ROTATION-8 is a combination of many of the recognized rules of 8-Ball and 9-Ball plus suggestions from fellow players – it’s meant to combine the best of both games.
WHAT IT IS
- Rotation-8 can be call your shot or not, just decide before you start. The 8-ball's intended pocket is always called.
- The game uses the cue ball and all 15 object balls. One player must pocket 1 through 7 (solids), and the other has 15 through 9 (stripes). Note the order - Both players shoot in rotation toward the 8-ball.
- The player pocketing either group first and then legally pocketing the 8-ball wins the game.
- On each shot the cue ball must first contact the lowest numbered ball for solids or the highest number for stripes. As in 9-ball, the balls don't have to be pocketed in order they just have to be initially hit in order. If a player sinks any ball on a legal shot he continues until missing, committing a foul or winning the game by pocketing the 8-ball.
- The 8-ball can be used in combination shots.
- The opening break is not a “called shot” - players continue to shoot so long as any object ball is legally pocketed and the 1 ball is contacted first. After the break, successfully completing a shot determines whether the player is solids or stripes. So if a ball is sunk on a legal break but the player's next shot is missed, the table is still open.
- After a legal hit but missed shot, the incoming player must shoot from the position left by the previous player, but after any foul the incoming player may start with the cue ball anywhere on the table. Players don't have to call any shot except the 8-ball. A match ends when one of the players wins the required number of games.
RACKING
The balls are racked in a triangle at the foot of the table with the 8-ball in the center of the triangle and the 1-ball at the top on the foot spot, a stripe ball in one corner of the rack, a solid ball in the other corner and the 15 in between. The game begins with cue ball in hand behind the head string.
ORDER OF BREAK
Winner of the lag or coin toss has the option to break. The winner of each game breaks in the next.
LEGAL BREAK SHOT
The breaker shoots the cue ball from behind the head string and must either pocket a ball, or drive at least four object balls to the rail. Failing to make a legal break is a foul - the incoming player either accepts the table and shoots, or has the balls re-racked plus the option of breaking or letting the offending player break again.
If the cue ball is sunk or shot off the table, or the requirements of the opening break aren't met, it's a foul and the incoming player has cue ball in hand anywhere on the table.
If on the break shot, the breaker causes an object ball to jump off the table, it is a foul and the incoming player has cue ball in hand anywhere on the table. The object ball is spotted.8-BALL POCKETED ON THE BREAK
If the 8-ball is sunk on the break, the breaker wins. If the breaker scratches while pocketing the 8-ball on the break, the 8-ball spotted and the in-coming player has ball-in-hand anywhere on the table.
CONTINUING PLAY
On the shot immediately following a legal break, the shooter may play a "push out" (see below). If the breaker pockets one or more balls on a legal break, he continues to shoot until he misses, fouls, or wins the game. A successful break simply means that the breaker can continue shooting - the table is still open. The next successful shot determines who is solids or stripes - the breaker proceeds to contact the lowest numbered solid or the highest numbered stripe and successfully sink any legal ball, continuing in order all the way to the 8 ball. Following the break, if the breaker misses or fouls, the table is still open. The opponent, having ball-in-hand, proceeds to contact the lowest numbered solid or the highest numbered stripe and successfully sink any legal ball, continuing in order all the way to the 8 ball until missing, committing a foul, or winning. If no ball in sunk the table remains open. The game ends when the 8-ball is pocketed on a legal shot or the game is forfeited for other reasons.
PUSH OUT
The player who shoots the shot immediately after a legal break may play a push out in an attempt to move the cue ball into a better position if no clear, direct shot to the lowest numbered solid or highest numbered stripe is available. On a push out, the cue ball is not required to contact any object ball nor any rail, but all other foul rules still apply. The player must announce the intention of playing a push out before the shot, or the shot is considered to be a normal shot. Any ball pocketed on a push out does not count and remains pocketed except the 8-ball, which is spotted. Following a legal push out, the incoming player is permitted to shoot from that position or to pass the shot back to the player who pushed out. A push out is not considered to be a foul as long as no rule is violated. An illegal push out is penalized according to the type of foul committed. After a player scratches on the break shot, the incoming player cannot play a push out.
OPEN TABLE
The table is "open" when the choice of stripes or solids hasn't yet been determined. It is legal to hit the lowest numbered solid first to make a stripe or the highest numbered stripe to make a solid. The ball legally contacted first determines if the player is solids or stripes. Keep in mind that, while these shots permit the player to continue, the opponent is benefitted at the same time. When the table is open and any ball besides the lowest numbered solid or the highest numbered stripe is the first ball contacted, it is a foul resulting in ball-in-hand for the opponent. Any balls pocketed remain pocketed; and the incoming player addresses the balls with the table still open. On an open table, all illegally pocketed balls remain pocketed.
SOLIDS OR STRIPES
The choice of stripes or solids is not determined on the break even if balls are made from only one or both groups, because the table is always open immediately after the break shot. The choice of group is determined only when a player legally pockets an object ball after the break shot. Once a player first hits the highest numbered stripe or the lowest numbered solid and sinks any ball except the 8, then the table is no longer open, and that first ball hit determines which group the player gets.
LEGAL SHOT
On all shots (except on the break and when the table is open), the shooter must first hit, if he is solids, the lowest numbered solid, and if he is stripes, the highest numbered stripe and pocket a numbered ball, or cause the cue ball or any numbered ball to contact a rail. Please Note: it is permissible for the shooter to bank the cue ball off a rail before contacting the object ball; however, after contact with the object ball, an object ball must be pocketed, or the cue ball or any numbered ball must contact a rail. Failure to do this is a foul. The incoming player gets ball in hand; he may place the cue ball anywhere on the table. If a player commits several fouls on one shot, they are counted as only one foul.
COMBINATION SHOTS
Combination shots are allowed, but the 8-ball cannot be used as a first ball in combination.
PLAYING THE 8-BALL
When the 8-ball is the legal object ball, a scratch loses the game, but a foul does not (unless the foul occurs when pocketing the 8-ball). After a foul on a missed 8-ball shot, the incoming player has cue ball in hand.
Note: A combination shot can never be used to legally pocket the 8-ball, except when the 8-ball is the first ball contacted in the shot sequence and the shot is called - for example "3-ball in the corner folowed by the 8."
LOSS OF GAME
A player loses the game by committing any of the following infractions:
1. Fouls when pocketing the 8-ball
2 . Pockets the 8-ball in a pocket other than the one designated.
3 . Pockets the 8-ball when it is not the legal object ball.Note: All infractions must be called before another shot is taken, or else it will be deemed that no infraction occurred.
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Rotation-8 logo ©2005 Vic Vinson, and the rules too, unless I find out that somebody else already did it.
After posting this, I discovered a similar game called "Convergence 8." It's different enough so I'm not losing any sleep over it.