More Bowling

Did you know there are different types of games you could play in the sport of bowling? Very rarely are games other than 10 pin played, usually it happens during special events or bowling contests, but these other games do exist.

If you have been bowling, especially in a bowling center, chances are you played the ten pin variant of bowling. True, bowling almost always refers to ten pin but it is only one of the many variations of bowling that is played. Other bowling games include nine pin, five pin, and candlepin, but ten pin bowling is by far the widely played bowling variant.

As the name suggests, ten pin bowling is played using ten pins and knocking these down by rolling a ball along a lane. The object is to knock down as many pins as possible in one or two throws. Every bowler is allowed ten frames or turns, with each frame composed of two rolls. If a player manages to knock down a complete set, it is called a strike. But when there are still remaining pins, those that are knocked down are counted and removed. Then the player has another opportunity to roll a second ball and if he manages to knock all remaining pins then it is called a spare. This process continues until everyone has completed their turns in the frame. After which the game proceeds to the next frame. Bonus points are awarded in case of a strike or a spare.

Each side of the bowling lane is lined by a trough known as a gutter. If the rolled ball falls off the lane and into the gutter, it is called a gutter ball and is worth zero points. Some lanes have bumpers that flip up and block the bowling ball from entering the gutter.
This type of bowling is called bumper bowling and is reserved for kids to make it easier for them to knock down the pins.

The pins are arranged in an equilateral triangle, the back row has four pins, the next one has three, and the next has two and the last row (front of the lane, also called the head pin) consist only of one pin aligned at the center. The pins have numberings to ease the references of pins, starting with the single pin in front as one, and ends at ten at the back and rightmost pin. With today’s technology, the pins are automatically set by the machine, unlike before with the usage of ‘pin boys’, also called ‘pin setters’.

The playing area of ten pin bowling is a straight and narrow surface, known as the lane. Made of usually wooden boards or synthetic material made to look like wooden boards, the ten-pin bowling lane is standard 18.28 meters from the first pin to the foul line. Fifteen feet from the foul line are guide arrows pointing towards the pins and two sets of approach dots are located about 12 ft from the foul line, and another 15 ft for the second set of approach dots.

An interesting side note is that ten pin bowling was born in 1841 after the then popular game of nine pin bowling was outlawed due to its association with gambling and crime. Bowling fanatics circumvented the law by adding another pin to the game and kept on bowling.

Summary: Although ten-pin bowling is the most common game of bowling played, there are many other variants of the game.