FooBillard

Pros

• A realistic game of pool
• Multiple types of billiards offered
• Single or multiplayer
• A free game under GPL

Cons

• The menu is hard to seek out
• Camera angles can be tricky
• Need a good connection or else you’ll lose the game

FooBillard gives users a real billiards experience, offering up four different types of pool and allowing single or multiplayer action on quality tables with practical physics.

The FooBillard Game

There are many different types of billiards games out there, from Pogo and MSN to high-quality games available for new-gen consoles. So it's refreshing when a game like FooBillards comes along, offering realistic pool in a compact file that's actually free to download (GPL license).

The program itself used to be a Linux-based program, until Florian Berger changed things around and made it available for Windows. However, it's not yet available for Windows 7 or 8, so only Vista, XP and 2000 users can download and use the game. That aside, it’s a unique game on a couple of fronts, and that has earned it some big ratings and high praise amongst the gamer community.

Features of FooBillard

The first way FooBillard stands out is with its download setup. In fact, you don’t have to install the game at all. Once it’s downloaded to your computer, you can then click on the icon to launch the program, and it takes you to the gaming options right away. A downside to this is that it makes the in-game menu very difficult to find. So if you want to tweak certain aspects of the game, you might stumble around blindly until you finally locate the menu. To save that headache, however, just press the “ESC” key to bring the menu up.

From the menu, you can choose four different types of pool, including Carom, Snooker, 8 and 9-Ball. You also have the option of playing against the computer or going against another live player. For the latter, you’re going to need a solid Internet connection.

The camera angle can be a little tricky when just getting used to the game. The way you view the balls and the table can make it difficult to line up a shot. But once you get used to the way it looks, you will only pay attention to the way the game feels. The ball movements are realistic. The rails have great bounce in them, and the tables play pretty fast. The game is able to focus on the table and actual game-play because there’s nothing else in the background to focus on. It’s only the table and the balls.

One odd aspect of the game is that certain angles really make the table look a lot smaller, so it takes a lot of practice to get your shot speed just right. Hitting the ball too hard may harm your initial shot as well as position, so practice is essential.

Pros

• A realistic game of pool
• Multiple types of billiards offered
• Single or multiplayer
• A free game under GPL

Cons

• The menu is hard to seek out
• Camera angles can be tricky
• Need a good connection or else you’ll lose the game