Each of these actions scores a point, with the maximum score being 26 points. Several variations exist that differ in when and how a stroke may be legally played, when points are scored, the layout of the lawn, and the target score. Warm colors like orange are considered sociable and optimistic, promoting lively conversations. Bright colors like yellow stimulate mental activity and can make players more alert. Some are more ornate and traditional, like tiffany or stained-glass lights, while others are ideal for giving your pub a modern appearance. The British version of eight-ball, known internationally as either blackball or simply eight-ball, has evolved into a separate game, retaining significant elements of earlier pub versions of the game, with additional influences from English billiards and snooker. Backwards eight-ball, also called reverse eight-ball, is a variant in which, instead of shooting the cue ball at an object ball to force the object ball into a pocket, the player strikes the object ball with their cue so it caroms off the cue ball and into a pocket, in a fashion similar to Russian pyramid.

The general rules of pool apply to eight-ball, such as the requirements that the cue ball not be pocketed and that a cushion be hit by any of the balls after the cue ball has struck an object ball. A player wins the game if that player legally pockets the 8 ball into a designated pocket after all of their object balls have been pocketed. In order to win the game, the player first designates which pocket the 8 ball will be pocketed into and then successfully pockets the 8 ball into that pocket. Because of this, it is possible for a game to end with only one of the players having shot, which is known as "running the table" or a "denial"; conversely, it's also possible to win a game without taking a shot; such a scenario may occur if the opposing player illegally pockets the 8 ball on any shot other than the break (such as sinking the 8 ball in an uncalled pocket, knocking the 8 ball off the table, sinking the 8 ball when a player is not yet on the black ball, or sinking both the 8 ball and the cue ball off a single shot).

A version of the game, played on a pocket billiards table known as artistic pool began in the 1970s, with official competitions starting in 1993. These events are run and organised by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA). The first explanation is that the ancestral game was introduced to Britain from France during the 1660-1685 reign of Charles II of England, Scotland, and Ireland and was played under the name of paille-maille (among other spellings, today usually pall-mall), derived ultimately from Latin words for 'ball and mallet' (the latter also found in the name of the earlier French game, jeu de mail). The first four turns must be taken to play the four balls onto the lawn from one of two "baulk lines" defined as one yard into the lawn on the western half of the south boundary and the eastern half of the north boundary. The object of the game is to be the first to strike each of their balls through all six hoops in both directions, in a fixed order, and to strike the central peg. The game uses unnumbered, solid-colored object balls, typically red and yellow, with one black 8 ball.

There are 7 red balls, 7 yellow balls, and a black 8-ball. No other ball is numbered besides the 8-ball. British style billiard balls are also noticeably smaller than standard American pool balls. Generally, Snooker uses 15 red balls, alongside 6 colored balls. The game also uses the standard pool table although there are just two object balls a cue ball, and a 6¾ inch (171 mm) tall, narrow-necked bottle called a shake bottle or tally bottle. Once all of a player's (or team's) group of object balls are pocketed, what is billiards the player attempts to sink the 8 ball. However, the tables are constructed similarly to 9-foot (2.7 m) snooker tables, with rounded pocket openings, napped cloth and flat-faced rail cushions. The shooter shoots the black 8 ball without designating the pocket to opposite team members or the match referee in advance. Two versions of the game are directly governed by the World Croquet Federation, which organises individual and team World Championships.