Bowling is played with 1 to 8 people on a special bowling lane that is 23.78 meters long and 104 centimeters wide. At the end of the track are 10 pins in a triangle. The foul line is 18.29 meters from the front pin. Until there, the player may walk to throw a ball to knock over the pins.
It is played with a ball of 6 to 16 pounds with usually 3 holes, for the thumb the two middle fingers. There are also professional players who play with a ball without holes.
The pins weigh about 1.5kg and are 38.1cm high.
Next to the track runs a gutter on both sides. If the ball gets in there, no pins will be hit.
The pins are put back on the track by a machine after they have been knocked over. For the second roll, only those pins that were not knocked over on the first roll are reset. The ball is rolled back to the player by another machine.
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Rules of the game bowling
Points count
A game consists of 10 frames. In each frame, the aim is to knock down all the pins in 1 or 2 throws. If all the pins go down at once, that is called a strike and the points of the next two are added to the strike score of 10. If the player gets all the pins on the second work, it is called a spare and the points of the next wop are added to the score of the spare.
This means that if the player knocks down everything in the last (10th) turn, he has to throw 1 or two extra throws in order to add the points. Those extra throws themselves are not counted as well.
Throw styles
Different styles of throw are used by bowlers. Most players take a run-up of 2-6 steps before throwing the ball. It is best to hit the pins just next to the headpin (the pin in the middle, in front) on the first throw, then the chance of a strike is greatest.
Many experienced players throw with a so-called curve. By using a ball with holes that only the fingertips can reach, using a ball with an unevenly distributed weight and giving the ball effect, the ball is thrown over the court with a kind of arc. The ball then stays close to the gutter for a long time and grabs the headpin at the end. The edge on strikes is thus greater than when the ball is thrown in a straight line, but this requires a steady hand and constant speed. So it takes a lot of practice to do that.
There is always a very thin layer of oil on the track, which is changed regularly by the track manager. In front, at the foul line, the layer is always thicker than near the pins. For throwing with a curve, it is important that the oil lane is properly applied.
Split
When there is a distance between two pins before the second throw, it is called a split. It is extra clever if a player still manages to hit all the pins, but there are no extra points to earn, only to lose if the pin is not thrown off. The hardest split is when both pints stay on the corners. The so-called 7-10 split.
Keep score for Bowling
On this site you can keep track of your played games of bowling. Also you can view the statistics of all your played games. You can share the results with your fellow players, family and friends via mail and other social media.