The game features a tournament mode, practice mode, quick game, two-player head-to-head, and a bonus “slam” mode where the balls can be hurled around with the mouse. Different rules are available including eight-ball, nine-ball, speed pool, killer and snooker, along with the ability to customize the rules for eight-ball to replicate the game’s many variants. A large selection of table designs, ball sets and cues are provided, with settings for fast and slow cloth speeds, and different methods to cue.
The game also features a series of themed ‘Virtual Chat Rooms’ that the player is free to explore, subject to certain conditions. For example, access may be restricted due to overcrowding, or male players may be turned away if it is already occupied by too many men.
Once inside, players interact by sending chat messages and requesting games through a dialogue box. Often the conversation contains banter and joking. If a match is agreed upon, the challengers go off to play. Winners are rewarded with an increase in reputation, allowing them to play higher-ranked opponents and progress through the game’s various levels. A loss usually involves a reduction in reputation, making it more difficult to get matches in the future, forcing the player to challenge lower-ranked opponents. When the player attains the maximum 5-star reputation, the ‘boss’ of the chat room will usually agree to play. By defeating the boss, the player’s membership to that room is upgraded from standard to silver, entitling them to certain privileges.
In tournament mode players compete for the eight trophies on offer (one for each chat room). When all eight trophies have been won, the player then competes for the ultimate prize of the Grand Cue Club Trophy, which is the hardest tournament and features all of the bosses. After all of the ‘boss’ characters have been individually defeated and the Cue Club Tournament has been won, the game is officially completed and an end-game sequence is played. As a further bonus, the winner is awarded a ‘gold-card’ membership to the chat rooms, which guarantees access and preserves the player’s 5-star reputation.