Balkline and straight rail is a carom billiard game, that is played with two cue balls and a third, a red object ball. It is played on a table, which is covered with cloth, it should be around 5 foot by 10 foot, pocketless, and it should be divided by balklines into marked regions called balk spaces.
These games were developed to make the precursor game, straight rail. Straight rail is difficult to play, and it is also tiresome for the spectators to view the skills of the participants, in which they score endless points. Unlike the balkline games, straight rail had no balk space restrictions.
The aim of the game is to score one point, which is called a “count.” The players score this every time the cue ball makes contact with the object balls, which is the second cue ball and the third ball, this should be done on a single stroke. A winner is determined when a certain number of counts are agreed.
Similar Sports
- See Cue Sports (Billiards)
- About Carom Billiards
Related Pages
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports