Best Pool Games on Android and iOS

Those of us who play video games may call ourselves very visual people, and the pool is a very visual sport. With Infinity 8 Ball Pool King, the visuals are something you may see in a casino at night. This suits the theme quite well in a high-stakes sport where every shot counts. What's helpful is that you have tools that can make every shot count. The area around the table can be darkened while the angle and paths of your shots are brightly highlighted depending on the paths they follow and which balls you're striking. Watching your planned shot play out may make you feel like a king.

Many people play games to escape, but you can't fight the rising tide of realism sweeping the market. It may be because we don't always have access to a real-life version that we need a digital version, like Real Pool 3D. The title is pretty clear about what you can expect when you arrive at the digital table. Everything looks clean and neatly rendered, which helps to create a nice atmosphere around the game. Although all players take the form of floating pool cues, that's more than enough of a cue to take your position, line up your shot, and hope to sink enough to earn a real victory.

If you want to make something exciting (that on average doesn't really sound exciting), then just add an exciting word to it. The folks over at Pool Blitz knew exactly what they were doing and pulled it off. Enter a world of pool where people seem to decorate pool tables and equipment with more extravagance than they would a sports car. To add to the excitement, there are multiple game modes where you can battle your opponent's balls and aim for flashy icons in the heat of the conflict. The controls work well for standard modes too to keep things grounded, but you can ride them to glitz and glamour as you take those hunting for the same thing.

Another thing about games like pool is that it creates an atmosphere. When you walk into a room that has a pool table, you get a sense of the room - and there's that sense in 8 Ball Smash. You're playing pool in an environment that can seem familiar or foreign to you while still being a friendly game. There's still that competitive edge and even a progression mechanic at play that lets you change your equipment to alter your performance. However, fancy tools can only get you so far, since the controls will challenge you to play seriously and as you would in reality. So, don't drop your guard against friends or challengers.

Sometimes, simple is best. A game doesn't have to be fancy - it just needs to be fun. Pool is already enjoyable to begin with, and Pool Ball - Classic knows it. The game gives you a top-down view of a basic table with basic balls and basic cues. All you're doing is lining up shots, checking angles, and striking true. It's a satisfying view for pool since unless you're a giant, you'll never be playing the game from this perspective. It's the base game with the base rules and base performance, and it's great just like that.

An interesting way to change how people play and respond to a game is just to change one thing about it. Aside from the odd-sounding name, Pooking - Billiards City changes a pretty key thing about pool: the table. It's another game to make use of the unattainable top-down perspective of the game, but it needs to use it in order to appreciate the gimmick. If a standard game of pool is not enough for you, then change the table. You can play across some pretty bizarre shapes that completely change how you approach the game and plan your shots.

Once again, we return to the idea of the Sport of Kings which many believe pool to be. Although called King of Billiards, you'll become the King of Pool too if you manage to make it to the top. While the top-down view may remove seeing the surroundings, you could believe that this game was spawned in Las Vegas. The table decor is dynamic and varied to match the balls and cues which splash all over the game. You're encouraged to play against other players to determine who has best mastered the pool physics so you can get another spin on the rewards wheel.

It's a pool and that's all that you need to know. It's simply named Pool because that's all it is and that's all you need. It gives a generous top-down view of the action across a simple and solid table with equipment to match. It prides itself on accurate gameplay - even a novice can master a few games and then seek out a challenge. The shots are clear and solid with angle projections being clean, and simple lines that tell you everything at a glance. Play pool the way it was meant to be played…but on your phone.