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Carambolage Billiards

Carambolage billiards fascinates the spectator by its pure geometric beauty and obvious difficulty and is quite different from its better known sibling pool billiards: tables without pockets, only three balls on the table, and the goal is to touch with the cue ball the other two. If succesful, this yields a point, and is called a "carambolage". Depending on the discipline, additional requirement may make it harder to make points. For example, in three-cushion, the cue ball has to touch at least three times the cushion before completing the carambolage. For a beginner, a nearly impossible task.

Especially three cushion billiards seems to impose an unsolvable task on the player. For a first impression play one of the following positions, which are animated using a Java-Applet implemented by Sebastian Egner:

1. initial position
   
2. doublequart
   
3. seven cushions
   
4. two cushions
   

I began playing carambolage in 1983 at the BSC Karlsruhe and soon specialized in three cushion billiards. In 1996 I changed to the ATSV Erlangen and played in the German National League. In January 1998 I (temporarily?) ceased to play.

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