Snooker surroundings or in public snooker halls. The game can also be played on smaller tables using fewer red balls. The variants in table size are: 10 ft × 5 ft, 9 ft × 4.5 ft, 8 ft × 4 ft, 6 ft × 3 ft (the smallest for realistic play) and 4 ft × 2 ft. Smaller tables can come in a variety of styles, such as fold-away or dining-table convertible. A traditional snooker scoreboard resembles an abacus, and records units, tens and hundreds via horizontal sliding pointers. They are typically attached to a wall by the snooker table. A
Billiard table leather or plastic, may have drop pockets, which are small nets, bags or cups to catch the balls. Ball returns, instead have a series of troughs or gutters inside the table, which channel the balls into a collection chamber on one side of the table. On a coin-operated table, the balls are deposited inside an inaccessible compartment window until the table is paid again, allowing the balls to be released into the collection chamber. A disadvantage to drop pockets is that if too many balls go into the same pocket, it will fill up the receptacle and prevent any more