooter's and one of the opponent's object ball simultaneously.
• No ball comes into contact with a cushion or is pocketed, after legal cue ball contact with the (first) object ball (or 8 ball, if shooting for the 8).
• The cue ball is pocketed ("scratched")
• The shooter does not have at least one foot on the floor (this requirement may be waived if the shooter is disabled in a relevant way, or the venue has not provided a mechanical bridge)
• The cue ball is shot before all balls have come to a complete stop from the previous shot
• The cue ball is struck more than once during a shot
• The cue ball is jumped entirely or partially over an obstructing ball with an illegal jump shot that scoops under the cue ball
• The cue ball is clearly pushed, with the cue tip remaining in contact with it more than momentarily
• The shooter touches the cue ball with something other than the tip of the cue
• The shooter touches any other ball (with body, clothing or equipment), other than as necessary to move the cue ball when the player has ball-in-hand
• The shooter knocks a ball off the table
• The shooter has shot out-of-turn
• On the break shot, no balls are pocketed and fewer than four balls reach the cushions (in which case the incoming player can demand a re-rack and take the break or force the original breaker to re-break, or may take ball-in-hand and shoot the balls as they lie)

English-style rules

In the United Kingdom, eight-ball pool (and its internationally standardized variant blackball) as an overall rather different version of the game has evolved, influenced by English billiards and snooker, and has become popular in amateur competition in Britain, Ireland, Australia, and some other countries. As with American eight-ball, there are multiple competing standards bodies that have issued international rules. Aside from using unnumbered object balls (except for the 8), UK-style tables have pockets just larger than the balls, and more than one type of rest is typically employed. The rules significantly differ in numerous ways, including the handling of fouls, which may give the opponent two shots, racking (the 8 ball, not the apex ball, goes on the foot spot), selection of which group of balls will be shot by which player, handling of frozen balls and snookers, and many other details.

The English Pool Association [1] is recognized by the Sports Council as the governing body for pool including blackball in England.

Eight-ball rotation

The hybrid game eight-ball rotation is a combination of eight-ball and rotation, in which the players must pocket their balls (other than the 8, which remains last) in numerical order.