Politics Pool

Politics Pool is a billiards-based game that encorporates the fun of pool with the long, drawn out nature of political debate and the confusing nature of the Electoral College.

Rules and Such
The game is split up into four quarters. The quarters are not timed, but each quarter consists of its own game with nine billiard balls (1-9) as well as the cue ball (also known as a rock or a Larry David). Players try to get the billiard balls into the corner pockets on their opponent's end of the table while protecting the corner pockets on their own end (in order to prevent an opponent from scoring.

Starting a game
A coin is tossed to determine who breaks in the first quarter. One player must produce a coin from his pants pocket and the other player will call "heads," "tails," or "on its side." The winner of the coin toss will break the ball diamond as well as which side of the table to attack in the first quarter (the victor gets all of the spoils).

The balls are placed in a 9-ball diamond in the center of the table, in the following pattern from which the person breaking is attacking the top:

..5..

.73.

891

.62.

..4..

The cue ball will be placed a few inches away from the breaker's left side wall, at the third diamond from the back wall. The break occurs. If the breaker sinks a ball into the pocket that he is attacking, he scores those points and earns another turn (unless he also scratches,see below). If the breaker sinks a ball into apocket he is defending or a neutral pocket, then the opponent or independent candidate scores those points.

Should the breaker miss the large diamond of balls, he will be given a second opportunity (unless he scratches). If he fails on the second opportunity or scratches during the first opportunity, then the 1-ball (or the lowest-numbered ball in play) will automically be scored for his opponent, the diamond rotated 180 degrees, and the opponent given the opportunity to break. This procedure is repeated until a break occurs or all the balls have been awarded via penalty.

For the second, third, and fourth quarters, as well as a run-off the teams switch ends and the winner of the previous quarter will break. If there was no winner in the previous quarter, then the player who pocketed the highest numbered ball in the previous quarter will break. If the independent candidate won all of the balls in the previous quarter, then shame on both players and a coin toss will determine who break.

Taking Turns
After the break, players will alternate turns. However, if a player scores points for himself, he will receive another turn.

During each turn, the player must shoot the cue ball from its current location on the table. If the cue ball in front of all object balls (i.e. the closest ball to the end he is attacking), the player may move it to his end of the table, anywhere behind the first mark that is at least 4 inches from another ball. If the player opts to move the cue ball to his end of the table, then the cue ball must make its first contact with an object ball or side wall past the mark. Failure to do so will be considered an illegal shot (see below).

Scoring
A player scores points when balls enter the corner pocket on his opponent's side of the table. This can be done by a player's legal shot that does not scratch or an opponent's shot (whether legal or illegal, even if it does scratch). The number of points scored is equal to the number on the object ball. For this reason, players will pay more attention to the 7, 8, and 9 balls while not concerning themselves as much with the 1, 2, and 3 balls. Players try to get the billiard balls into the corner pockets on their opponent's end of the table while protecting the corner pockets on their own end (in order to prevent an opponent from scoring.  The two side pockets are considered as an independent third-party.  Balls that go into those pockets are considered dead, and neither team is awarded those points.

Players score points based on the number of the ball that was pocketed (for example, the 1 ball is worth 1 point, the 2 ball is worth 2 points, and so on). The quarter ends after all of the balls are pocketed. The "winner" of a quarter will receive Delegates based on how well they did in the following ruebric:


 * Plurality (more points than the opponent and the independent candidate, but less than 23 points):  1 Delegate


 * Simple majority (23-26 points):  2 Delegates


 * Filibuster-proof (60%) majority (27-33 points): 3 Delegates


 * 75% majority (34-44 points):  4 Delegates


 * Clean sweep (45 points):  6 Delegates

If both teams score the same number of points in a quarter, then it is considered a tie and no Delegates points are doled out. If the independent candidate scores more points than either of the two players, then no Delegates are awarded.

Whoever earns more Delegates after four quarters is declared the winner. If either player has an insurmountable lead after three quarters, the fourth quarter is not played. If the score is tied after four quarters, then the game will go into a runoff (see below).

Scratching
There are two types of scratching. The first, which is much more common in Politics Pool (and many other versions of pool) is the practice of pocketing the cue ball. When a player scratches, his opponent can place the cue ball anywhere on the table at least 4 inches away from any object ball.

If a player scratches on the same shot that he sinks a ball into the pockets he is attacking (i.e. scores points for himself), any such point(s) that he scored will be un-scored and any such ball(s) will be removed from the pocket and placed at the center of the table. If a player scratches on the same shot that he sinks a ball into a pocket that he is defending (i.e. scores points for his opponent), then those balls will remain in the pocket and points will remain on the board. If he scratches on the same shot that he sinks a ball into the neutral side pockets, those balls will also remain in the pocket, unless it is deemed that the player was intentionally shooting into the side pocket to prevent an opponent from reaching a Delegate threshold, in which case the ball will be placed in the center of the table.

The second type of scratching is when a player physically scratches his opponent with his fingernails. This is covered under the "Violent acts" section below.

Illegal Shots
An illegal shot is any shot that hits an object ball that it is not allowed to hit. The most common case of this is when a player elects to move the cue ball to his end, then hits an object ball that is not past the first mark on the table. Other illegal shots occur when a cue ball travels less than six inches without hitting any object ball or wall (called a "Mary Ellen"), or when a player shoots using the wrong end of the cue.

The penalty for an illegal shot is that any points scored for the player are un-scored with the balls being placed either at the center of the table or their pre-shot locations (opponent's choice), the opponent can have any ball that moved as the result of the illegal shot be placed back into its pre-shot location, and the opponent can place the cue ball anywhere on the table at least 4 inches away from any object ball.

Violent Acts
Players are not allowed to violently attack their opponent. This includes, but is not limited to, attacks such as scratch, tackle, bite, take down, headbutt, and thundershock. Players are also not allowed to place their fingers on the sides of their forehead, in an attempt to blow up their opponent's head. These acts have no place in the game, and will be dealt with swiftly. The penalty for a first violent act is the requirement to apologize. Also, the opponent will be awarded the lowest remaining ball on the table during this quarter and the 1-ball at the start of all remaining quarters, including a possible runoff. The penalty for a second violent act is forfeiture of the game.

End of the Game
The game will end after four quarters. The player who has more Delegates will be declared the winner, If, after three quarters, either team is ahead by seven or more Delegates, the leader will be declared the winner and the fourth quarter will be disregarded.

Runoff
If, after four quarters, both players have the same amount of Delegates, a runoff will be played.

The runoff starts the same way as any other quarter. The players switch ends of the table, and the player who won the fourth quarter will break. Robert. There are a few differences between a runoff and a traditional quarter. First, a runoff is between only the top two candidates, so the independent candidate can not score points. If a ball is pocketed into the side pockets, the ball will be taken oot and placed on the center of the table. Second, players switch ends of the table after the 3rd and 7th balls are pocketed. This is done to prevent either team from gaining an unfair advantage of a non-level table or wind and sun glare in an outdoor game. The position of all balls will be reversed (for example, if the ball is 2 inches from the south wall and 14 inches from the west wall, it will be placed 2 inches from the north wall and 14 inches from the east wall). Finally, as soon as either player scores 23 points, the game ends, and the player is awarded 1 Delegate and is declared the winner.