Ultrapool takes the idea of pool and turns your balls into a deck, primed for your deckbuilding pleasure. This isn’t the first game to do it with pool, nor will it be the last, but where Ultrapool shines is in its variations and replayability. There are just so many choices to build from, and that’s what makes Ultrapool a good game to play over and over again.
Those of you coming for the pool side of things, rather than the deckbuilding side, you may be slightly underwhelmed. Ultrapool is mouse-controlled, enabling players to click anywhere on screen, pull back in the direction of your shot, and let go. It mimics the touch controls of the simultaneously launched mobile version. Being able to aim and shoot from anywhere on screen is handy because if you are at the very top or bottom of the table on the PC version, you’ll run out of room to build up power. Balls collide and bounce off of each other and the table walls consistently. Whenever a ball goes near a pocket, it gets drawn in and sinks. You can’t overpower a ball for it to bounce out, and in general, the pocketing logic is extremely forgiving. Sinking your own ball comes with no penalty and is often a viable strategy to get your ball to the other side of the table.
Whilst the pool element is simplistic but very serviceable, the deckbuilding elements are very well thought out. There are six base decks of balls, each with unique mechanics to their own set. Nature adds flowers to the table that ladybird balls will gobble up and add to the ball’s total score, so when it’s sunk, it earns more for you. Tech adds a scrap mechanic that allows you to randomly generate other ball types by merging them together. Spooky plays on whether ghost balls regenerate. The standard set is where you learn your build mechanics, and it introduces you to types of balls. Each set has around 20 balls each, making for lots of set-up variation.
Balls start off at level 1, earning usually a single point. When pocketed, it’ll double to 2 points, as each pocket has a 2x multiplier to start with. Some balls build up more points as they are struck with the cue ball. Other balls earn points when bouncing off of other balls or walls. Some balls earn points by having other balls potted first. Then you’ll have balls that add more points to certain pockets, incentivising the player to pocket balls there for a bonus. Lastly, you’ll have balls that impact either the table itself, by placing down oil slicks or more flowers, and balls that tamper with other balls, like zapping them across the table. Each run requires the player to pass 10 score thresholds, and the only way you can do that is to use the balls to their and your advantage. Pot the balls in the best scoring order, and do it in the least amount of shots.
If you clear the minimum score, you’ll earn cash and potentially screws. Cash can be used in the shop to buy more balls, and like Suika games, two level 1 balls of the same type can be merged to make a more powerful level 2 ball. Not all balls are worth merging immediately, as some gain a multiplier score for having more of the same ball type in your deck. The rat balls work like this, so it’s worth buying four and merging only two of them. You’ll have up to 10 balls on the table, and 6 in your holding deck. Screws are a secondary currency and are used to buy bar snacks. These add passive abilities or multipliers to the game to help you earn better scores, and become more useful as you progress up the difficulty levels. With higher difficulties come higher scores to beat, and less shots to reach the score.
Ultrapool revels in its variation. There are around 30 balls per set, and over 50 bar snacks to discover. Whilst many ball types work well in pairs or trios, actually building a fully synchronised build is tricky due to the RNG shop nature and the limited funds you have. Making the best of your scenario and adapting on the fly is what wins the game. The pool, whilst perfectly fine to play, does not let you win on pool skill alone. Clever builds win points. This becomes very clear on the daily seeded challenges, where online leaderboards can show just how well some players can adapt a build to score big.
My only minor critiques are that the pool gameplay is very forgiving, the PC version just feels like the mobile version with a big border around it, and I had microstutters at really inopportune moments, meaning I’d fudge the odd shot. Come for the pool, stay for the variation. Ultrapool has replayability in spades.
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