User Guide

Overview

Blindfold Pool is a fully accessible pool game, for both sighted and visually impaired people, designed for rapid audio play.
The objective is to shoot the pool balls into the pockets.

The table is a rectangle, about 4 feet wide by 8 feet long. There are 6 pockets; one at each corner of the table, and one in the middle of each long side.

You control Blindfold Pool using iPhone gestures.
To learn how to play, start with Practice game.

In Practice game, and all of the games, you can explore the pool table by moving your finger around.
When your finger touches a pool ball, you will hear the pool ball’s number and color.
When you finger touches a pocket, you will hear which pocket you are touching.
In the practice game, the balls are racked at the far side of the table in a triangle shape, with the point of the triangle aiming down.

To start the game, you must break the rack of balls with your cue stick.
Tap the phone with two fingers, and then swipe your finger up to shoot with your cue stick.
When any of the balls land in a pocket, you will hear which ball and which pocket.
After balls stop moving, the game will tell you which balls have clear shots to a pocket.
Now you can aim and shoot each ball. There are three ways to select a ball to shoot at.

In the practice game, there are 15 balls in the rack, and the game ends after you sink 4 balls.

Method 1: Selecting ball and pocket from a list

In the list method, swipe up with 2 fingers.
A voice-over menu pops-up, and for each ball on the table, it shows which pockets that ball can be aimed it without hitting any other balls.
If there is a ball between the ball you selected and the pocket, it won’t be shown in the menu.

Method 2: Selecting ball by exploring and select a pocket from a list

In the explore and list method, first scan the table with your finger to find a ball.
Whenever your finger is on a ball, it will tell you which pockets have a clear shot.
Then swipe down with 2 fingers.
A voice-over menu pops-up, and it shows which pockets that ball can be hit without hitting any other balls.
If there is a ball between the ball you selected and the pocket, it won’t be shown in the menu.
You’ll be told if there are no pockets that have a clear path from the ball.

Method 3: Selecting ball and pocket by exploring

In the explore-only method, you first explore to select the ball you want to hit, and then tap the screen with 2 fingers.
Whenever your finger is on a ball, it will tell you which pockets are have a clear shot.

Then tap near one of the six pockets: near the left bottom, left center, left top, right bottom, right center or right top.
Once you’ve picked the pocket you want, tap the screen with 2 fingers.

Shooting the ball after selecting

When you select the ball and the pocket, the game tells you the distance between your ball and the pocket as either close, not far, or very far.
To shoot, just flick or swipe the screen.
The faster your swipe, the more powerful your shot is.

If your shot is too weak, the ball won’t make it to the pocket.
If it’s too powerful, the cue ball will follow the ball into the pocket, and that’s considered a scratch.
In most games, when you scratch, it becomes the next player’s turn, and the colored ball is returned back to the table.

Shooting the ball without picking a pocket

Sometimes there are no good shots, or all of the balls are clumped together, and you just want to take out your frustrations by smashing one ball into the others, and hoping for the best.
In that case, pick a ball by exploring the screen, tap with 2 fingers, and the game will ask you to pick a pocket.
Instead of picking a pocket, tap with 2 fingers again, and then swipe in the direction you want to shoot the ball.
The ball will be shot in that direction, and hopefully will smash into the other balls, and sometimes, one or more balls will randomly end up in a pocket.

Alternatively, you can swipe left with 2 fingers, and get a list of the balls that don’t have an open path to any pocket.
Pick one of these balls from the list, and then swipe in the direction you want to shoot the ball.

Shooting Skills

A scratch means you sunk the cue ball in addition ot the ball you were aiming for, since your shot was too fast and powerful.
Fast swipes make the ball move fast, slow swipes make the ball move slowly.
The longer your swipe is, the move time it takes, so make your swipe longer to make the ball move more slowly.

Advanced Features

To get the interim scores, swipe down with 3 fingers.

When you play pool, you need to chalk your cue stick every few shots, or your shot will be less accurate.
To chalk your cue stick, pinch in and out a few times.
If you don’t chalk, your shots will get worse and worse.
In the SETTINGS screen, you can turn this feature on.

To improve your shooting, in the SETTINGS screen, you can turn on flick and power annoucements after each shot.

The cue ball

If you’ve played pool before, you are probably wondering how the cue ball fits into all this. If you haven’t played before, you can skip this section.

In the game of pool, you hit the cue ball with your cue stick, and it hits a colored ball, and that ball sometimes lands in a pocket.
Based on how you shoot the cue ball, and how the cue ball hits the colored ball, you can control exactly where both the colored ball goes, what other balls it hits, and where the cue ball slows down and stops.

For example, if the cue ball hits the colored ball dead center, the cue ball will continue in the same tragjectory.
If the cue ball hits the colored ball on the left, it will send the colored ball to the right, and the cue ball will travel to the left.
If your cue stick hits near the bottom of the cue ball, after the cue ball hits the colored ball, the cue ball will reverse direction. That’s called a reverse spin.
If your cue sticks hits near the top of the cue ball, after the cue ball hits the colored ball, the cue ball will continue in the same direction, but go a little faster.
That’s called a forward spin. You can also create left and right spins to affect the cue ball after it hits the colored ball.

