GamePigeon is a mobile gaming app for iOS devices. The app was launched by the company Vitalii Zlotskii^[1] on September 13, 2016, as a result of the iOS 10 update, which expanded how users could interact with the Messages app.^[2][3] Thus, users could access and utilizes the features of the GamePigeon app while in the Messages app.^[2]

Development and release[edit]

The app was released on September 13, 2016, coinciding with the launch of iOS 10.^[3] The app was released for free,^[4] although it includes in-app purchases to unlock additional items, such as pool cues.^[5]

Games in the app[edit]

If the 8-ball is pocketed on the break, then the breaker may ask for a re-rack, or have the 8-ball spotted and continue shooting. If the breaker scratches while pocketing the 8-ball on the break, the incoming player has the option of a re-rack or having the 8-ball spotted and begin shooting with ball in hand behind the head string.

The following is a list of games which users can play within GamePigeon:

Sources:^[6][7][8]

In 2016, Poker was cited as one of the games included in GamePigeon,^[9][10] although it is not listed on the game's App Store description.^[6]

Reception[edit]

GamePigeon has enjoyed commercial success, with VentureBeat noting that GamePigeon was ranked number-one in the 'Top Free' category of the iMessage App Store, six months after its release.^[11] Critically, GamePigeon has been generally well received, being highlighted by online media publications early on shortly after the iOS 10 launch.^[10] It has since been included on many 'best iMessage apps' lists.^[3][8][11] Based on over 88,000 ratings, the game holds a 4.2 out of 5 rating on the App Store.^[6] Julian Chokkattu of Digital Trends wrote 'GamePigeon should be like the pre-installed versions of Solitaire and Minesweeper that used to come with older iterations of Windows.'^[8] On its launch day, Boy Genius Report included it on a list of '10 of the best iMessage apps, games and stickers for iOS 10 on launch day.'^[2]The Daily Dot wrote, 'GamePigeon is easily the best current gaming option within iMessages.'^[3]

8-Ball and Cup Pong have been particularly well received by media outlets.^[12]The Daily Dot had specific praise for the app's billiards game: '8-Ball controls shockingly smoothly with your fingers, and there’s nothing quite like destroying a dear friend in poker.'^[3] During his 2020 U.S. presidential campaign, Cory Booker was cited as playing the game with his family.^[13]

In 2017, CNBC cited one teenager who expressed that GamePigeon was one of just a few reasons that those in her age range use the iMessage app.^[14] The game has received particular positive reception for allowing introverted individuals to exercise a form social activity; similarly, the game was highlighted as a way to maintain social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[7][15][16]

Influence[edit]

Snapchat released an in-message games app called Snapchat Games.^[17]

As an April Fools' Day joke, The Chronicle, a Duke University newspaper, published that Duke's athletic program adopted Cup Pong as an official varsity sport.^[18]

References[edit]

1. ^Takahashi, Dean (October 20, 2016). 'Mastermind Studios launches Battle Bash strategy game on iMessage'. VentureBeat. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
2. ^ ^abcSiegal, Jacob (September 13, 2016). '10 of the best iMessage apps, games and stickers for iOS 10 on launch day'. Boy Genius Report. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
3. ^ ^abcdeBond, John-Michael (February 28, 2020). 'Text like a champ with these 5 free apps for iMessages'. The Daily Dot. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
4. ^Johnson, Khari (March 5, 2018). 'Google search results now available in Apple's iMessage app drawer'. VentureBeat. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
5. ^Dirks, Brent (December 7, 2019). '9 Best iMessage Games and How to Play Them With Your Friends'. MakeUseOf. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
6. ^ ^abc'GamePigeon on the App Store'. Apple Inc. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
7. ^ ^ab'Here's How I'm Hosting a 'Social Distancing Cup Pong Tournament' This Weekend'. WPST. 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
8. ^ ^abcChokkattu, Julian (August 18, 2017). 'Own an iPhone 7? Try these 15 iMessage apps, sticker packs, games for iOS 10'. Digital Trends. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
9. ^Vorhees, John (December 23, 2016). 'My Favorite iMessage Apps and Sticker Packs of 2016'. MacStories.net. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
10. ^ ^abPullen, John Patrick (October 18, 2016). 'The Ultimate Guide to Apple's New Messages App'. Time. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
11. ^ ^abJohnson, Khari (March 20, 2017). 'Forget stickers: iMessage's top 15 apps and games'. VentureBeat. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
12. ^Bell, Killian (September 3, 2019). 'Apple has no plans to scrap iMessage apps and games'. cultofmac.com. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
13. ^'2020 Presidential Democratic Candidates Reveal Their Pop Culture Favorites'. E! Online. July 18, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
14. ^Castillo, Michelle (February 28, 2017). 'Teens explain how they really use Snapchat and Instagram, and why Facebook still matters'. CNBC. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
15. ^Rao, Emma (March 10, 2020). 'Revisiting introversion and extroversion: Learning from each other, part 2'. The Tufts Daily. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
16. ^Webb, Jack (March 24, 2020). 'People are reviving iMessage games during self-isolation - here's how to find them'. Evening Standard. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
17. ^Sherrill, Cameron (March 31, 2020). 'The 15 Best Mobile Games to Wile Away Hour After Hour Playing in 2020'. Esquire. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
18. ^'Duke Athletics adds GamePigeon 'Cup Pong' as official varsity sport'. The Chronicle. April 1, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.

