Snooker The sport has become increasingly popular in China. The origin of snooker dates back to the latter half of the 19th century. In the 1870s, billiards was a popular activity amongst British Army officers stationed in India and several variations of the game were devised during this time. One such variation originated at the officers' mess of the 11th Devonshire Regiment in 1875, which combined the rules of two pocket billiards games, pyramid and life pool. The former was played with fifteen red balls and one black positioned in a triangle, while the latter involved the potting of designated coloured
Rules of snooker During this phase, all red balls are "on" for the beginning of a player's turn; the player must therefore first hit and attempt to pot one or more of them. If the player either commits a foul or fails to pot a red, their turn ends and the opponent begins to play. Each legally potted red ball awards one point and remains off the table until the end of the frame. The player continues their turn by nominating one of the six colours (yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black) as the ball "on" for the next shot. The rules of