How to Play Snooker
Snooker is played on a large table with 15 reds, six colours and a white cue ball.
Balls and values
| Ball | Points |
|---|---|
| Red (15) | 1 |
| Yellow | 2 |
| Green | 3 |
| Brown | 4 |
| Blue | 5 |
| Pink | 6 |
| Black | 7 |
The break-off
The first player places the cue ball in the D (the half circle behind the baulk line) and plays into the reds.
Red, colour, red…
- The ball on is first a red. Pot one (or several in one shot, 1 each).
- Then a colour is on: whichever colour the cue ball hits first is the one you're playing.
- Pot it, score its value, and you're back on a red. A run of scores is a break.
- While reds remain, potted colours go back on their spots.
- Miss the ball on and the turn passes.
Clearing the colours
With the reds gone, pot the colours in order: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black; they stay down. When the black goes, the frame ends: highest score wins.
Fouls
A foul gives your opponent at least 4 points (or the value of the ball involved, up to 7) and the turn:
- missing every ball;
- hitting a ball that isn't on first;
- potting a ball that isn't on;
- potting the cue ball (an in-off). The opponent then has the cue ball in hand in the D.
Colours potted on a foul are respotted.
On kawu
Click or drag on the table to aim, set the power and Shoot; with ball in hand, drag the cue ball within the D. Play the computer at three levels, a friend on one device, or online.
Simplified on kawu: no free ball and no "foul and a miss" replays; a colour whose spot is taken goes to the highest free spot. See snooker strategy.
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest break in snooker?
147: all 15 reds each followed by the black (15 × 8 = 120), then the six colours in order (27).
How many points is a foul in snooker?
At least 4, or the value of the ball involved if higher, up to 7, to the opponent. Hitting the black first by mistake costs 7.
Last updated 2026-10-19