'Balls' is a game of angles and accuracy. The aim is simple, pot as many balls into the pockets as you can before the time runs out. You start the game with 60 seconds, but are given extra time for each ball that you pot. This 'time-add' mechanic extends the time available for each game and encourages the player to keep playing for longer sessions than is normal for a game of this type.

The player controls the pool cue, and can rotate it around the white ('cue') ball, until it is pointing in the direction that they want to aim. The player then adjusts the power bar (to the right of the screen) to determine how hard to hit the ball. Once the player is happy with the direction and power they press fire and the cue strikes the cue ball. The balls all bounce around the table in a realistic (physically modelled) manner, allowing the player to accurately predict the motion of the balls and contributing to the intuitiveness of the control system.

The game starts with only 2 balls and the cue ball on the table. When all balls have been potted, a new round is started, this time with more balls. Each time all the balls in a round are potted, the table is re-racked and an extra ball added, until there are ten red balls on the table. Every new round after that only has ten red balls, as the table gets too crowded with any more.

Balls is an extremely intuitive mass-market game, which needs no introduction or instruction to the players, just pick up the cue and go!