Cue Club 2: Pool and Snooker is the sequel to the original Cue Club game which was released in 2000 by Bulldog Interactive. It’s a game which features many game modes related to pool and snooker. This game improves almost everything from the first game but on the other hand also skips on somethings that were available in the first Cue Club. Now, for me it was one of the best childhood memories. playing those Cue Club virtual tournaments and trying to beat the AI in the game and virtual chatting with the AI. Such nostalgia.


The game looks absolutely beautiful. The graphics are clean and detailed. It’s a top down snooker/pool game and this type of art-style looks very good for it. The art-style is very similar to the first game but in this one is HD and it’s much more polished and has more eye candy. Some of the effect that were included in the first game seem to be missing, namely the strobing disco light effect. The game is locked at 60 FPS and I did not get any dips in performance throughout my gameplay.


Cue Club 2 features very awesome soundtracks. These soundtracks, I can listen to them all day long. It’s sort of like club music but a bit slower paced. The sound of the cues, balls hitting other balls, even chalking your cue are good. Just listen to the music in the video posted below.


The gameplay is pretty simple and straight forward. The good part is the variety of things you can do. You can play 8 ball pool, 9 ball pool, 6 ball pool, killer pool, full snooker or 10 and 6 balls snookers. You can play against the AI or play 2 players locally taking turns each. The physics of the table cloth can be adjusted and the size of the balls can also be changed. The game’s physics is one of the best pool physics in a pool game I have seen. The AI opponents will say stuff like “nice shot” if you manage a good shot, which can be pretty entertaining. Another thing missing is the virtual chat option. That was one of the prominent features of the game and highly entertaining. As you could get in chats with the AI players and mess around.

There are tons of design choices you can select for almost everything in the game. You can change the table cloth color, the finish of the wood, the pattern on the table cloth. The balls size can be adjusted and plenty of different types of balls can be selected. You can even choose the color of your chalk. Many different types of cues are available as well. Even some match rules can be changed. All of these are unlocked and ready to use, so no more grinding to unlock these cosmetic items.

You can play different modes such as a tournament mode where you and several other virtual AI opponents will enter and there are fixtures just like a real snooker/pool tournament. Other than that there’s also bar mode where you start off in the lowest basement level bar and make your way up to a more expensive penthouse bar. The difficulty will increase as you progress to higher level bars. You can play solo as well. You can also play quick mode where you can just go and play any type of game with AI opponent. Another mode is solo mode. This has a game type called “Slam”. In this you can drag the cue ball with your mouse as if it were attached with a string and play that way. This mode was pretty fun. Other solo game types include speed pool mode where you have to clear the table as fast as you can and that time is recorded so you can come back and try to beat your own time.

A short gameplay video of a bar challenge game can be found below:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=729525708

1) Stay away
2) Not Recommended
3) Only recommended when on sale
4) Recommended
5) Highly recommended
6) This is a must play


If you have played the original Cue Club back in the day, you’re in for a pleasant surprise with this game. Even if you haven’t played it, this game is so amazing. One of the best pool/snooker games I have ever played. Super addicting, gorgeous with an amazing sound track. If you like pool/snooker in real life or in games media, then this is the game for you. The game has some nice achievements too.

Initial impressions are very strong. The game's physics feel true to life and the game has a lot of ways to play in both single and multiplayer.

Just a quick recommendation to anyone interested in pool especially at this moment before the current sale ends. This game covers all the bases.

Another thing to add the developer seems to be very involved in the steam forum and keeps updating and patching the game. Latest version came out less than a week ago.

This shall be my second review for a simulation of cue sports. Colloquially refered to as “billiards”, we can all agree that it’s an activity which still poses great interest even after more than five centuries since its invention. There may be at least a dozen online alternatives to Cue Club 2, yet few offer as much customization as the title I’m reviewing today. It is Bulldog Interactive’s Steam debut and their project has certainly improved substantially over time. You might be wandering about Cue Club 1 at this point. This particular developer has focused on cue sport simulations since 2000, which is almost as long as I’ve been gaming on PC. Cue Club 2 saw an initial retail release in 2014 and it has graced the Steam Store since 2016. If you’re good at something, never stop improving it. Or do it for free, since I’m certain that you’ve stumbled across plenty of F2Ps featuring billiards and snooker. They were rather thin on content, am I right?

