Types of Design in Billiard Balls

Billiards is one of the most popular recreational games in the world. Billiard tables--or pool tables--can be found in pool halls, bars, rec rooms and private homes across the world. However, not every table has balls that look alike. This is because there are many different games that feature unique balls, as well as custom-designed balls.

  1. Standard American Billiards

    • The game that you are most familiar with is American 8-Ball. This game uses three different ball designs. The cue ball is the plain, all-white ball. Next, there are the "solids." These are the balls numbered 1 through 8, completely one color with a number in the middle. Each ball is a different color. The "stripes" are numbered 9 through 15, and are marked by a colored ring (or stripe) around the center of an otherwise all-white ball. Again, each number has a different color.

    Carom

    • Carom is an old French game that is typically only played with three balls. These balls are bigger than the standard American balls. In carom, one ball is all white, another is white with a red dot and the third is all red.

    Snooker

    • Snooker is a British game played with 22 billiard balls. Of these balls, one is the all-white cue ball, and 15 are unnumbered red balls. The six remaining balls are numbered, and all are a different color. Typically, these colors are yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black.

    Novelty Balls

    • At some point in time, somebody got the brilliant idea that he could design billiard balls with anything on them. A big market now exists in customized balls. Many stores and websites not only sell standard ball sets, but also balls emblazoned with logos of sports teams, military outfits, brand names and just about any logo someone would want to put on a ball.

      In addition, standard sets can be slightly modified to have a different look. One of the best examples of this is the marbleized billiard ball, which gives the usual billiard ball a sleek, marble look.