Pattern Breakdown Drills

Pattern Breakdown Drills are designed for players who want to improve runout planning and execution. Instead of practicing a single shot in isolation, the user is guided through a multi-shot sequence -- seeing exactly where the cue ball needs to end up after each shot, and what to do with it when it gets there.

How They Work

The sequence is built using PBalls (Pattern Balls). Each PBall serves two roles simultaneously:

1. ABall role — it shows the user the speed and cueing for the current shot.
2. CBall target role — it shows where the cue ball needs to land from the previous shot.

PBalls are numbered sequentially (P1, P2, P3…) to indicate shot order. The user works through the shots in that order, using each PBall as both a destination and a cueing guide.

Critical Authoring Requirement

Warning: Every shot in a Pattern Breakdown Drill must use a Track Line from the PBall through the OBall contact point to the landing zone. Aiming Lines alone are not sufficient. If you use only Aiming Lines, the drill will fail to cycle correctly.

This isn't a stylistic preference — it's a system requirement. The drill's cycling logic depends on Track Lines to know when each shot phase is complete.

Building a Pattern Breakdown Drill

The process follows the same general workflow as any drill, but with PBalls substituted for standard CBalls at each shot position:

1. Place OBalls and left click on the OBalls to drag an aiming line to the intended pocket for the run you're diagramming.
2. Add PBalls with Ctrl-n. Each press adds the next numbered PBall.
3. For each PBall, configure the speed and cueing indicators.
4. Create Track Lines from each PBall through the OBall Ghost Ball to the next PBall landing zone.
5. Add a final target (Circle, Triangle, etc.) at the end of the run to define the final position goal.

For full PBall configuration details, see Pattern Balls (PBalls).