Kaisa (cue sport)

Kaisa or karoliina is a cue sport mainly played in Finland. The game originated in Russia, where it is still played to some extent, and is a close cousin to Russian pyramid. Compared to most other billiards-type games, both use similar large 68 mm (2 11⁄16 in) balls, small pockets barely large enough for a ball to enter, and long and heavy cue sticks. Kaisa tables are usually 10 feet long and thus 2 feet shorter than Russian pyramid tables which are usually 12 feet long. It is a two-player or -team game. As with many carom billiards games, both players have their own cue balls used to shoot at the other balls, and usually differentiated by one cue ball having a dot or other marking on it. In all, five balls are used: the yellow object ball (called the kaisa in Finnish), two red object balls, and the two white cue balls (each of which serves as an object ball for the opponent). The game is played to 60 ...