Contributed
For years and centuries, people of all kinds have mastered the arts of the Game of Snooker and Billiards. They both have a rich history and origin that’s interesting to learn. It’s fascinating how a game that’s several centuries’ old could manage to march itself into the 21st century. You can learn more about the history here, and continue reading this article to learn more about their origin.
Briefly About Billiards Origin
Did you know that taking a perfect shot in Billiards could cause a ball to explode and cause damage? There was a time when people made billiards balls out of combustible matter – celluloid, an early plastic. If you were to live in 1869, then you might’ve tasted a blown-up billiards ball. That’s how long and rich its history goes.
Have you ever seen a wild banana or a watermelon? They differ from the fruits we eat every day. Today’s bananas evolved and transformed into something more edible and attractive. That’s how games, stories, and traditions develop. The billiards game came from an old game similar to croquet. People decided to move the game indoors, on a wooden table covered with cloth to simulate the grass. They modified the game and created Billiards.
Originally, this game was invented somewhere in 15th-century Europe. Nowadays the name Billiards act as an umbrella term for Snooker, billiards and pool games. This game conquered the whole world. Later on, people improved the equipment, changed the way cue sticks looked and worked, and continued enjoying Billiards.
Briefly About the Snooker Game
It’s hard to trace the roots of such game with a large history. But we can surely say that India gifted the world a game of snooker. By this time the game of Billiards was already traveling through the world. People from different countries were adopting it, and even creating their new rules and techniques.
Imagine a game that was widespread throughout the whole world. Imagine how many people would’ve thought to take it and create something more. Snooker is a brainchild of a young British lieutenant Neville Chamberlain. He experimented with the classic game of black pool and gifted us the game of Snooker.
A strong influence of the British nation in India resulted in giving birth to a cricket-crazy nation. Thus resulting Indian people to give the world the game of Snooker.
Snooker was introduced a bit later than Billiards. Compton Mackenzie, Author, and essayist states in one of his articles that in 1875 officers in the city of Jabalpur experimented with the balls of the classic black pool. They decided to substitute multiple-colored balls with red balls and one black ball.
There’s a fun history behind the game’s name. Back then, Military Academy called rookie cadets Snookers. In the article by Compton Mackenzie, it seems like a young lieutenant Chamberlain jokingly referred to players as Snookers. And they decided to stick with that name.
After some time they perfected the game and stated the rules and little details that differed Snookers from Pool and other Billiards umbrella games.
Today, Snooker conquered over 90 countries and over 120 million hearts of people all around the world. Today we witness championships and broadcasted games of Snooker, observed by more than 450 million people worldwide.
What’s the difference between Billiards and Snooker?
If you have ever played or observed the game of Billiards and Snooker, then you might’ve seen the obvious difference between these two. Starting with ball colors, cue differences, etc.
- Ball difference
Snooker uses 22 balls – One of white (striker ball), yellow, brown, blue, pink, black, green and 15 red balls. They are all 5.25 cm in diameter.
Billiards uses three balls – white, yellow, and red. White and Yellow are both striker balls. And their diameter is 6.15 cm.
- Table difference
Most Billiards games (and pool games) are played on 17, 20, 22 cm tables. While Snooker has a massive 30 cm table.
Besides the obvious differences, both games have different size cue sticks and differences in rules.
Wherever you go, you will see how Billiards and Snookers have taken over the entertainment streets. Every city, country, and town have adopted these games, and they continue to grow in size and scale.
There are many games that the umbrella term Billiards covers. People all around the world managed to adopt their own versions and play traditional ones too. We observe how old champions keep their titles and how younger ones are mastering the games. That’s a brief history of the game snooker and billiards from us.
