Replays Needed

I love this app because it realistically lets me try out shots and discover where my ideas don’t match the realities of physics. Those said physics are pretty well grounded in the game engine and I really enjoy seeing the visual representation of where the target ball will go, given a perfect cue stroke. I enjoy the concept of lining up the results of each shot into a 10 point pocket so that the next shot will also line up with the rotated 10 point pocket (just like real pros are thinking ahead). However, I don’t understand the game’s random actions where the next 10 point pocket is changed from what it should normally be. I’ve tried to match this randomness with the preceding shot (maybe a poor but lucky shot generates this action?) The one other feature I’d like added, even as a new game mode to keep it from altering the pure skill mode, would be to allow a shot to be replayed. This would give me a better chance to learn to read shot potential better, just like if I were shooting on a real table. I’d love to pay for a no ad version if this mode were added. It would make it a pure 5-star rating!

Pleasant surprise of a game

I won’t lie: I had my doubts about Pocket-Run Pool at first...it looked too simplistic. But then I broke and ran out a standard game after a few tries without missing for some 600 points and everything changed. It’s the simplicity that makes the game work. Touch and drag to aim, touch the arrows to bring up the cue, then touch and drag again to shoot. You don’t have to worry about things like putting English on the cue ball...but you still need a decent head for angles to play this game well. The easy-on-the-eyes presentation gives it a “just one more game” addictiveness that made paying $4 for the full version a no-brainer for me. I would like to see a more traditional rule set — 9 ball would be nice — added into this, but this is a minor quibble. You’ll have fun with this indie gem.

Used to be fun but needs updated/changed

I’ve played this game off and on for awhile. I really liked how I could just play a few games pretty quickly. The ads are out of hand. I can understand the need for ads, I get it, but these ads are bugged and appear way too often. I opened the app and realized I needed more bank money, so I watched an ad. After the ad, the app crashed. I reopened money was taken from the bank for something. I then go back to play a tournament, and the screen popped up for another ad which then crashed the app again. I reopened noticed that money was gone from the bank again and was finally able to play the tournament. So not only so these ads crash the app, they also happen every game. The screen pops up and stares that they know everyone hates ads and you won’t see one for 3 games, however, it’s every game. This used to be really fun to just waste some time on and I really supporting developers who don’t use micro transactions for their apps, but this game went really downhill and needs an update.

Absolute scam of a game

You’d think that after 4 years in development, it’d be worth the wait. But despite its tremendous track record, the game still has bugs and clips you hate so much, your fist just goes through your wall. Billiards requires precise aim, a clear mind, and an ample amount of skill. However, this app solely relies on luck and your wallet. There is no spins which already makes the game several times more difficult. Releasing your finger will, more often than not, completely offset your original aim. The hit boxes for the holes are still not rounded and balls could clip right through edges or bounce despite not hitting anything at all. The table has no markers which makes calculating trajectory nearly impossible. Most of all, there is no power indicator. Your shots will always be inconsistent because there is not consistency in the first place. You have to “flick” the screen to shoot. That’s just a roundabout way to say, “we are scamming you out of your time”. Just play 8ball pool or game pigeon. Both of which have a much larger and user friendly community

Excellent mobile game

I have tried many pool games for the phone but they all try to simulate a 3D experience with everything swishing around with the point of view of the stick as if you were in a first person shooter. I avoid those on a small device. This, however is a perfect distillation of basic pool physics into a friendly handheld game. The quick play and optional high stakes and break of the week make it interesting attractive for a few minutes or an hour. My only request is that for standard play, there be an option to go back a shot or two to do them over so you can see how a different aim or push strength would send the game in a different direction. I’ll confess that I want that so I can practice shots I continue to miss. Great game.

App really fun, ads not so much.

This app is really cool and the concept is fantastic. It’s a great twist on traditional “pocket pool”. My only issue is the advertisements. I don’t take issue with there being ads, I know they are necessary for developers, but only that they are SO frequent. After every rack, a screen pops up with the little “we know ads are no fun” message, and at the bottom it says “the next ad will be in 3 games”. But it never fails, the very next game, BOOM another ad. Game after game after game, always in a row. Whatever algorithm they use to detect when to play ads needs to be updated, because I find myself closing the app after the 3rd or 4th time this happens. I enjoy the game, but all the ads are super long and appear in between EVERY SINGLE game. It ends up being more hassle than it’s worth.