Now, I could bore you with more historical details about cue sports, but I shall obviously avoid that path. Cue Club 2 has no story mode per se, yet the Bar Challenge can be considered a solo campaign designed specifically for players which do not wish to sink their teeth too deep into multiplayer that's ranging from championships to casual matches. Before discussing the Challenge, let me share my own experience with billiard simulations. Long before I enjoyed the activity in real life, I developed a taste for it in it’s digital format on PCs. There may have been several self-standing games based on pool, which I played earlier to some extent but quite surprisingly, it would be the Grand Theft Auto series (San Andreas, precisely) which managed to prove how fun and lucrative this activity can be. A visit to the Ten Green Bottles would both relax and allow for a friendly wager (crucial funds during a fresh start).

The sheer versatility of cue sports cemented their reputation as a favorite pastime of both blue and white collars. From watering holes in the middle of nowhere to pretentious social clubs, billiards receive the appreciation they deserve. Cue Club 2’s Bar Challenge is divided into three sections of gradually increasing difficulty: Basement, Cocktail and Penthouse. Three bars filled to the brim with worthy opponents. We get the usual assortment of skilled female and male players, but also more exotic rivals such a talented ape and a robot. Let no one claim that pool titles can’t mix some humor into the already established formula. In fact, the AI of your opponents will ensure that the Bar Challenge lives up to its name. It won’t be easy and it proves to be the perfect tutorial/warm up for the subsequent modes. As good a replacement for a story as you could hope for, given the gameplay. No cheesy cutscenes in Cue Club 2.

I couldn’t find any information about the graphics engine, so we’ll proceed with the default assumption that it is proprietary to the developer. A hybrid 2D/3D perspective is a feature that we’ve all come to expect from contemporary cue sports simulations. Cue Club 2 does not disappoint on this front whatsoever. Depending on your preferences, you can enjoy the game in either 2D top-down view or fully rendered in 3D and far closer to the real life experience. I’m obviously a fan of the latter, since the former can make the game somewhat easier than intended. We’re not cheating on the Bar Challenge, fellas. Speaking of which, ball trajectory estimations will fully cater to new players. You don’t have to fear being left completely helpless, if your pool skills are rusty or non-existent.

As far as performance was concerned, I have no complaints. Everything scaled perfectly to 4K resolution and the frame rate never dropped below 60fps at any given moment. The aforementioned rich customization options come into play during the breaks between matches (not during ongoing championships though). I strongly suggest you fiddle with the settings menu and discover for yourselves, exactly how much you can tweak the experience. From changing the appearance of tables, cues and ball sets, to modifying the rules which shall govern the matches and ultimately ensure or hinder victory. European Pool doesn’t have to be much more complicated than the streamlined American version, which is also my personal favorite. Don’t even get me started about Snooker!

Indeed, there’s no voice acting in Cue Club 2 but the soundtrack manages to compensate that, while text boxes represent the only interaction between players and the rivals you’ll have to defeat during your playthrough. Song diversity is balanced. It never got too close to repetitiveness since I was more focused on the game than on the sounds. You can always opt for listening to your own tracks of choice, so no cause of concern over acoustical inadequacies.

The bread and butter of any cue sport simulation will always be represented by the versatility of its various modes. It would have been far too simplistic to slap a US, Euro or Snooker label and call it a day. Bulldog Interactive offers some much needed variations: Killer Pool, Red Snooker and the “rapid fire” 6 Ball Pool which I compare to Blitz Chess in terms of duration and challenge. The standard pool game on both sides of the Atlantic, contains 15 balls (stripes and solids/spots) and a cue ball that’s usually blank or featuring a dot pattern. Snooker on the other hand, uses 22 colored balls along with a cue ball and can drag on for longer than I’m comfortable with. It’s always a matter of preference and Cue Club 2 offers either the standard or tailored versions which may speed up the process to a certain extent. Cutting corners quite literally, since table customization enables several pocket designs.

One key aspect I always seek out when analyzing cue sport simulations, is the Artificial Intelligence’s capabilities even on lower difficulty settings. Multiplayer matches and human minds are more difficult to predict and mistakes are rarely made on a consistent basis if you’re playing with someone skilled enough. How about the AI in a pool game? I judge their competence or the lack thereof, by observing the involuntary early pocketing of the 8-ball. That is the “cardinal sin” of any cue sport afterall. It spells “game over” and an easy, albeit somewhat undeserved victory for an opponent that might have fared badly in terms of pocketed balls. Out of turn pocketing is more lenient for stripes & solids but not for the “dreaded” eight-ball. Cue Club 2 surprised me by how rarely would the AI commit such an error. The Bar Challenge proved to be a worthy experience and I had my share of defeats against an AI which calculated both the approach angle and strike strength with alarming alacrity.

