Six-Stroke A new game of pool

Lots of people have developed their own, original games for the pool table. Here's one of mine, which I call Six-Stroke.

The Rack: Fifteen balls in a triangle. The head ball is the One Ball, positioned on the foot spot. The remaining balls may be in random order.

The Premise: Each player gets six strokes per inning, unless he scratches or fouls. A scratch or foul gives the opposing player ball-in-hand behind the head string.

Pockets must be approached in a specific order. The first target pocket on every inning must be the left corner pocket at the foot. This is referred to as Pocket 1. The pockets are targeted in order moving clockwise around the table. The target pocket increments with each stroke the player makes. The left side pocket (Pocket 6) is the target on the players last (sixth) stroke for the innning.

The Break: The break counts as a player's first stroke only if a ball drops into Pocket 1. Balls dropped in any other pockets are spotted. The player's next stroke then targets Pocket 2. If a ball does not drop into Pocket 1 on the break, the player's next stroke following the break becomes his first stroke (with Pocket 1 the target).

Scoring: One point is scored for each ball pocketed in its target pocket. The maximum number of points that may be scored per player per inning is 6. Game total is 30 points.

Position Play or "Skipping Pockets": A player may use a stroke to get position on the next pocket in sequence. For a shot to be legal, the cue ball must contact any object ball or, if no object ball is contacted, the cue ball must contact at least one rail. Example of "skipping a pocket" for position play:

Player sucessfully pockets a ball in Pocket 1. This leaves no shot on Pocket 2, so player uses his Pocket 2 stroke to get position on Pocket 3.

There is no limit to how many pockets a player may skip in order to get position on the following pocket. However, after the player's sixth stroke (where the target pocket is always Pocket 6), his turn ends.

The incoming player begins with the balls in their current positions, including the cue ball, and his first target is Pocket 1.

An illegal shot (the cue ball does not contact an object ball or at least one rail) is considered a foul and the incoming player gets ball-in-hand behind the head string. The incoming player's target is Pocket 1.

Missed Shots: If a player's attempt to pocket an object ball in the target pocket misses, his turn continues with the next target pocket in sequence.

Mis-pocketed Balls: Balls that drop in any pocket other than the current target pocket are immediately spotted and the player's turn continues. The exceptions to this are if the player is on his sixth stroke or if there was a scratch or foul in conjunction with the mis-pocketed balls. In case of the player's sixth stroke, the mis-pocketed balls are spotted and play passes to the opponent, whose target pocket is Pocket 1. In case of a scratch or foul, the mis-pocketed balls are spotted and play passes to the opponent, who gets ball-in-hand behind the head string and whose target pocket is Pocket 1.

Bottom Line: Remember: six strokes, six pockets. One stroke per pocket. The pockets must be approached in order. You may "skip" pockets by playing position on following pockets. Points are scored only when a ball drops into the numbered pocket that matches the numbered stroke.