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18.2 BALKLINE BILLIARDS
House Rules.

Contents:

1. TYPE OF GAME
2. PLAYERS
3. EQUIPMENT
4. OBJECT OF THE GAME
5. OPENING SHOT
6. SCORING
7. RULES OF PLAY
8. PENALTIES FOR FOULS


9. APPENDIX — THOROUGH PRESENTATION OF CAROM RULES via UMB

Except when clearly contradicted by these additional rules, the General Rules of Carom Billiards apply.

Designed to shorten the humongous runs that had come to be in the basic form of the game.

Two individuals, or two teams.

Standard set of balls, on a standard carom table. In addition to the normal markings found on the table the following areas shall be marked:

• Balk -- rectangular areas adjacent to the cushions with the outer edges 18-inches from the cushions. There are eight balk areas.

• Anchor -- equally span two adjacent balk areas. They are rectangles 7-inches along the rail which run 7-inches out from the cushion. There are eight anchor areas.

• Free -- is the center rectangle whose borders are those of the larger balk areas.

To reach a predetermined point count before your opponent.

The red-ball must be the first object ball contacted on the break.

One point is scored each time a legal count is made subject to the restrictions of the balk and anchor areas as described in Rules of Play.

A legal counting stroke entitles the shooter to continue at the table until he fails to legally count.

The shooter (or an object ball) is said to be in balk (or in anchor) if both the object balls lie in the same balk (or anchor) area. The player may score without regard to the balk areas at the beginning of the shooter's inning, or when one, or both, of the object balls come to rest in a new balk area. If both of the object balls rest in the same balk area where the previous point was scored then the shooter is required to drive at least one of the object balls from that balk area in order to legally count.

Note that if the shooter drives an object ball out of balk as required and it comes to rest in the same balk area it was just driven from (along with the other object ball) then the shooter is still in balk and must again drive at least one of the object balls from balk to legally count.

The anchor areas are played in the same manner as the balk areas. Note that one, or both, of the object balls may be driven out of balk but still be in anchor (the reverse can also hold).

A player may go for the count, or play safe as described in the General Rules of Carom Billiards.

PENALTIES FOR FOULS

A foul ends a player's turn. Any point made on a foul stroke will not count as it is not a legal count. There are no point deductions.

If the brief stating of the rules, as given above, seems lacking the following reference link will take you to the Carom World Governing Body Under the IOC Umbrella.   UMB Statutes & Regulations