Play Cool Pool for Free

Of course the first thing to comment on, is that this game is about pool and not about snooker. While this is suggested by the name and is clear by the Rules and Paytable, if the main screen shows up with one of the players it will confuse you. With their long white sleeve shirts, waistcoats and bow ties, they look like they belong at the Crucible.

That’s the only real confusion. It doesn’t mean there aren’t other issues though. The layout is poor and uninspiring. It all looks dated. At the top is Cool Pool in blue lettering with the ceiling light you get in pool halls in the background. On the top left corner is the Major Jackpot with two different jackpots on the other end.

The reels do dominate the main page. The two players make up half of the regular icons, with the card icons of King, Queen, Jack, 10 and 9 being the rest. It would have been nice to have some other images, such as a cue, a pocket, a referee or a trophy. The lettering is oversized and though each has a different colour, has no real flair. Either side of the reels are the numbers for the 25 paylines, with diagrams of each in the Paytable.

There’s plenty of flexibility with the betting. You can play between 1 and 25 lines. With the actual betting amount, there is a similar flexibility. You start at 0.01, but can play up to 0.10, as well as 0.25. This isn’t as high as other Nuworks games. If you click Max Bet is gives you the most credit per lines, but if you want the game maximum of 6.25, you need to be sure you have the betting lines on 25.

The top regular icon is one of the pool players. He’s worth 5,000 credits for 5 symbols, with 1 less being 500 and 3 being 100. For the second player it is worth half for 3 or more. These 2, the chalk and glass of whisky are the only ones to get something for 2. The picture symbols, are grouped as Ace, King and Queen and then Jack, 10 and 9, are substantially less.

The Autoplay option is arguably the best around. On the main screen you can put it to 5, 10 or 25 spins, but if you want extra detail you can also select 50, 100, 250, 500 or 1,000. You can also decide when the game stops, with 6 options offered. These include on any win, when a jackpot is won or when a feature is triggered. If you want to get even more specific you can stop if a win equals a certain number and stop if your balance increases or decreases by a figure you decide. Rather usefully, the game is played at one of 5 speed settings so you can slowplay or as fast as a whirlwind.

The Free Spins, or free games as it listed here, is themed for the game. The Pool Ball feature is triggered when balls with the same number (1 to 9) appear anywhere in reels 1 and 5. If this happens you get up between 2 - 9 free games with the multiplier the same number so between x2 - x9. The triggering ball is the only Wild that can occur during free games. It’s also worth noting that it can retriggered during these games. A rack, is the Scatter symbol, enables wins to be multiplied by the number of the total bet. They also give up to 99 credits.

Rather cleverly, there is a bonus only applicable if you play on the maximum number of lines. It’s a brilliant idea that encourages a riskier, more adventurous player. You do need to concentrate to understand though. It triggers at the end of the Pool Ball feature if the overall free games win totals x10 the triggering bet or less. If there is no win during this, there is a x20 bet. A 0-2 bet results in a x5 bet, a 2-5 bet is trebled and a 5-10 bet is doubled. That’s not forgetting the Major, Minor and Mini jackpots that can be won randomly at the end of a bet.

The graphics aren’t great, the jazz style music is nothing spectacular and the icons are uninspiring. But the bonuses are imaginative and innovative and that may ultimately ‘pool’ you towards this game.