Eight-ball (also spelled 8-ball or eightball, and sometimes called solids and stripes, spots and stripes^[1] or highs and lows) is a pool billiards played on a billiard table with six pockets, cue sticks, and sixteen billiard balls: a cue ball and fifteen object balls. The object balls include seven solid-colored balls numbered 1 through 7, seven striped balls numbered 9 through 15, and the black 8 ball. After the balls are scattered with a break shot, a player is assigned either the group of solid or striped balls once they have legally pocketed a ball from that group. The object of the game is to legally pocket the 8 ball in a 'called' pocket, which can only be done after all of the balls from a player's assigned group have been cleared from the table.

The game is the most frequently played discipline of pool, and is often thought of as synonymous with 'pool'. The game has numerous variations, mostly regional. It is the second most played professional pool game, after nine-ball, and for the last several decades ahead of straight pool.^{[citation needed]}

History[edit]

The game of eight-ball arose around 1900 in the United States as a development of pyramid pool, which allows any eight of the fifteen object balls to be pocketed to win. The game arose from two changes made, namely that the 8 ball must be pocketed last to win, and that each player may only pocket half of the other object balls. By 1925 the game was popular enough for the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company to introduce purpose-made ball sets with seven red, seven yellow, one black ball, and the cue ball, which allowed spectators to more easily see which suit each ball belonged to. (Such colors became standard in the later British-originating variant, blackball). The rules, as officially codified in the Billiard Congress of America's rule book, were periodically revised in the years following.^{[2]:24, 89–90[3][4][5]}

Standardized rules of play[edit]

American-style eight-ball rules are played around the world by professionals, and in many amateur leagues. Nevertheless, the rules for eight-ball may be the most inconsistent of any billiard game as there are several competing sets of 'official' rules.

The non-profit World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), which has continental and national affiliates around the world (some of which long pre-date the WPA, such as the Billiard Congress of America) promulgates standardized rules as Pool Billiards – The Rules of Play.^[6] These are used for amateur and professional play.

Meanwhile, many amateur leagues – such as the American Poolplayers Association (APA) and its affiliate the Canadian Poolplayers Association (CPA), the Valley National Eight-ball Association (VNEA) and the BCA Pool League (BCAPL) – use their own rulesets which have slight differences from WPA rules and from each other. Millions of individuals play informally, using informal 'house rules' which vary not only from area to area but even from venue to venue.

Equipment[edit]

The regulation size of the table's playing surface is 9 by 4.5 ft (2.7 by 1.4 m), though exact dimensions may vary slightly by manufacturer. Some leagues and tournaments using the World Standardized Rules may allow smaller sizes, down to 7 by 3.5 ft (2.1 by 1.1 m). Early 20th-century 10 by 5 ft (3.0 by 1.5 m) models are occasionally also still used. WPA professional competition generally employs regulation tables, while the amateur league championships of various leagues, including ACS, BCAPL, VNEA, and APA, use the seven-foot tables in order to fit more of them into the hosting venue.

