A type of
pool for any number of players, usually involving money, where the
objective is to
pot a ball on every
visit to the table and be the
last man standing.
Every player begins with an equal number of lives. If a large number of players are taking part, three lives is good enough. Each player also contributes a small amount of cash, maybe a pound/dollar/euro/etc, maybe two, towards a prize pot. The winner of the game takes all.
The basic
idea of the game is this: each player who takes a shot must pot a ball, or else they
lose a life. When a player has no lives left after missing a shot, he/she is out of the game.
Sheer beauty in its
simplicity.
Play begins with someone
breaking off. If he doesn't pot a ball off the break, he is
entitled to another shot, for the
pretty straightforward reason that it's unfair to expect anyone to pot a ball from 15 balls arranged in a tight triangle formation. Play continues with each player taking one shot, which if missed puts him one step nearer
elimination.
I've witnessed some
variations in one or two of the other rules. Some people play with the rule that if you
pot the black, you get an
extra life, but that you fail to pick up this life if you pot the white in the same shot. Also, I've seen it that potting a ball and going
in-off in the same shot loses you a life, whereas with other players, potting a ball guarantees you don't lose a life even if you go in-off. Additionally, some people play that potting two or more balls in one shot earns you one or more extra lives. But don't pot the white. On top of all this, what happens when the last ball is potted?
Who pays for the re-rack*? Some say that the player whose turn it is next (and therefore breaks) must pay, while others say it should be the player who potted the black in the last frame.
Common
tactics in the game include making sure the easily potted balls are taken care of (to make sure the next players don't
have it so easy), placing the cue-ball in a position as difficult or as unplayable as possible, and, when a player finds it impossible to pot a ball and is doomed to lose a life, leaving the the cue-ball and/or object ball(s) as awkwardly placed as possible, in an "
If I'm going down, you're going down with me" strategy.
Needless to say, this game is best played with a
large number of players, all of whom will fancy their chances to
win a huge amount at very little risk. Also, when the participants are
whittled down to about two or three and each one is therefore taking every second or third shot, that's where the fun starts because
within a few seconds, a player with three lives could be
on the rack.
*In most pool tables in pubs and amusement arcades in Ireland and in Britain, potted balls are stored within the structure of the table and can only be released by inserting money; thereby are players charged for each game of pool. The clearance of all the balls during a game of killer does not spell the end of the game, for there will still be players who have not yet lost all their lives.