BILLIARDS

Sometimes known as 'Ground Billiards', the game was played on a small outdoor court with a hoop at one end and an upright stick at the other. This Croquet type pastime required people to strike balls around the court with maces. No rules are known for the game at this time but it seems entirely possible that they would have been pretty similar to the rules outlined for Port & King Billiards in the next section.

The new table Billiards was apparently an extremely popular game across France by 1630 and in England.  Although variations probably existed and there were definitely variations in dimensions and type of equipment, the most popular was a two player game played on a table with six pockets. The pockets, called 'hazards', were simply there as obstacles to be avoided - like bunkers in golf. The table featured a croquet-like hoop at one end called the 'Port' and an upright skittle at the other called the 'King'. Each player was allocated a single ball which was pushed rather than struck with a mace (a stick with a special wooden end).

They did not have what now a days is called a 'break'.  Players simply took turns to strike their ball. This fundamental difference made all of the older games completely different to play compared with those that we are used to.

Balls were originally wooden but by the end of the 1600s, most people played with ivory spheres. Early billiard tables were uncovered wood. Cloth covering for tables appeared from around 1660 and the quality gradually improved over the ensuing centuries.