US Billiard balls

In the US, Billiard balls are balls used to play the game of US billiards. The balls are numbered and colored as follows:

1. yellow
2. blue
3. red
4. purple
5. orange
6. green
7. brown
8. black
9. yellow and white
10. blue and white
11. red and white
12. purple and white
13. orange and white
14. green and white
15. brown and white

• Cue ball white

Note that balls 1-7 are often referred to as "solids" and 9-15 as "stripes".

European Billiard balls

In the UK and Europe, Billiard balls are the three balls used to play the games, known variously as English billiards or Carambole billiards (of which Three cushion billiards is a variant) but generally just "billiards" within respective countries. European billiard balls are not numbered. They are coloured as follows:

• Red
• White Cue ball for player 1
• White with a spot (now sometimes yellow) Cue ball for player 2

Composition of billiard balls

In the past, many balls were made of ivory; since the animals that produced this have become endangered species, other materials, such as wood and various plastics have been used.

In 1865, John Wesley Hyatt patented a composition material resembling ivory (Celluloid) for a billiard ball (US50359), winning $10,000 prize from Phelan and Collender of New York City for the best substitute for ivory. This was the first U.S. patent for billiard balls.

Modern billiard balls are most often made from phenolic resin.

See also

• Cue ball