First played towards the end of the 19th century, billards started as a pastime for British Army officers while based in India. The game consists of potting different coloured balls, scoring points each time you sink a ball. There are 15 reds on the table at the start of any new game, with the idea being to pot balls in the sequence of red-colour-red-colour-red-colour, and so on until a player fails to pot a ball. Each time a red is potted it stays in the pocket, but when a colour is potted after a red that colour is replaced on the table. Once all 15 reds have been sunk the players then move onto the six coloured balls, potting them in the order – Yellow, Green, Brown, Blue, Pink & Black. The player with the highest score after all the balls are potted is the winner of the frame, with tournament finals normally being the best of 17, or the best of 19 frames, while the World Championship is the longest with the final being the best of 35. The maximum break any one player can score is 147.

Points

Red = 1 point
Yellow = 2 points
Green = 3 points
Brown = 4 points
Blue = 5 points
Pink = 6 points
Black = 7 points