Greetings from South Carolina. The birthplace of the new billiards game, Points. This challenging game was invented by Mr. Albert Charbonneau as an alternative to the most common billiard games that many players are used to. Points was designed to be played in a multitude of ways, including as a solo game for practice and a two or more-player game. It can be a tournament game and even have its own league. Albert also wanted to add a few small life lessons within the game that we all could use to improve ourselves.
Here is a recent interview from POINTS Heavyweight Champion Michael Harrison on SPM TV.
The most important part of Points is that all shots must be called and made as they were called. There's no slop allowed. You know in your heart if the shot went the way it was called, and when it doesn't, always be the bigger person and take the zero. Here's one of those small life lessons. Have a high level of integrity so no one can call you out when the shot fails to go as it was called.
Points have two versions to play, with two methods to choose from. The first version is Solo-Practice, and it's all about practice. The first method is a half-table setup which represents a soft break during the actual game. It's easier to make shots when someone is just starting to learn how to play. The other method is a full table setup which represents a hard break. There is no breaking during solo practice. Simply spread out all 15 balls randomly on either half of the table or the full table & start with the cue ball in hand.
Solo-Practice has a permanent shot limit of no more than 30 shots, with the goal to always try to beat your best score within the 30-shot limit. Mr. Charbonneau said it best, "If you are taking more than two shots per ball to make points, you might not do very well when you start playing against someone who can make points with every shot." Another one of those small life lessons is right here. Always strive to be better.
The second version is the actual game of Points. It also has two methods to choose from. Points can be played with a set shot limit, with the winner being the player with the highest score within the agreed set shot limit. The other method is to play with a set point amount, with the winner being the player who reaches the agreed set point amount in the least number of shots.
Scoring points is what makes the game stand out. It's what makes the game so exciting to watch too. Crowds gather to see who can make the most points. Albert set up a two-tier points system that's very easy to understand. He introduced half-table points and then doubled the points value for full-table shots. Straight-in shots are 1 point each and each element added to a shot is worth 5 points. These points are for half-table shots, so the points are doubled when the same shots are full-table.
The most common elements are banks, kicks, carom shots, combinations, jump shots, masse shots, and kiss shots. Whenever more than one element is added to a shot, the score increases by 5 points per element for half-table shots and 10 points each for full-table shots. An example would be a called shot where the cue ball goes three banks to an object ball sitting at a side pocket. The score would be 15 points because there were three elements added to a half-table shot.
The break shot is scored 1 point for each object ball that goes into any of the top 4 pockets and 2 points each for any object ball that goes into the bottom two pockets. There is no penalty for scratching on the break; the player gets to keep whatever points were made.
Scratching during any method of the game is bad, so Albert made sure everyone gets punished for the lack of cue ball control. (Another small life lesson) The only exception is when a scratch occurs during the break. Any other time a scratch occurs, it comes with a 2-stroke penalty.
Albert has big plans for this game & he's hard at work trying to promote it & design everything that will be coming in the near future. He wants his creation to spread all over the world & even help bring the sport of billiards back to American television! His goals are high, and the fight to break into an industry dominated by some of the most popular games will be his real challenge. For Albert, it's a fight that is well worth the effort because the reward is a new age of billiards for us all!
Albert Charbonneau can be contacted through his Facebook account or via email at Alfu2u21067@aol.com You can find all of the rules & setups on his Facebook Homepage.