There are seven solid-colored balls numbered 1 through 7, seven striped balls numbered 9 through 15, an 8 ball, and a cue ball. The balls are usually colored as follows:

• 1 and 9: yellow
• 2 and 10: blue
• 3 and 11: red
• 4 and 12: purple
• 5 and 13: orange
• 6 and 14: green
• 7 and 15: maroon
• 8: black
• Cue: white

Special sets designed to be more easily discernible on television substitute pink for the dark purple of the 4 and 12 and light tan for the darker maroon of the 7 and 15 balls, and these alternative-color sets are now also available to consumers.

Setup[edit]

To start the game, the object balls are placed in a triangular rack. The base of the rack is parallel to the end rail (the short end of the pool table) and positioned so the apex ball of the rack is located on the foot spot. The balls in the rack are ideally placed so that they are all in contact with one another; this is accomplished by pressing the balls together toward the apex ball. The order of the balls should be random, with the exceptions of the 8 ball, which must be placed in the center of the rack (i.e., the middle of the third row), and the two back corner balls, one of which must be a stripe and the other a solid. The cue ball is placed anywhere the breaker desires behind the head string.

Break[edit]

One person is chosen by some predetermined method (e.g., coin toss, lag, or win or loss of previous game or match) to shoot first, using the cue ball to break the object-ball rack apart. In most leagues it is the breaker's opponent who racks the balls, but in some, players break their own racks. If the breaker fails to make a successful break—usually defined as at least four balls hitting cushions or an object ball being pocketed—then the opponent can opt either to play from the current position or to call for a re-rack and either re-break or have the original breaker repeat the break.

If the 8 ball is pocketed on the break, then the breaker can choose either to re-spot the 8 ball and play from the current position or to re-rack and re-break; but if the cue ball is also pocketed on the break then the opponent is the one who has the choice: either to re-spot the 8 ball and shoot with ball-in-hand behind the head string, accepting the current position, or to re-break or have the breaker re-break.

Turn-taking[edit]

A player (or team) continues to shoot until committing a foul or failing to legally pocket an object ball (whether intentionally or not); thereupon it is the turn of the opposing players. Play alternates in this manner for the remainder of the game. Following a foul, the incoming player has ball-in-hand anywhere on the table, unless the foul occurred on the break shot, as noted previously.^[6]

Selection of the target group[edit]

The table is 'open' at the start of the game, meaning that either player may shoot at any ball. It remains open until one player legally pockets one or more object balls (excluding the 8) after the break. That player is assigned the group, or suit, of the pocketed ball – 1–7 (solids), or 9–15 (stripes) – and the other suit is assigned to the opponent. Balls pocketed on the break, or as the result of a foul while the table is still open, are not used to assign the suits. If a player pockets balls from both suits on an open table, they may claim either suit as their own.

Once the suits are assigned, they remain fixed throughout the game. If any balls from a player's suit are on the table, the player must hit one of them first on every shot; otherwise a foul is called and the turn ends. After all balls from the suit have been pocketed, the player's target becomes the 8 for the remainder of the game.

Pocketing the 8 ball[edit]

Once all of a player's (or team's) group of object balls are pocketed, the player attempts to sink the 8 ball. In order to win the game the player first designates which pocket the 8 ball will be pocketed into and then successfully pockets the 8 ball into that pocket. If the player knocks the 8 ball off the table then the player loses the game. If the player pockets the 8 ball and commits a foul or pockets it into another pocket than the one designated, then the player loses the game. Otherwise (i.e., if the 8 ball is neither pocketed nor knocked off the table) the shooter's turn is simply over, even if a foul occurs. In short, a world-standardized rules game of eight-ball, like a game of nine-ball, is not over until the 'money ball' is no longer on the table. The rule has been increasingly adopted by amateur leagues.

Winning[edit]

A player wins the game if that player legally pockets the 8 ball into a designated pocket after all of their object balls have been pocketed. They may also win if the opposing player illegally pockets the 8 ball or knocks the 8 ball off the table. Because of this, it is possible for a game to end with only one of the players having shot, which is known as 'running the table'.

