Pool of Madness boss fights guide: how to defeat them

Boss fights in Pool of Madness are void horrors you lure out by completing procedural and custom rituals, then hunt down with your cue and gun. The developer's Steam page frames rituals as the "baptism of blood" that prepares you to face a void lurker, and a closed beta already tested those boss fights with positive player feedback. The playable demo stops just before one, shown by a preview writer as a spectral octopus face-off.

What a boss fight is

Pool of Madness is a horror pool roguelite where each table is a ritual. According to the official Steam store page, you complete procedural and custom rituals to lure out ancient horrors, then hunt them down for loot. The boss is the "void lurker" at the end of that chain: rituals are the preparation, the boss is the payoff.

The Early Access description on the official Steam page adds that the foundational content is in at launch, and the full version plan lists "new table mechanics, locations, bosses, items" among post-EA additions. So the boss system exists from Early Access, and more bosses arrive later.

How the loop leads to a boss

The path to a boss fight is the core run loop, not a separate arena you enter from a menu. The material describes it as: perform rituals, upgrade your cue, then face the horror.

1. Enter a ritual table

   Start a run and play a pool-table ritual. Rituals are either procedurally generated or custom-made. Each multi-stage ritual asks you to pot a few balls within a finite number of shots per stage.

2. Survive the stages and bank upgrades

   Pot balls to earn Void Echoes and Golden Pearls. Collect cue parts from a special equipment ball, unlock powerups and haunted totems, and avoid draining sanity by potting black or red balls. The goal is to soak up upgrades without exhausting your shots.

3. Lure the void horror

   Completing the ritual lures out the ancient horror. The Steam page states rituals prepare you to "face a void lurker," and the beta tested exactly this boss-fight step after custom rituals.

4. Hunt the boss with cue and gun

   Use the cue for trick shots and the Orbcaster gun to shoot or pull balls. The gun also despatching haunted skulls and balls, but bullets are scarce in the demo, so treat the gun as backup. Close the fight to get loot and progress.

5. Die or win, then return stronger

   If you fail, you lose your mind and come back stronger with a reforged cue. This roguelite reset is the stated recovery path, not a traditional retry button.

What the boss looks like in available footage

A Jank.cool preview of the demo (published 2026-11-03) says the demo "stops just short of the 'boss fight', which looks like a face-off against some sort of spectral octopus." That is the only concrete visual description in the referenced pages. It is a preview observation, not a developer spec, and the demo did not let the writer fight it.

Confirmed boss-related facts

• The developer ran a small closed Discord beta focused on custom rituals and boss fights; they said players responded best to the bosses.
• A second location and boss fight were in a limited Discord test around the September 30, 2026 update, tied to the new engine room location.
• The engine room update promised "new rituals, both procedurally generated and custom ones, as well as new tables, powerups, a new boss and other additions."
• The full version plan explicitly mentions additional bosses as a post-Early-Access difference.

How to prepare your build

The cue is your main evolving "weapon." It has three parts: tip, shaft, and wrap/handle. You switch each part to combine effects.

• Pocket the special equipment ball when it appears in rituals to drop a new cue part.
• Open the Equipment screen and swap tip, shaft, or wrap to change your build between fights.
• Prioritize parts that show ball trajectory if you struggle with long or cushion shots, as the preview noted those upgrades help.
• Save bullets: the gun is strong but ammunition is extremely scarce in the demo, so rely on cue upgrades first.

What stays unknown

No published page lists a boss name, health value, attack pattern, or a coded weak point. The Steam page and beta notes confirm boss fights exist and were enjoyed, but the actual defeat condition beyond "hunt them down with cue and gun" is not spelled out. Treat any specific boss strategy as unconfirmed until launch or a beta writeup.

Next steps

• See Pool of Madness rituals to learn how stages and modifiers accumulate before the horror appears.
• See Pool of Madness sanity to avoid draining sanity by potting the wrong balls during ritual prep.
• See Pool of Madness engine room location for the new boss-linked area from the September update.

FAQ

What are Pool of Madness boss fights in the current build?

They are void horrors lured by finishing rituals, then fought with cue and gun; the closed beta tested them and players liked them, but the public demo stops before one.

Does the Pool of Madness demo include a boss fight?

No. A preview writer noted the demo ends just short of a boss shown as a spectral octopus, so the fight itself is not playable in the demo.

Will there be more bosses after Early Access?

Yes. The Early Access description lists additional bosses among planned full-version content such as new locations and items.

Check note: This page uses the official Steam store page and the Pool of Madness Early Access description for the ritual-to-boss loop and boss roadmap, plus the Jank.cool demo preview for the spectral-octopus visual. The exact boss defeat mechanics and named bosses remain unconfirmed on those pages as of 2026-11-11.