In Blindfold Pool, we’ve simplified this a little.
When you first break the rack, you are shooting the cue ball into the rack of balls, and the balls go everywhere.
The cue ball then disappears from the table.
From that point on, you are directly aiming the colored ball into the pocket.
You control the speed, but not the angle of the shot.

We simplified the game, because in our testing of the game, using audio or written information to control the angle of your cue stick to the cue ball, the force of your shot, and the angle where the cue ball hits the colored ball, that the game quickly became unplayable and not fun at all.

Pool Games and Tables

Straight Pool is where you and your opponent try to sink as many balls as possible out of a rack of 15 balls.
The first player to sink 8 or more balls wins the game.
When you scratch, even if the ball landed in the pocket, it is not counted in your score.
Consult the Games Guide for more variety of pool games.

Tables come in different levels of speed and usage. Consult the Games Guide for info on the tables.

To post your winning score to facebook or twitter, tap twice with 2 fingers after the game is over.
To go back to the main menu, swipe up with 3 fingers.

Games

A description of tables is included near the bottom.

Practice Game

In the Practice Game, the balls are arranged, or racked, in a triangle, and you can shoot as many balls as you want, but the game ends after you sink 4 balls.

Straight Pool – Solo Game

In the Straight Pool, the balls are racked in a triangle, and you try to sink every ball. The game ends when the table is clear.

Straight Pool – Computer Opponent

The balls are racked in a triangle, you and your opponent try to sink as many balls as possible out of a rack of 15 balls. The first player to sink 8 or more balls wins the game.
When you scratch, even if the ball landed in the pocket, it is not counted in your score.
When either player sinks a ball, that player goes again.
When a player misses a ball, or scratches, it’s the other player’s turn.

Straight Pool, Fixed Target

This is the same as Straight Pool with an opponent, but the game ends when the target score is hit by one of the players.
The default target score is 25; you can change that in settings.

When only one ball is left on the table, all 15 balls are re-racked on the table, and you must break the rack again.

When you scratch, even if the ball landed in the pocket, it is not counted in your score.
When either player sinks a ball, that player goes again.
When a player misses a ball, or scratches, it’s the other player’s turn.

This game cannot be played with a coin, it requires the Straight Pool upgrade.

Eight Ball

You play against a computer opponent.
The balls are racked in a triangle, and the first player to sink a ball owns that ball type: either solid color or striped.
From that point on, you must sink your own balls, but not sink the eight ball.
After you sink all of your balls, you must sink the eight ball.
If you scratch when shooting the eight ball, you lose.
There is no benefit or penalty if you sink your opponent’s balls.

If the 8 ball is sunk during the break, you win the game.
After the break, if you sink the 8 ball before all your colors have been sunk, you lose the game.
If you scratch when shooting the 8 ball after all your colors have been sunk, you lose the game.

When you swipe up with 2 fingers, you are shown every available shot.
To get a list of only those shots that help you win, swipe right with 2 fingers.
In addition, the only shots that are announced are those that help you win.

Double Eight Ball

This is identical to Eight Ball, but has two black balls. One ball is numbered 8, the other is numbered 88.
The game is easier to randomly lose, and the last few shots are more competitive.

If either black ball is sunk during the break, you win the game.
After the break, if you sink either black ball before all your colors have been sunk, you lose the game.

To win the game, you must sink the final black ball.
If you scratch when shooting either black ball, you lose the game.

Nine Ball

You play against a computer opponent, and only nine balls are used.
The balls are racked in a diamond shape, with the 9 ball in the center.
Balls must be sunk in ascending order; first the one ball, then the two ball, and so on.

If the 9 ball is sunk during the break, or in addition to the next ball in the sequence to hit, then you win the game.
If you sink the 9 ball before the other balls after the break, and by itself, you lose the game.

When you swipe up with 2 fingers, you are shown every available shot.
To get a list of only those shots that help you win, swipe right with 2 fingers.
In addition, the only shots that are announced are those that help you win.

Fifteen Ball

This is just like 9 ball, except all 15 balls are used, the rack is a triangle, and the 15 ball is in the center.
Balls must be sunk in ascending order; first the one ball, then the two ball, and so on.
While it’s not a typical pool game, it is a fun, longer version of nine ball.

If the 15 ball is sunk during the break, or in addition to the next ball in the sequence to hit, then you win the game.
If you sink the 15 ball before the other balls after the break, and by itself, you lose the game.

When you swipe up with 2 fingers, you are shown every available shot.
To get a list of only those shots that help you win, swipe right with 2 fingers.
In addition, the only shots that are announced are those that help you win.

Tables

The fast table has a smoother felt surface than the other tables, and balls move very quickly,
so there’s a higher chance you’ll randomly sink a ball on the break, or when one ball bounces off of another ball.
The felt surface on a medium table is a little rougher, and the balls move slower.
The felt surface of a slow table is similar to a real pool table.

To add more realism to the game, you play pool on of the tables where you must aim your shot prior to shooting.
After you have picked the ball and the pocket, move your finger, acting like the cue stick, around on the screen until your cue stick, the ball and the pocket are all lined up.
You’ll hear a ding when they are lined up. Then swipe in the direction of the pocket to shoot the ball.
In the SETTINGS screen, you can turn the MUST LINEs UP feature on, and you can change the sound of the ding to either a beep or a twang sound.

When you use the a table where you must line up your shot, and you don’t aim, and you don’t hear the ding,
then the ball will be shot in the direction of your swipe.