Best Way To Break In 8 Ball Pool Game Pigeon Forge

Fouls[edit]

Fouls in eight-ball are:

• The shooter fails to strike one of their own object balls (or the 8 ball when it is the legal ball) with the cue ball, before other balls are contacted by the cue ball. This excludes 'split' shots, where the cue ball strikes one of the shooter's and one of the opponent's object balls simultaneously.
• No ball comes into contact with a cushion or is pocketed, after a legal cue ball contact with the (first) object ball.
• If an attempt is made to pocket a ball, and the ball hits the pocket, bounces out and lands on the ground, the ball is placed in the pocket and the game continues.
• The shooter does not have at least one foot on the floor (this requirement may be waived if the shooter has a relevant disability, or the venue has not provided a mechanical bridge).
• The cue ball is pocketed.
• The cue ball is shot before all balls have come to a complete stop from the previous shot.
• The cue ball does not strike any ball.
• The cue ball is struck more than once during a shot
• The cue ball is jumped with an illegal jump shot that scoops under the cue ball.
• The cue ball is clearly pushed, with the cue tip remaining in contact with it more than momentarily.
• The shooter touches the cue ball with something other than the tip of the cue.
• The shooter touches any ball with their body, clothing, or equipment, other than as necessary to move the cue ball when the player has ball-in-hand.
• The shooter knocks a ball off the table.
• The shooter shoots out-of-turn.
• The shooter shoots the black 8 ball without designating the pocket to opposite team members or the match referee in advance.
• The shooter deliberately pockets the opponent's balls while shooting the 8 ball.
• On the break shot, no balls are pocketed and fewer than four balls reach the cushions, in which case the incoming player can demand a re-rack and take the break or force the original breaker to re-break, or may take ball-in-hand behind the head string and shoot the balls as they lie.

Derivative games and variants[edit]

Best Way To Break In 8 Ball Pool Game Pigeon Tennessee

Blackball[edit]

Best Way To Break In 8 Ball Pool Game Pigeon Run

The British version of eight-ball, known internationally as blackball, has evolved into a separate game, retaining significant elements of earlier pub versions of the game, with additional influences from English billiards and snooker. It is popular in amateur competition in Britain, Ireland, Australia, and some other countries.

The game uses unnumbered, solid-colored object balls, typically red and yellow, with one black 8 ball. They are usually 2 inches (51 mm) or 2¹⁄₁₆ inches (52 mm) in diameter, the latter being the same size as the balls used in snooker and English billiards. Tables for blackball pool are 6-to-7-foot (1.8 to 2.1 m) long, and feature pockets with rounded cushion openings, like snooker tables.

The rules of blackball differ from standard eight-ball in numerous ways, including the handling of fouls, which may give the opponent two shots, racking (the 8 ball, not the apex ball, goes on the spot), selection of which group of balls will be shot by which player, handling of frozen balls and snookers, and many other details.

Internationally, the World Pool-Billiard Association and the World Eightball Pool Federation both publish rules and promote events. The two rule sets differ in some details regarding the penalties for fouls.

Eight-ball rotation[edit]

The hybrid game eight-ball rotation is a combination of eight-ball and rotation, in which the players must pocket their balls (other than the 8, which remains last) in numerical order. Specifically, the solids player starts by pocketing the 1 ball and ascends to the 7 ball, and the stripes player starts by pocketing the 15 ball and descends to the 9 ball.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Best Way To Break In 8 Ball Pool Game Pigeon Tn

1. ^'Scottish Pool Association'. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014.
2. ^Shamos, Mike (1999). The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards. New York: Lyons Press. ISBN1-55821-797-5.
3. ^Jewett, Bob (February 2002). '8-Ball Rules: The Many Different Versions of One of Today's Most Common Games'. Billiards Digest: 22–23.
4. ^Hickok, Ralph (2001). 'Sports History: Pocket Billiards'. Archived from the original on 5 December 2006. Retrieved 13 December 2006.
5. ^Shamos, Mike (1995–2005). 'A Brief History of the Noble Game of Billiards'. Billiard Congress America. Archived from the original on 27 January 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2006.
6. ^ ^abPool Billiards – The Rules of Play(PDF). World Pool-Billiard Association. 1 January 2008. Archived from the original(PDF) on 19 November 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2012.

External links[edit]