I don’t know if you know, but the snooker world championships is happening now. It’s an event I enjoy a lot, for some reason. I also enjoy playing both snooker and pool, in person as well as in digital form, so when Pro Snooker & Pool 2022+ popped up on Apple Arcade, I was all over it.
Most people know what pool is, usually played in 8-ball or 9-ball in sleazy bars, but snooker might not be as known. It’s a tricky billiards game that involves massive tables, small pockets and balls, and quite a bit of strategy. Snooker isn’t as fast as pool, and, I’d say, it’s a lot harder to get into. That’s why I like it. It also makes for pretty good slow TV, if that’s your thing.
In Pro Snooker & Pool 2022+, you can play various types of pool and snooker, on a plethora of different tables, with numerous settings per game. Some are less traditional, something I haven’t bothered with yet. You can tell that this is an older game that’s gotten an upgrade, and there is some sort of version of this available for sale, with in-app purchases, on the App Store, outside of Apple Arcade, if you’re interested. The Apple Arcade version is devoid of ads, in-app purchases, and all that jazz, just like all games offered there. There’s online multiplayer in both games, but be ready for people dropping off as they start to lose the match – snooker in particular is a pretty slow game.
Pro Snooker & Pool 2022+ doesn’t have any player or league licenses, so it’s fake names all the way through. That doesn’t matter so much for some, but it’s more fun if you’re playing “real” players, not just random names. You can edit the names in the game if you like, though, so there’s that. Either way, this takes away a bit from the immersion. You never see a player, just their name in leagues and tournament rackets, so it’s a far shot from the official World Snooker Championship games that I played on Xbox 360 back in the day. If you want a comparison a bit closer to home, without the substantial cost of getting licenses, then look no further than Virtual Pool 4. It’s got a story mode with cheesy video clips and everything.
Other than that, I must say that Pro Snooker & Pool 2022+ is a solid billiards game. It’s not perfect, and possibly a bit too easy when you switch to top-down view of the table, but it does make you feel like a formidable billiards’ player. For someone who’s played his fair share of pool in particular, I like that feeling. That said, making a pot that in real life would involve extenders and the rake with the same ease as one that wouldn’t require such accessories, it makes the experience a bit off, to me. Still, I’m playing this leisurely in my couch, watching the snooker world championship, so I probably shouldn’t complain.
🎱🎱🎱🎱 out of 5 – Great!
Pro Snooker & Pool 2022+ is an Apple Arcade release, and thus is included in the Arcade subscription.
