Four-ball - Asian Version

Asian Version

A third variant of four-ball is the East Asian game yotsudama (四つ球?, Japanese for "four balls") or sagu (사구, Korean for "four balls"). The game is played with two red object balls, one white cue ball and one yellow cue ball (or sometimes both cue balls are white, one having a red spot). Each of the two players is assigned his or her own cue ball. A point is scored when the shooter caroms on both red balls. The shooter is penalized a point for failure to carom on either red ball or if the shooter causes his cue ball to carom off the opponent's cue ball. Thus, the shooter must avoid any carom or kiss off of the opponent's ball while striving to carom on the two red object balls. A carom on only one red ball results in no points but ends the shooter's inning.

There are a few variations between the Korean and the Japanese variants. In the Korean version, the cue ball is placed beside one of the red object balls for the opening shot, and game commences by hitting the red ball on the opposite side of the table, as in carom billiards. In the Japanese version, the cue ball is placed behind the second red object ball and play commences by hitting the red object ball nearest to the cue ball. In the Japanese version the game is over when the first player reaches the agreed-upon score. In the Korean version, the players work their way down from their respective handicaps. After having scored the final point a win is secured by doing a three-cushion shot.