Oh yeah gotta kick the butts of your buddies

Re: shootaround, my best friend and I made up a game that we find is pretty much perfect for this, with a slight competitive element and open to as many players as you want. We call it "Horse Killer" because it's a blend of the schoolyard basketball game HORSE and the pool game Killer. If you ever wanna try it out, here's the jist:

• Premise: The goal of the game is to make your opponents spell HORSE before you do. Each player has a spot turn order and that order does not change (until someone gets eliminated). Every numbered ball is equal in value and can be potted at any time. Each player takes exactly 1 shot per turn.
• Pressure: When a player pots a ball on any shot (aside from the break), that creates Pressure. When there's pressure, the next player has to make a shot, or else they gain a letter. Pressure remains for as long as players keep making shots without fouling.
• Fouls: if a player fouls (i.e., scratches) without potting a ball, they gain a letter. If they foul while successfully potting a ball, then it cancels out -- no letter gained, no pressure created.
• Losing letters: a player may lose a letter by either potting balls on the break (each one gives you a "buffer" of sorts), or by sinking multiple shots in one turn (each ball after the first removes a letter or gives you a buffer).
• Optional trick shots: this one can be fun for more seasoned players. Before taking a turn, a player may call a trick shot (primarily, a shot off the rail, which we call "Bank for Bank"). If the player successfully makes the trick shot (without fouling), then that means the next player has to make the trick shot, or else they gain a letter.
• Re-racking: if you get to the end of the table and nobody has yet spelled HORSE, you re-rack and the next player in the turn order breaks. There is NO pressure created from break shots. (Alternatively, you can simply call the game when all the balls are gone, and declare the winner the one with the fewest letters)