A Game of Billiards
Let's rack the balls! In Croatian, a single game or match is a partija, so a "game of billiards" is a partija biljara. Notice that biljar takes the genitive case here because it translates to "a game of billiards."
Before you take a shot, you might need to position (namjestiti) the ball or grab some chalk (kreda) for your cue. When expressing the action of going to get or fetch something, Croatian uses the preposition po followed by the accusative case.
Aiming and Trajectories
Billiards is a game of geometry. You have to calculate (izračunati) the trajectory (putanja) and carefully aim (ciljati) your shot.
Pay attention to the verb aspects used when playing. The verb ciljati is imperfective, focusing on the continuous, ongoing process of aiming. In contrast, verbs like izračunati (to calculate) and promašiti (to miss) are perfective, describing discrete actions that are completed.
Rebounds and the Final Shot
Often, a shot requires the ball to rebound or bounce off the cushion. For this, use the reflexive verb odbiti se. When describing what the ball bounces off of, use the preposition od (from / off of) followed by the genitive case.
When you are down to the wire, you might be lining up your final (završni) shot or getting ready for the final game.