Let's Play 8 Ball? — Jacob Thrall

Hello! Today, I want to tell you about an internet phenomenon that I find funny. That’s it. There’s not a whole lot of citations or references I can include here, because memes are a bit ephemeral, but I hop you find this story as good as I do.

The new app store

On September 13th, 2016, Apple released a new operating system for its iPhones: iOS 10. Among many, many features added to iOS was a change in the Messages app. Users could open Messages and would discover the all-new Messages App Store, an in-app feature that allowed them to download Messages-exclusive apps, stickers, GIFs, etc. All of these downloaded features could then be used in conversations between two Messages users.

(I don’t remember the specific day that the Messages App Store launched, but I do remember how excited I generally was for its features. There were several apps I downloaded, and some I even paid for. I still have them to this day on my phone. I’ve got some music notation stickers, every US state flag, and a personal favorite, GrammarSnob, consisting entirely of spelling and grammar correction marks.)

One special app

On the day the Messages App Store launched, it included one very particular app made by Vitalii Zlotskii, a Moldovan-American developer. That app allowed users to play games with one another, and that app was called GamePigeon.

(Again, I don’t remember whether I had GamePigeon on launch day, but I know I must have had it very early on. Of course, at the time, I didn’t know who made the app or anything — I just knew it was an app with a suite of fun games to be played.)

A big hit

Almost instantly, GamePigeon takes off in popularity. It was highly rated, even on its launch day, and months later it was still being lauded as the best offering of the entire Messages App Store. And of all the games offered by GamePigeon, the most well-received was undoubtedly 8-ball pool. Just like its real-world counterpart, players take turns pocketing the balls on a pool table, ending with the titular 8-ball.

(Just to be clear, I am no player of 8-ball, or pool in general. If you asked me to count the number of pool games I’ve played in my entire life, there would definitely be at least two instances. Three is possible, but I certainly don’t remember it. It’s safe to say that I never attempted to play 8-ball pool on GamePigeon. For our purposes here, I’m just as much an onlooker to this popularity as you likely are.)

Just an innocent request

When you want to play a game using GamePigeon with someone, you need to start by sending that person an invitation. The invitation itself is automatically generated by GamePigeon. It includes two main features: one, a teaser image of the game that you’re inviting them to play, and two, a brief statement indicating your desire to play. Let’s say, for instance, that you want to play 8-ball pool with someone. You’d end up sending a message to them that looks something like this:

An image of an invitation to play 8 ball. There is a picture of a pool table and text underneath that reading "Let's play 8 ball!"

It’s safe to say that a whole lot of people sent and/or read the phrase “Let’s play 8 ball!”

(Of course, every GamePigeon game has its own little invitation, so I saw plenty of invitations when I was using GamePigeon more back in the day. I never thought anything of it. I don’t think, if I’d even had a hundred years, I’d have seen anything there but a mere offering to play a game. But where I saw a basic function, others saw an opportunity…)

Making conversation

Finally, we get to our main focus: the real-world application of a game of 8-ball. You may have seen this before, but if not, I’ll describe it. Our scene is a tense Messages conversation between two people: for instance, a couple in a fight, a tense moment between parents and children, one friend emotionally dumping onto another about a very sad breakup. Essentially, imagine anything outside the normal realm of text message communication.

One person will typically send a plethora of messages in short succession, filling entire screens with anger, angst, what have you, and the other participant will respond with only one message. That message also comes with a picture, that picture is of a pool table, and the message reads:

The same image as above, with a pool table and the text "Let's play 8 ball!"

That’s it. That’s the entire thing.

(Now, personally, I’ve never “8-balled” someone, as I guess I’m calling it now, nor have I been “8-balled.” But I’ve seen numerous examples of this in the wild, via screenshots and memes and whatnot. I can only hope that I’ll one day get the chance to see this wonderful event firsthand.)

Now, assuming you’re of a certain age, you may have a question: why, exactly, is this a thing? What is the benefit of sending a seemingly random game request in the middle of someone else’s genuine attempt at conversation?

There are several reasons that someone might deploy the 8-ball technique. I’m going to list and explain just a few.

It’s actually quite funny

When you think about it, being cut off mid-pontification by a request to stop and play a game of pool is amusing enough, not to mention the experience of being the one doing the cutting off. A lot of the amusement of the “Let’s play 8 ball!” meme comes from the fact that using it constitutes such an extreme non sequitur so as to become comedic.

If you still aren’t convinced by this point, I’ve attempted to conceptualize the joke in a way that doesn’t rely on technology, but still illustrates the point.

Two people are walking into a restaurant. The first, Simon, is ranting about his job to the other, Marco. Everything seems to be wrong with it: he’s not paid enough, he hates his coworkers, the work is grueling and monotonous, and his boss is seemingly antagonistic to him and him alone. He would quit and find a new job, but he knows that there are no other options in the area, so he just has to go into work and deal with it. Oh, and that’s not even to mention the nightmarish hours he’s expected to work. Who on Earth can work a ten-hour shift from 11:00–9:00, and then be expected to turn around and be to work at 6:00? Is that even legal? And of course, his requested time off is never approved. Holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, it doesn’t matter. Come into work or you’re fired…
Simon’s complaints continue for several more minutes. The two had been seated and handed menus long ago. Finally, Simon seems to have exhausted his anger and sits, staring at Marco. Marco gives Simon an understanding nod. Marco takes a brief look around the restaurant. He takes a deep breath. Marco replies: “I’ve really been craving a grilled cheese lately. How about you?”

I think that joke has the same sort of essence, and gets at the same point, as one person sending another an invitation to play 8-ball pool. In both cases, the comedy doesn’t derive from the punchline making sense — in fact, it’s just the opposite. These jokes are funny because one person completely disregards the statements of another, instead making a completely unrelated comment. In one case, it’s a sudden request to play 8-ball, and in another, it’s a sudden endorsement of one’s hankering for grilled cheese sandwiches.

It actually works to defuse difficult situations

Have you ever heard of the phenomenon of people laughing in inappropriate situations? Perhaps you’ve even seen it in person. What, exactly, is the cause of that strange laughter? What drives people to start laughing in some of the worst possible situations?

Well, the theory behind that behavior — to my knowledge, at least — states that people laugh in those awkward, bad times purely out of instinct. Somewhere inside our brains, there’s a mechanism that wants to maintain emotional balance, and when it gets thrown off, it makes real bodily reactions happen all on its own to achieve balance again. That, quite possibly, is the reason that people laugh in bad situations (and on the other hand, that’s why many people tend to cry when they are extremely happy).

Now, let’s apply that concept to our situation. If someone is texting you, and they’re very angry, or sad, or emotional in any other number of ways, 8-balling them might be an appropriate (if unexpected) response. Making a joke when someone is in a tough situation works similarly to the inappropriate laugh; it injects some levity into the moment and changes the mood. In addition, being 8-balled is certainly a confusing experience, at least temporarily, so the emotional person is also given a wake-up call, of sorts. They can take a moment, step back, and think more critically about the situation they’re in and how they’re responding to it.

In a sense, the practice of 8-balling isn’t just a cheap joke at someone’s expense, it’s also a courtesy that we can extend to others. An 8-ball invitation doesn’t just say “You’re being a bit much right now,” it’s could also be saying “I care about your emotions,” and “I want the best for you and this isn’t it,” and “You need to take time to focus on your own happiness first.”

Just…playing 8-ball

It’s also entirely possible that the greatest benefit of 8-balling is that, at the end of the day, you might just get the opportunity to play 8-ball with a friend. And isn’t that worth it all on its own?