Overall, Cue Club 2 distances itself from its competition by giving players some much needed freedom for the rule sets as well. Custom profiles that transcend mere chromatic choices, offer flexibility to an otherwise rigid sport and pastime activity. It was only natural to allow billiards their chance of adapting to the audience, since the real life version has managed that quite admirably. Whether you play pool in a roadside bar or in a downtown club, the game depends on more than just a steady hand and a clear mind. It takes plenty of creativity and patience. Enjoy a cold pint and only pocket the 8-ball at its right time!

+ Steam Achievements.
+ Adequate challenge scaling.
+ Pleasant graphics and soundtrack.
+ Excellent simulation with replay value.

- Inherent repetitiveness of the gameplay.
- No Steam Trading Cards.

Rating 80/100

This review was submitted for Imperial Reviews through the generous contribution of the game’s developer and the Steam Curator Connect program.

A very solid fun pool and snooker game and if it was based on the number of updates this game gets it should walk the labour of love award in the steam awards 2024 :)
Recommended

Best pool and snooker game I've played. Realistic table + ball physics, tons of game modes and customisation of cues, ball sets, table cloths. Coupled with chill out jazz. I was really impressed at the developers who are active on the steam forums and even implemented a suggest I made! If you're looking for a pool or snooker game on steam definitely check this one out.

I spent many hours playing first Cue Club and I was sure it's the best pool&snooker simulator we can find. But later I found this one on Steam.

What else can I say? Graphics is very nice. Music is cool too. I think that the physics is one of the strongest points of the game. We can feel like we were potting balls on the real table, with full control of the cue ball. We have a possibility to adjust the gameplay, in almost every aspect. Snooker on the blue table? Why not. Balls are too fast? You can try changing table speed. Every match can be different, if we want. And maybe the most important point - the game is dynamically changing. We have regular updates, which means we have more and more content, some bugs or errors quickly disappears. Bulldog Interactive makes really great work.

I can recommend this game to everyone who likes playing pool or snooker. You won't be disappointed.

I own the original Cue Club, and I once thought it was the best pool game ever made. I dunno whether it still is, perhaps it's tied with it's sequel.

The original Cue Club had plenty of games including Killer Pool and a few other fun options for party play. I'm glad they're all here in Cue Club 2. I also love the fact that you have every aesthetic option available from the beginning, unlike the original in which you had to unlock things mighty slowly.

There were several features now missing in Cue Club 2. Some were quite fun, such as disco lights, strobe, and "dynamic" cue play. Of all of these I miss it's the "dynamic" cue play, as it made the mouse become the friggin' cue. No such feature here. A feature that some might miss from the original is the "chat" feature, but that had too many flaws for me to work it out. I'm glad it's refined so the computer actually feels more human. Pretty cool.

OK, now that I've gotten an old vet's fit out of the way, it's time to put the olive branch where it belongs. Cue Club 2 is well worth your money if you're looking for a pool game. The music makes you feel like you're in a club, which is awesome. The physics are as equivalent to real life as humanly possible, and the visuals can fool you into thinking you're playing the real thing. You actually click the chalk block in order to chalk your cue, in contrast to a command in the original. In my opinion, Cue Club 2 is the very closest you can get to playing a real pool game on a computer.

Would I recommend this over the original? No, I wouldn't. But does that mean I want you to have the original instead? You're silly if you didn't see the fact that I think this game's worth it!

I have split feelings about this genre, but my view of this game itself is overwhelmingly positive. It is well made, completely serviceable, packed full of options, has almost every cue-sport game you can imagine included, has working multiplayer, is clearly regularly supported by caring devs who update their community and. Just. Works. And works really well.

It's not perfect, hence the split feelings because in TYOOL 2025 I'm actually surprised but pleased to say this is the best cue sports game you can buy and get everything you need from, in my opinion. It looks great, but not mind-blowing. The table and ball physics seem just right, for regular play at least. It really is well made, you'll be hard pressed to find an actual bug or glitch and if you do, as mentioned, the devs seem to be right on it. The range of options is literally mind-blowing, from chalk colour to table size or regional variation, this game got your back. And - crucially - the multiplayer works, and works well.

