How to play Trick Shot online
- Aim: left and right arrow keys rotate the cue around the cue ball
- Shoot: hold the Space bar and let go; the longer you hold it, the harder the shot (about five seconds for full power)
- Add spin (“English”): while holding Space, hold an arrow key in the direction you want the spin; the longer you hold it, the more spin
- Choose a game: F11 (the console’s Select switch)
- Start the game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
- Cue ball options after a scratch: F4 and F9 (the difficulty switches)
Spin works relative to the overhead view of the table, not from the point of view of the cue. Pushing “up” always means towards the top of the screen.
Game modes
The 2600 could not show a full rack, so there are only three object balls on the table at a time, plus the white cue ball. The cartridge has 14 game numbers, grouped into four modes:
- Trickshot (one or two players): nine set-up problem shots, played one after another. Each ball you sink is worth a point, and clearing all the balls of a set-up in one shot earns a 2-point bonus. A perfect round scores 37.
- Pool (one or two players): five racks of three balls. You keep shooting as long as you sink a ball; a miss or a scratch passes the turn. Each ball is worth a point, the last ball of a rack earns a bonus, and 25 points wins.
- English Billiards (two players only): played with three balls, as in the real game. You score for potting balls (“hazards”) and for cannons, where the cue ball hits both other balls. If you miss the other balls completely, your opponent scores. The first to 50 wins.
- Practice: the nine trick shots on their own, one game number each, so you can repeat the one that beats you.
When the game ends, a trophy appears for the winner.
Tips
- Count, don’t guess. Power depends on how long you hold the button, so count in your head. A quick tap is enough for most short shots.
- Use the practice games. The nine Trickshot set-ups are always the same, so learn each one in Practice before you play the scored round.
- Don’t worry about the pockets. The pockets are generous, so aim for a clean, medium-strength hit rather than a hard, risky one.
The story behind Trick Shot
Imagic was founded in 1981 by former Atari and Mattel staff, and Dennis Koble, one of the co-founders, had programmed games at Atari before. He had studied physics, but realistic ball physics turned out to be too much for the 2600, so he had to settle for approximations that look right on screen. Trick Shot came out in North America in April 1982 and in Europe that September. Koble went on to make Atlantis, Solar Storm and Shootin’ Gallery for Imagic.
Reviewers found it well made but less exciting than Imagic’s shooters: Bill Kunkel and Arnie Katz rated it 7½ out of 10, against 9½ for Demon Attack. They liked the two-player games and the way the balls moved, but felt that three balls and large pockets made it too easy.
Similar games to play next
- Atlantis – Dennis Koble’s next Imagic game, a city-defence shooter
- Shootin’ Gallery – a later Koble game for Imagic, a fairground shooting range
- Demon Attack – launched together with Trick Shot, and Imagic’s big hit
- Miniature Golf – another calm game of angles and rebounds
- Video Pinball – Atari’s take on another bar-room table game