Pool is snooker’s inebriated cousin. Instead of waistcoats and polished balls, you get stale beer and table surfaces that look like they’ve been attacked by Wolverine.
We’re glad to report that none of these problems exist in the marvellous Pocket Run Pool – a puzzler as much pool as it’s an arcade game, with simplified one-thumb controls. You still sink balls, but your points tally depends on a ball’s number and the multiplier on the pocket you sink it in. Multipliers move every turn, forcing you to think ahead – or try for crazy trick shots.
Beyond the basic mode, there’s ‘Break of the Week’ (which are pre-arranged balls), ‘Insta-Tournament’ (one attempt to set a high score, thereafter compared against the world), and ‘High Stakes’. That last one has you bet tokens and spin a wheel to modify your game, adding a time limit, table numbers, or balls that rather cruelly change size.
Pocket Run Pool is available for download on iOS only, and is free. You won’t find a cheaper, and more entertaining way to sink some balls anywhere else.
