Pool format
Scotch doubles: rules and how to play
Partners alternate shots. You do not get to fix what your partner just did to you.
| Players | 4, in two pairs |
|---|---|
| Length | 10–20 minutes a game |
| Equipment | Standard rack; usually played as eight-ball |
| Difficulty | Beginner |
The object of the game
Whatever the underlying game is — usually eight-ball.
Setting up
- Two pairs. Within each pair, players alternate every shot regardless of whether the previous one went in.
- Alternate the break between pairs, and alternate who breaks within each pair.
The rules
Strict alternation
Pocket a ball and your partner shoots next, not you. This is the whole game and it is the rule people forget most often mid-frame.
No coaching mid-shot
Most houses allow partners to talk between shots but not once the shooter is down on the ball. Worth stating; it gets heated.
House variants
This is a folk game with no governing body, so the version below is the common one and these are the variants you will meet. The only real mistake is not saying which you are playing before the first break.
Mixed pairs
Traditionally one stronger and one weaker player per pair, which is what makes it a good leveller at a mixed-ability night.
How a night of this actually runs
It takes 4, in two pairs and runs about 10–20 minutes a game, which is the number that decides whether it suits your room more than any rule in it does. You need standard rack; usually played as eight-ball, and it sits at a beginner level — so think about whether the weakest player in the room will still be enjoying it an hour in.
Compared with three strikes, the format this site is built around: that one takes any number of players, keeps everybody in the room for roughly two hours, and needs nothing but a rack and a way to count lives. Most of the games on this site are better as the game inside a night than as the shape of the night itself.
Is it any good in a bar?
The best format for a mixed-ability crowd and for couples. It is funnier than it sounds, because the strong player has to live with what the beginner leaves them. Needs exactly four, or a multiple of it.