This was not intended to be a half-baked idea. I figured that it would be baked to a fare-thee-well; I still wouldn't be too surprised if someone found it out there in the wild.

The idea is to simply enlarge the game of pool to about 4 times original size - played on a table (floor? court? arena?) 20 feet wide and 30 feet long, with pockets at scale. The balls are undrilled bowling balls colored appropriately; the cue ball is, of course, drilled to be handled like a standard bowling ball.

One major equipment change is that instead of bowling shoes, a shoe with a good protection for ankle-crush injury should be used.

A ten-foot wide border outside the playing surface can also be used for your approach; just remember the step down.

A fault would be called if the cue ball is not put back into play within the circle it occupied at the the end of the last shot.
-- lurch, Jul 22 2003

Hearing protection will most likely be needed, too.
-- Cedar Park, Jul 22 2003


I would assume the surface would not be oiled; that may allow your spin to take effect without as much room as bowling lane requires.
-- lurch, Jul 23 2003


This is soooo cool!! I love both games, and I wouldn't be amazed it somebody stole this idea from you [lurch]. PLEASE bakers!! REgister your ideas, patent your inventions, protect your creativity! Or do you care not?
-- Pericles, Jul 23 2003


Sounds like a slight adaptation of lawn bowling.
-- waugsqueke, Jul 23 2003


//allow for English on the cue ball// Am I being dim or does this make no sense at all?
(+) for the idea though....I would really, really love to play this.
-- silverstormer, Jul 23 2003


English is what Americans call spin because Americans love to obfuscate the games they play.
-- my face your, Jul 23 2003


Nah, it's we just put our own spin on things.
-- phoenix, Jul 23 2003


// ...English... //

Now, as far as the French, we don't allow them to touch the cue ball at all.
-- RayfordSteele, Jul 23 2003


This is an idea I also came up with sometime back in the 90's. I actually did a bit of figuring to estimate cost and approached a few people about building a billiard bowling rink. The problem is cost- bowling lanes are more than just hardwood floors. Also would need some R&D...finding the right material to use as bumpers, and (crucially) from experiments, the right material for the object balls. The human arm is not capable of rolling a bowling ball hard enough to get a satisfactory response out of another bowling ball, let alone 15. Still, this idea should be done, and I'll bet someday it will.
-- saxman, Dec 26 2007


Also, I should point out that it is quite a bit more difficult to aim a bowling ball than a billiard ball. Games would take forever, and what with the construction costs and space cost, you'd have to charge 20 bucks a game.
-- saxman, Dec 26 2007


I'd pay that. Get a few mates together and you're paying less than the cost of a pint each.
-- egbert, Dec 26 2007


Of course that's what you would need to do, unabubba. However, reducing the size defeats the purpose, and inventing and manufacturing a large sphere of custom plastic with the proper density would be wicked expensive..I've made inquiries... What is needed is a prototype to attract investors- I think I could do it for a quarter mil. Anyone? I'm just saying that this is a classic half-baked idea....but I want to play BB sooo bad.
-- saxman, Dec 26 2007


you could call it "Bool"

(which is what I was gonna call it before the prepost Search) :)
-- FlyingToaster, Sep 28 2010


How about "Bowlliards"?
-- doctorremulac3, Sep 28 2010


This is magnum idea.

I propose that:

1. Players stay off the playing 'surface.' (Less ankle crushing.)

2. The cue stick would be a tube, long enough to reach any possible shot on the floor. To propel the cue ball (make the shot), another ball ('the shooter') is chosen from a Set of five, or so, same size balls with varying masses.

The player drops his chosen shooter into the tube, which rolls down the tube, hitting a thin metal membrane at the end, which is being held against the cue ball. When the shooter strikes the membrane, its momentum is transferred to the cue ball, sending it off at a speed proportional to the mass of the shooter. (Think of Newton's Cradle.)

The angle of the 'cue tube' is another variable, contributing to the velocity of the shot. This could either be incorporated into the game or equalized with fixed-angle-brace of some sort.

3. Play proceed as in billiards.
-- Boomershine, Sep 28 2010


Oh, forget english (spin)...
-- Boomershine, Sep 28 2010



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