Carambolage billiards fascinates the spectator by its pure geometric beauty and obvious difficulty. Especially three cushion billiards seems to impose an unsolvable task on the player. If you are not familiar with this game have a look at the Carambolage Billiards Home Page. For a first impression play one of the following positions, which are animated using a Java-Applet implemented by Sebastian Egner:
It's a fact that pool billiards is far more popular and that most of the people have never seen a table without pockets. I often heard that beginners prefer pool because it allows them to experience success quickly which in fact is not true. There must be another reason that pool is more dominant. Maybe it is a psychological one: Driving the balls into the pockets is, for the majority, more satisfying than merely touching them.I, Markus Püschel, began playing carambolage in 1983 at the BSC Karlsruhe and soon specialized in three cushion billiards. In 1996 I changed to the ATSV Erlangen and played in the National League. In January 1998 I (temporarily?) ceased to play.