Genuinely enjoy BUT

Please enable iCloud syncing! Logging in to Game Center isn’t enough for my past medals and ongoing streak to transfer to my new phone. I like this game a lot—so much that I’ve paid for it—but there are moments when it’s SO SLOW! I understand that the shoot isn’t over until all the balls have stopped moving, but I’m going crazy with how often the whole game just pauses after all the balls have rolled to a stop while I wait to be allowed to set up the next shot. (This is especially infuriating during time-limited high-stakes games. If I’m constantly waiting 5-10s after all the balls have stopped to take the next shot, my chances of clearing the table in 2:45–let alone 2:00!—are slim.)

This game is rigged.

The key to this game are the “conditions”. Some are easy. But most are difficult. You spin for a condition. If you don’t like the condition you get, you can spin again. But that will cost you. And that’s where the game is rigged. When you spin again, very often you’ll get that exact same difficult condition again! Spin and get Cuewall (a difficult condition). Spin again, and get Cuewall again. I’ve played about 30 games so far. And I’ve already spun Cuewall three times in a row, twice. What are the chances of that happening randomly, even once? It’s very low. Maybe it’s 1 in 1000. But it’s happened twice for me. So either I’m the unluckiest person in the world, or this game is rigged. The game evidently forces the more difficult conditions on you. That way, you’ll lose more frequently. And then the developer hopes you’ll spend money for a rebuy. And that’s a pity. The idea behind this game is great. Rigging the conditions, that’s not so great. On edit: I’ve played about 20 more games. It’s almost amusing to try to predict what rigged “condition” will come up next. I’ll spin for a condition. Almost always, a difficult one will come up. It could be Perfect Run or Cuewall, for example. (An easy condition, like Inflate/Deflate, that you will almost never see.) So I spin again. Again, it’s almost always one of the more difficult conditions. What fun!

Indie game developer Zach Gage has scored hits with titles such as Really Bad Chess and Flipflop Solitaire. Now he's back with his own take on 8...

VentureBeat Wed Apr 29 2020

Zach Gage's latest game reimagines a classic for touchscreens ... By Andrew Webster, an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds,...

The Verge Wed Apr 29 2020

12233 BULL RUN 12233 BULL RUN BIRCHWOOD, Tennessee 37308 BIRCHWOOD ... 1342 CARTER RD 910 HIP POCKET RD DECATUR, Georgia 300304605 PEACHTREE...

Chattanoogan.com Thu Sep 25 2025

The EEO investigation revealed that Zach's misconduct started shortly after Zach's ... Pool Corp., 304 F. Supp. 3d 1148, 1160 (N.D. Ala. 2018) (concluding that a...

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Fri Aug 29 2025

As opposed to the type of gamer that he was.” SpellTower. With Gage's newest addition to his repertoire Pocket Run Pool being a modern spin on...

Pocket Gamer.biz Fri May 29 2020

Zach Gage has earned a reputation by taking time-tested but tired classic games and reinventing them for mobile. Past hits from Gage like...

MacStories Wed Apr 29 2020

This includes the likes of Really Bad Chess, Flipflop Solitaire, and Pocket-Run Pool. He even designed a new version of Snake for the just...

The Verge Fri Mar 29 2024

Game designer and artist Zach Gage ... Many of Gage's works have found success on mobile, including Really Bad Chess, Pocket-Run Pool, Flipflop...

Washington Post Mon Apr 29 2024

... Pocket Run Pool (Zach Gage), Alphabear 2 (Spry Fox), Twinfold (Kenny Sun). Innovation Award. Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games); Florence...

GamesIndustry.biz Tue Dec 29 2020

The latest from iPhone game developer extraordinaire Zach Gage ... “Pocket Run Pool” turns billiards into a soothing, addictive, score...

Yahoo Finance Fri May 29 2020