Here at the West Hill we have one of Brighton’s few remaining traditional Bar Billiards tables, an original 1930s reconditioned table. This interesting and unusual pub game makes a change from Pool!
Play is free all day Mondays and up until 8pm Saturdays, and is £1 per game at other times.
We also host our own Bar Billiards team, part of the Brighton Bar Billiards league.
What is Bar Billiards? According to Wikipedia:
Bar Billiards is a form of billiards which is often thought to be based on the traditional game of bagatelle. It is actually based on the French/Belgian ‘Billard Russe’ game that preceded it … Bar billiards in its current form started in the UK in the 1930s. It is a traditional game played in leagues in Sussex, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Kent, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Norfolk and Northamptonshire. 
The Rules
Bar billiards is played on a special bar billiards table without side and corner pockets, but with 9 holes in the playing surface which are assigned certain point values (from 10 to 200).
There are eight balls for play – seven white and one red. Potting the red ball in any hole scores double points.
On the playfield are normally placed three pegs (skittles)with a horizontal wire through the peg. There are two white pegs, one either side of the 100 hole, and one black peg in front of the ’200′ hole. If a white peg is knocked over then the player’s break is ended and all score acquired during that break is discarded. Knocking down the black peg ends the player’s break and all points are lost. In the case that a white and a black peg are both knocked over, then only the first peg to be knocked over is used.
All shots are played from one end of the table so access to all sides of the table is not necessary (ideal for a smallish bar or pub). A white ball is placed on a starting spot, then another ball (the red ball, if available) will be placed on a spot a few inches in front of that. Players take alternate turns at the table, the ‘turn’ being known as a ‘break. If the player fails to pot a ball then the break has ended and the second player takes his break by placing another ball on the first spot. If all balls are in play, then the closest ball to the ‘D’ (the semicircle around the first spot) is removed and put on the spot. If a player fails to hit a ball, then the break ends and all points earned in that break are lost.
The play is time-limited (normally a coin will give 15-17 minutes of play). After this time a bar drops inside the table stopping any potted balls from returning, leading to a steady decrease in the number of balls in play.
The last ball can only be potted by getting it into the ’100′ or ’200′ point hole after bouncing off one side cushion.
