Reconditioned Tables

Bar billiards or Russian billiards is a fascinating traditional game first imported into England from Belgium in the 1930s.  Designed for pubs and clubs, shots are taken from one end only which reduces the required floor space.  It also means that the bar billiards table can be pushed into an awkward corner or niche thus turning a little-used area into a money spinner. 

The game is time-based, each coin lasting from 12 to 17 minutes, after which the internal bar drops and no more balls are returned to the front for replay.  Players score points by knocking balls into the holes at the other end of the table while avoiding three "not-to-be-toppled" skittles near the high-scoring holes and the rules are such that games are frequently decided by the last ball on the table.

For pubs and clubs, the table comes with a clock timer, the drop-down bar and a coin slot that can be modified to accept virtually any currency.  People who wish to buy bar billiards for private use can make a minor change to the mechanism so that a coin is not necessary to start the game. 

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Craftsmen with reconditioned slate	A unique serial number is on each antique table

Masters Games procures reconditioned 1930s bar billiards tables from a manufacturer with a long tradition in the game.  The standard table is 6 x 3 feet, 120 Kg with bed height 33 inches and comes with a rule card, 3 skittles (or mushrooms upon request), 8 balls (1 7/8 inch, 4.75cm) and 4 cues that store tidily on either side of the table.  The slate surface is covered with quality billiard cloth and the legs are detachable and can be adjusted to ensure a horizontal playing surface. 

The table also comes with a reconditioned 4 lane scoreboard with anodised brass runners & pointers. Note that often the condition of these scoreboards is imperfect although they are reconditioned to the best standard possible.

The only maintenance required is regular brushing. We also offer a set of 100 special tokens - the table can be configured to accept these, and the owner can then sell the tokens to his/her customers at whatever price suits.

APOLOGIES - SUPPLY OF THESE TABLES HAS DRIED UP. Please see our new Bar Billiards Table page.

Change to $ Change to €	UK pounds (ex.VAT)	Pounds (incl. VAT)	Typical ETA in wkg days	Add to basket
Bar Billiards table with Clock mechanism (incl. cues, balls, skittles, rules & scoreboard)	£1701.74	£1999.54		Apologies - product is discontinued
Bar Billiards tokens (100)	£33.96	£39.90	2 + transit time

UK Orders

Shipping within the West London area is around £25 and quotes for the rest of the UK can be quickly obtained.  For ordering, shipping and payment information, please refer to the UK Large Orders page.

Overseas Orders

To reduce the chance of transit damage, exported bar billiards tables are packed in tri-wall cartons and attached to a pallette - cost £60.

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History of Bar Billiards

The similarity of Bar Billiards with Bagatelle, the pub game that was most popular for at least a century after 1770 is so evident that it seems highly likely that Bar Billiards is a derivative of Bagatelle via some lineage but that lineage is, at present, unknown. Beyond that assumed and mysterious connection, it isn't known how Bar Billiards originated but in the early 1930s an Englishman called David Gill observed a game called Russian Billiards (Billiard Russe) being played in Belgium.  A Russian link is therefore a possibility but it seems more likely that the game was named so as to sound slightly exotic to the ears of West Europeans at the time.

Gill convinced the English manufacturer Jelks to make a version of the game which he called Bar Billiards.  Pubs seemed keen to buy tables and other manufacturers soon got in on the act.  The first pub league was created in Oxford in 1936 and shortly afterwards leagues sprang up in Reading, Canterbury and High Wycombe.  Eventually, a governing body was formed called the All-England Bar Billiards Association which supervises the game across 18 counties, mainly in the South of England.

There do not appear to be any standards to Bar Billiards rules and at least one other variation is in wide circulation that utilises 4 skittles instead of 3.

Bar Billiards is still popular in the South of England but has, unfortunately, lost a lot of its popularity due to the emergence of American 8 ball Pool.

For more information on Bar Billiards, see the Online Guide to Traditional Games.