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Balkline (sometimes spelled balk line or balk-line) is the overarching title of a large array of carom billiards games generally played with two and a third, red , on a -covered, 5 foot × 10 foot, less table that is divided by on the cloth into marked regions called . Such balk spaces define areas of the in which a player may only score up to a threshold number of points while the are within that region. The balkline games developed to make the precursor game, straight rail, more difficult to play and less tedious for spectators to view in light of extraordinary skill developments which allowed top players to score a seemingly endless series of points with the balls barely moving in a confined area of the table playing area.〔 Straight rail, unlike the balkline games, had no balk space restrictions, although one was later added. The object of the game is simple: one point, called a "count", is scored each time a player's cue ball makes contact with both object balls (the second cue ball and the third ball) on a single . A win is achieved by reaching an agreed upon number of counts.〔 Carom billiards players of the modern era may find it surprising that balkline ever became necessary given the considerable difficulty of straight rail. Nevertheless, according to Mike Shamos, curator of the U.S. Billiard Archive, "the skill of dedicated players (straight rail ) was so great that they could essentially score at will." The story of straight rail and of the balkline games are thoroughly intertwined and encompass a long and rich history,〔 characterized by an astounding series of back and forth developments, akin to a billiards evolutionary arms race, where new rules would be implemented to make the game more difficult and to decrease high runs to keep spectators interested, countered by new shot inventions and skills interdicting each new rule. ==The rise and "fall" of straight rail== Straight rail from which the balkline games derive, sometimes called carom billiards, straight billiards, the three-ball game, the carambole game, and the free game in Europe, is thought to date to the 18th century, although no exact time of origin is known. It was known as French caroms, French billiards, or the French game in early times, taking those bygone names from the French who popularized it. The derivation of the name ''straight rail'' is not clear. An early mention appears in the March 23, 1881 edition of ''The New York Times''〔 wherein it is referred to as "the straight rail game."〔''The New York Times'' (March 23, 1881). (Carter Beats Gallagher.; the Toledo Player Gains the Lead Early and Retains it till the End. ) Retrieved December 27, 2006.〕 At straight rail's inception there was no restriction on the manner of scoring, such as a number of cushions that must be contacted on a shot, as in the game of three cushion billiards, nor a requirement that the balls leave a region of the table, as in the balkline games.〔 In 1855, the first public stakes straight rail match in the U.S. took place in San Francisco. The contestants, Michael Phelan and a Monsieur Damon of Paris battled for seven hours, but the high run, set by Phelan, was just nine points. A technique soon developed, known as ''crotching'', which vastly increased counts. The "crotch" refers to the space near the corner of a table where the rails meet. By moving the two object balls into the crotch, a player could endlessly score off of them, all the while keeping them immobilized in that corner.〔 Crotching was quickly banned in 1862. Under the prohibitive rule (the first use of a balk space), the crotch was defined as the triangular region found by connecting a line between the points measuring 4½ inches down each rail forming the corner, and in which only three counts could be scored before at least one ball had to be driven away.〔 The no crotching rule is still in place in the official rules for straight rail promulgated by the Billiard Congress of America, the governing body of billiards in the United States. Straight rail became progressively more popular and skill in the game increased commensurately.〔 For example, Albert Garnier, author of ''Scientific Billiards'' (1880)〔Garnier, Albert (Scientific Billiards ). Retrieved February 2014.〕 and the champion of the first world title straight rail tournament in 1873, ''averaged'' 12 points over the course of the competition and posted a high run of 113. Although unimpressive compared with later records (in 1931 legendary player Charlie Peterson achieved an astounding ''10,232'' high run count), the many-fold increase in scoring average and high run as compared with the 1855 contest was a result of refinement of gather shots and, most importantly, the development of a variety of "nurse" techniques〔 (also called nursery cannons in the UK). A gather shot refers to a shot in which the intent is to bring the cue ball and object balls together, ideally near a rail. A nurse describes fine, close-quarters manipulation of object balls once gathered near a rail, which results in both balls being touched by the cue ball, but with all three balls , or that result in a position that can be duplicated over and over.〔 There are many types of nurses, including the ''chuck nurse'', ''pass nurse'', ''Dion's nurse'', ''edge nurse'', ''rail nurse'', and others. The most important of these is the rail nurse—so important to the game, in fact, that sometimes the nurse is simply called the "straight rail"—which involves the progressive nudging of the object balls down a rail, ideally moving them just a few centimeters on each count, keeping them close together and positioned at the end of each stroke in the same or near the same configuration such that the nurse can be replicated again and again. There is great skill and technique involved in maintaining a nurse, as well as in fixing a nurse or gathering again when a nurse breaks down too far for recovery.〔〔Jim Loy (1998). (The Rail Nurse ). Retrieved December 30, 2006.〕 At the U.S. straight rail professional tournament held in 1879, Jacob Schaefer, Sr. scored 690 points in a single at the table (with the prohibition against crotching in place). With the balls barely moving and repetitively hit, there was little for the fans to watch. Schaefer was quickly "hailed as 'the wizard'... Billiards officials, recognizing that Schaefer was a peerless performer in "nursing," wrote an 8 inch balkline into the rules..." This marked the demise of professional straight rail in the U.S., which only had a six year run from 1873 to 1879. Meanwhile, straight rail professional play continued in Europe, with high run counts consistently climbing. Frenchman Maurice Vignaux posted a 1,531 count in Paris in 1880, while American George Spears had a high run of 5,041 in 1890. Later runs of over 10,000, in addition to the one previously noted, have been accurately reported.〔 Today, straight rail play is relatively uncommon in the U.S. but retains popularity in Europe, where it is considered a fine practice game for both balkline and three cushion billiards. Additionally, Europe hosts professional competitions known as ''pentathlons'' after the ancient Greek Olympic competitions, in which straight rail is featured as one of five billiards disciplines at which players compete, the other four being 47.1 balkline, cushion caroms, 71.2 balkline and three-cushion billiards〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Balkline and straight rail」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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