Java Pool is reasonably intuitive to play. It should not be necessary to read these instructions. There is a message bar at the bottom of the Java Pool window which gives brief instructions as you play. Java Pool instruments the rules to several pool games. These include primarily originals designed by Doug and Steve Hoover. You can refer to documentation for the Hoover Bro's Pool Games. Rules to classic pool games are provided by the Billards Congress of America. More detail about the implementation of Java Pool is available here.
Control how shots are made. See also, "Spin Physics."
To shoot, press the mouse button down (on the cue ball if spin is enabled) and drag the mouse to control the strength and direction of the shot. The distance from the cue ball determines the strength, and the direction is away from the mouse cursor. A shot velocity indicator shows the strength and direction until the shot is made by releasing the mouse button. The shot can be aborted by releasing the mouse over the cue ball. It may be useful to resize or reposition the window to give yourself more room to make a shot.
Once you've mastered the "beginner" style, try "expert." You might discover that once you get used to it, it's more challenging and enjoyable. It offers better control of soft shots and allows harder shots, while making them more difficult to control as they are in a real game. To shoot, press the mouse button down on the cue ball and drag the mouse to control the strength and direction of the shot. The shot strength will also decay the longer the mouse button is held. So a hard shot must be made quickly. A good strategy is to move the mouse far from the ball initially, line up the shot, then wait for the strength to decay to the desired strength. The shot velocity indicator is shorter than for "Beginner"-style shooting, making it more difficult to line up the shot. The shot can be aborted by releasing the mouse over the cue ball. It may be useful to resize or reposition the window to give yourself more room to make a shot.
Controls the accuracy with which spin is modeled. Simpler spin models require less computation and memory and may run better on older computers. More detail on the spin models is available in the Java Pool implementation documentation. Test your spin physics knowledge.
With spin enabled, while making a shot, the position of the mouse click over the cue ball determines the spin. A click ahead of the center of the ball in the direction of the shot would be top spin, and so forth.
Also, with spin enabled, a masse indicator will appear to the left of the table. This shows the elevation of the cue. By default the cue is horizontal -- parallel to the table surface. By clicking/dragging the mouse in the masse indicator area, the cue elevation can be adjusted. Masse can be used to curve the cue ball around a ball the interferes with a direct shot.
Spin is not modeled. Friction is not modeled, except the (viscous) friction that slows the balls.
A simple spin model in which only cue ball spin is considered. Rolling spin is not considered.
Spin is modeled very accurately. This mode has the feel of real pool.
If selected, spin computation will be more accurate. The only reason not to select this is if your machine cannot handle the additional computation.
This can be used to move balls or change the score. To move balls, press the mouse button down on them and drag them to a new position, on or off the table. To change the score, press the mouse button down on a player's score, and drag the mouse left or right to increase or decrease the score. If a new ball position or score is not consistent with the game being played, the change may not be accepted.
Close the Java Pool window.
Enable or disable sound.
Assign the settings to the default values for a slow computer.
Assign the settings to the default values for an average computer.
Assign the settings to the default values for a fast computer.
A no-frills table that will redraw very quickly, and can be resized to any size by resizing of the window.
A table that can be resized to any size by resizing the window.
A table and balls that look great. The image table can only be resized to specific sizes only, by resizing the window. "Ball trails" are not supported with an image table, and some ball styles are not distinct. Some systems may have difficulty with image tables.
Balls with large, readable numbers.
Another ball style.
Another ball style. Same as Style 1 on image tables.
When selected balls will be drawn in detail when in motion. They will look like they are sliding. When not selected the balls will be drawn as a uniform color when in motion.
This is a cool feature to see the paths that balls take during a shot. As the balls move they leave an colored trail behind them. This feature is not supported with image tables.
Shows the cue while shooting.
As the shot is in motion, an indication of the cue ball spin is displayed (if spin is enabled). There is one line indicating the magnitude of spin against the table felt, and another indicating the clockwise or counterclockwise extent of the spin.
Start a new game.
No rules are enforced. The score can be manually adjusted during play without selecting "Move Balls/Change Score." The number of players selects the number of scores.
Open a new browser window with one of the following web pages.