8 Ball Pool - Billiards

Pros

• Immersive sound design
• Excellent overhead graphics
• Intuitive controls
• Suitable for gamers of any age

Cons

• Not much variety after you get used to the game
• Lacks a tournament mode

8 Ball Pool Billiards is a small and convenient app that lets you play a simple game of pool between tasks while you're working. You'll be pitted against a virtual player who is actually surprisingly good. Unlike most AI players, however, 8 Ball's invisible opponent doesn't cheat. It instead relies on a decent artificial intelligence algorithm to provide a challenge for even the most experienced players.

This certainly isn't an expansive tournament game with a career mode, but then again 8 Ball isn't trying to be. You might want to think of it as a more sophisticated replacement for the basic games that came with your operating system. It's a great way to pass the time while you're waiting for something or you need to take a break from your latest coding project.

Like traditional billiards, 8 Ball Pool supports a table with 17 different balls on it. Seven are striped while another seven are solid. You'll be tasked with hitting a cue ball and not knocking the eponymous eight ball in prematurely. Assuming that you can do this reliably, you'll be able to play professional level games over and over again.

Those who might find the game a bit more challenging than they bargained for can hone their skills with the built-in time attack mode. You'll still be competing against the clock, but it's a great way to learn the game of pool without too much in the way of stress. New players might want to aim to beat their previous best times and see how far they can get.

The overhead graphics are nicely drawn and the game has excellent sound effects that were probably sampled from an actual pool table. Though the game doesn't include an official multiplayer mode, there's nothing stopping you from playing an impromptu hotseat game where players take turns and try to outsmart the computer opponent.

Some players might find that the mouse controls take a little bit getting used to, but once you have them down you should find that the game is actually quite intuitive. The developers were more than likely attempting to emulate the feel of a cue stick, which can be rather touchy for those who are new to the pool table.

Since individual games of 8 Ball don't normally take more than a few minutes, you'll probably find that it's an excellent way to reward yourself after a long stretch of online tasks. That being said, you might want to watch out because it can become much more addictive than you might otherwise imagine for such a simple title.

Best of all, it's light on resources too so you might be able to play it on under-powered laptops and Windows tablets that wouldn't otherwise support much in the way of entertainment software.

Pros

• Immersive sound design
• Excellent overhead graphics
• Intuitive controls
• Suitable for gamers of any age

Cons

• Not much variety after you get used to the game
• Lacks a tournament mode