The most important of these is the bed, which is the cloth-covered playing surface. The Anatomy Of A Billiard Tableīilliard tables are comprised of very few parts. Formats of billiards tables varied by regional preference, though the current form, which includes the addition of pockets around the perimeter, was fairly well-established by the 1850s. The game became increasingly popular in England in the 1800s, as the Industrial Revolution made it much easier and cheaper to manufacture equipment. Billiards tables could supposedly be found in most cafes in Paris by 1727. Thus, the bank shot was born, and table edges were intentionally constructed with materials known for their rebounding power.īy the early 1700s, the game had made its way to popularity outside of the ruling classes of France. Over centuries of play, players realized they could use the banks to ricochet balls to their desired destinations. Initially, the raised edges of the billiards table, called banks, were used only to prevent balls from falling off the edge during a game. Players had been flipping their maces to use their narrow-ended handles, called queues, to push the balls for some time, so the cue was developed as a more precise solution. In the late 1600s, the cue was introduced to combat the difficulty of pushing the balls when they were close to the edges of the table. In early forms of the table games, balls were pushed with a wide-ended stick called a mace, rather than struck with the point of a cue. The game was well-known enough to be mentioned by Shakespeare in his plays, including Antony and Cleopatra, which was first performed in 1607. Mary, Queen of Scots was famously buried in her billiards table cloth in 1587. The game's popularity with the noble classes of France and England lent an aspirational air to billiards play outside of those circles. The original tables were laid with green cloth to simulate the grass on which the games had typically been played outdoors. In the meantime, indoor versions of the games became a necessity for royal figures like King Louis XI because they wanted to play year-round. Early forms of games like croquet and golf, namely the french jeu de mail, or "game of the mallet," were popular among the royal class in France as early as the 1340s.įrom France, the lawn games spread to England and Scotland. The origins of billiards games, which are generally referred to as cue sports, actually lie in outdoor lawn games that date back over 600 years to the Late Middle Ages. It's still durable and plays well, so players of all ages can enjoy it - and any snobs who turn their noses up at it can simply find a game somewhere else. It's not quite as elegant or classy as the Brunswick models, but it comes at a fraction of the price. The Lancaster Gaming Company Arcade is our favorite middle-of-the-road option. It's not the only possibility on the list, though, as the Playcraft Sport Bank Shot and Bello Games Deluxe Folding are both inexpensive ways to introduce children to the game without having to dip into their college fund to do it. If you're just shopping for kids, the Sunnydaze Decor Mini is your best bet, as it's easy for them to set up and move while also providing a relatively realistic experience. Both are fantastic tables, but we felt the Glen Oaks was a little more solidly built, and therefore more worthy of the substantial investment needed to buy either one. While the Brunswick Danbury was formerly our top-rated product, it was supplanted by a sister table, the Brunswick Glen Oaks.
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