Quick Pool is an Android game that gives fans of pool and all billiards games a chance to experience the game in a more casual and fast paced manner. It’s a game that gives you 5 free shots and just 2 and a half minutes to pot all 15 numbered balls – with another shot awarded for each pot – it’s a faster version of the classic game many will know and love. The mPoints side of thing – which many will know as the new mPLUS Rewards system – ties into the well-known platform that offers users rewards for playing games and using apps daily. This means that Quick Pool is a game that will reward you mPoints – which can be turned into Amazon gift cards, among other things. Never mind the mPoints, let’s see if Quick Pool is any fun, shall we?
As with most other games on Android – billiards or otherwise – players will need to download Quick Pool from the Play Store. It’s a free app, which means that it does come with ads as a result, and while there’s no introduction on how to use mPoints, there is a quick introduction on how to play the game itself.
Many of you will already have heard of mPoints, and probably be an active member of the community, earning cash rewards for doing everyday things with your phone. With Quick Pool, you can earn mPoints simply by playing a Billiards game. mPoints users will be familiar with the ability to earn as much as $150 a year in gift cards and other rewards, but to be able to do that from a game is pretty impressive, and for those that are looking for a fresh way to get more mPoints, this will be a breath of fresh air.
These achievements are how players can get their mPoints, and for the most part, the game seems to be pretty generous in the amount of mPoints that it will give players. This includes a certain amount of points for the more difficult balls as well as 5 mPoints for simply playing the game everyday. As for the gameplay of Quick Pool, there are two ways to shoot the ball. Users can simply tap far away from the location of the white cue ball, all they can press and hold to engage the new precision aiming mode.
Gameplay here is pretty simple to get your head around, and there’s very little in the way of controls, either. Unlike most other pool games, you don’t need to use the precision aiming system if you don’t want to. It’s a good idea to, but ultimately users can just tap and hit the balls. You can also turn the phone around for getting a more favorable layout for tricky shots.
While the precision aiming is good, the balls don’t quite behave as I would like them to, shots at an angle don’t seem to cut the balls into the pockets, for instance. Even so, the main aim of the game is to be quick and accessible for all players, and the control scheme here certainly delivers on that promise, while also offering more professional players a precision aiming mode to use.
If you continue to make shots without potting any of the balls, you will eventually run out of shots, and that will be the end of your game. After that there’s no other option but to start a new game. While the mPoints side of things is great here, it would have been nice to see some sort of online leaderboard system here as well.
There is however, a variety in the layouts of how the balls look when you break off, which is good to see, but there does need to be some sort of variety in gameplay as well, as it can become a little repetitive over time. The constant ads on display don’t help much either, but then this is a free game that can help make you money, so we can’t complain too much.
On top of this mPoints system, Quick Pool also now comes with V-Points, which users can sign up with if they want to use this new way of collecting points, although some sort of explanation would be nice to see as well.
V-Points are something for US users only, but they can earn as much as $400 or so in gift cards and other rewards each year and while some users might not have heard about them, they can go ahead and learn more to get involved.
Overall, I think that Quick Pool is a good game, but it appears that the game is more of an afterthought to the mPoints and V-Points integration, which is a real shame as Quick Pool has some good content on offer, it just needs fleshing out. As a Pool player myself, who has played for a number of teams to a high level, it’s nice to get a little taste of the game on my smartphone, and to potentially earn money while doing it is even better. There’s really only one game mode here and the gameplay never changes. This is perhaps done by design, as the more features you throw into a game, the less addictive and easygoing it ends up. Sure, it takes some time to get used to everything, and this is part of the challenge, but once this wears off, the gameplay does start to appear fairly thin. Even so, it’s good fun and it’s one of the few decent games out there to include mPoints integration.
Ratings
- Speed (4/5) – Everything here runs well, and the overall pacing of the game is nice and speedy too, which is good for a mobile game like this.
- Theme (3/5) – Realistically, there’s not much in the way of a theme here. The balls don’t appear to even move all that much, and there’s nothing in the way of variety to the overall look and feel here.
- Features (3.5/5) – As games go, the gameplay is fun and accessible, especially for all ages, but there needs to be some extra polish and some extra game modes certainly wouldn’t go amiss, especially as players are expected to continue playing each and every day to earn those mPoints.
- Overall (4/5) – While some will find the lack of gameplay features a little tiresome, the overall gameplay is fun, accessible and addictive. Not to mention the fact that this is a game that can net you up to $250 a year in the form of gift cards and other rewards, which is something that many other games simply don’t offer.
Pros
- Works well on practically any and every Android smartphone out there, allowing all users to play the game without issue.
- Gives users the opportunity to earn money for playing a game, something that a lot of other games would even think of offering.
- Great for users that already know and love the mPoints system, but are looking for something more to get their teeth stuck into to earn more points.
- Addictive gameplay is a nice change of pace for a lot of pool players and fans out there.
Cons
- Constant ads on the bottom of the display will put some users off.
- Some extra gameplay features would be nice, but this could make it more complicated over time.
Quick Pool is the sort of game that has a lot to offer players, but that’s only really for players that already know and use mPoints. For those that were looking for a pool game, Quick Pool offers a fun and accessible game that many will enjoy, but it doesn’t have much depth, despite being fairly addictive. If you’re a pool fan that needs something new, Quick Pool will certainly help here. With the new precision aiming and the excellent mPoints and V-Points integration, Quick Pool is the sort of Android app that can earn users up to $400 a year in rewards, while also give them a fun, simple and addictive game to play wherever and whenever they are.