Snooker is a cue sport played on a large table with pockets in each corner and in the middle of the long rail. The objective of the game is to score more points than your opponent by potting (sinking) balls of different colors and point values in a specific order.
The game is typically played by two players, but can also be played by teams. The game starts with a “break-off” shot, where the player must hit the white ball (cue ball) and make contact with a red ball, which are placed on their spots on the table. After that, the objective is to pot red balls first, and then the colored balls in the order of yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, and black.
Each red ball is worth one point, while the colored balls have different point values: yellow 2, green 3, brown 4, blue 5, pink 6, and black 7. A player’s turn continues as long as they pot a ball, and ends when they fail to do so or commit a foul.
Fouls include:
- Potting the cue ball
- Potting a ball out of order
- Hitting the wrong ball first
- Touching a ball with anything other than the cue tip
- Potting a ball and sending it into a pocket other than the one intended
- Potting a ball and causing another ball to leave the table
- Playing out of turn
For each foul, the opponent is awarded four points, and can place the cue ball anywhere on the table for their next shot. The game is won by the player who reaches the number of points required to win the match, which is typically the highest number of points that can be scored without needing the black ball to win.