Maybe cue-sports games are out of fashion these days, but honestly I don't understand why. A combination of PVP, player skill and intuition and tactics should always work, but it seems if that if it doesn't have a gun it doesn't sell as well, and that is a massive shame. My point being if you're looking for choice in this genre it is hard to find a top level AAA option that has full 3D, working and supported multiplayer, and enough options to keep single players happy. Gamers in this area will know exactly which franchise created this possibility then self-imploded and left everyone in the lurch.

So I am really really happy that this game exists, not the newest on the block but constantly looked after by devs and players. It really does have everything you'll probably want, but if you wanted to look for problems they are super minor; like the in-game chat is clunky and delays gameplay a bit, chalking seems to waste time by being TOO realistic (c'mon, just chalk my cue man!) and it looks nice but not spectacular.

But honestly, look around - what else you got? Broke top-end efforts, 2D fun but limited games, crazy takes on nearly-pool? This game has been around a while but has swum longer and harder, and if you're looking to knock some balls around on your own or with a friend it's probably the best you can get, yet will offer more than you would expect. Respect, and thanks - I needed this game.

I don't think I've played a Snooker/Pool game since Archer Macleans JWS on the Commodore Amiga. I loved that game and Cue Club 2 does a good job of it too. Looks good. Play's well. Plenty of Game versions to try depending on what rules you know. If you like the real thing you will go well with this.

Rating: 7/10

Cue Club 2: Pool & Snooker is a realistic billiards simulation that offers a variety of pool and snooker games. Developed by Cherry Pop Games, this title provides players with a comprehensive experience, from single-player campaigns to multiplayer modes. While the game successfully captures the essence of billiards, there are several aspects that could be refined to elevate the experience further.

What Works Well?
🎱 Realistic Physics and Mechanics
Cue Club 2 shines when it comes to realistic ball physics. The ball movement, spin, and reaction feel genuine, providing an immersive experience for those who enjoy the technical aspects of billiards. The game allows you to control the cue ball with precision, making the gameplay satisfying for both casual players and enthusiasts.

🌍 Multiple Game Modes
With modes for pool (8-ball, 9-ball) and snooker, as well as a career mode, Cue Club 2 offers a wide variety of ways to play. Whether you’re looking for quick matches or a more competitive experience, there’s something for everyone. The single-player campaign lets players progress through levels and unlock new items and challenges.

🎮 Customizable Settings and Controls
The game offers various options to adjust control settings and camera angles, which is essential for those looking for a more personalized experience. It also provides a choice between mouse control and controller support, allowing players to choose what works best for them.

🛠️ Great Graphics and Environment
The visuals in Cue Club 2 are quite impressive for a billiards game. The tables, lighting, and surroundings are well-detailed and add to the overall atmosphere of the game, making the player feel as though they're in an actual pool hall.

What Could Be Better?
❌ AI Opponents Can Be Unpredictable
While the game offers challenging AI opponents, some of them can feel either too easy or too difficult at times, creating a lack of consistency in gameplay. This can be frustrating for players looking for a balanced challenge.

❌ Lack of Depth in Multiplayer
Though there’s a multiplayer mode available, it’s somewhat limited compared to other titles. Online play can feel slow at times, and the community isn’t as active as other games, which means you might struggle to find matches.

❌ Limited Tutorials for Newcomers
While the game does offer some instructions, it could benefit from more detailed tutorials or guidance, especially for beginners who are not familiar with pool or snooker. Learning curve can feel steep if you’re not well-versed in billiard games.

❌ Repetitive Career Mode
Although the career mode offers a lot of content, the objectives and challenges can feel repetitive after a while. Once you’ve gone through the campaign, there isn’t much incentive to continue beyond unlocking all achievements.

Conclusion
Cue Club 2: Pool & Snooker is a solid simulation game for fans of billiards, offering realistic gameplay, a variety of modes, and customizable features. However, its issues with AI unpredictability, limited multiplayer depth, and somewhat repetitive career mode hold it back from being a truly outstanding experience. If you’re a casual player or a billiards enthusiast, it’s worth checking out, but don’t expect it to be a game that will capture your attention long-term.

Rating: 7/10 – Great for billiard fans, but lacks the depth to keep everyone engaged. 🎱