How is bowling scored?
A game has 10 frames, and you get up to two balls per frame to knock down all 10 pins. A strike scores 10 plus your next two balls, and a spare scores 10 plus your next ball. Any other frame is worth the pins you knocked down.
| Result | Mark | Frame score |
|---|---|---|
| Strike: all 10 on the first ball | X | 10 + next two balls |
| Spare: all 10 with two balls | / | 10 + next ball |
| Open frame: fewer than 10 | number | pins knocked down |
| Missed every pin | - | 0 |
For example, a strike in frame 1 followed by 7 and 3 (a spare) in frame 2 makes frame 1 worth 10 + 7 + 3 = 20. The score sheet in this game does the math for you and fills in each running total as soon as its bonus is known.
What is different about the 10th frame?
In the 10th frame, a strike or a spare earns bonus balls, so you can throw up to three times. A strike gives two more balls and a spare gives one more, with a fresh rack whenever every pin falls.
- Perfect game: 12 strikes in a row, from frame 1 through the 10th frame bonus balls, scores the maximum of 300.
- All spares: going 5 and 5 every frame with a final bonus ball of 5 scores 150.
- Strike streaks: two in a row is a double, three in a row is a turkey.
How do you bowl a strike?
Hit the pocket at an angle, just beside the head pin. A ball hooking from right to left wants the gap between the 1 and 3 pins, and a ball hooking from left to right wants the 1 and 2 pins.
- Stand right of center and hook a little to the left. Drag the ball up and curve your finger left at the end, and the ball breaks late down the lane.
- Avoid hitting the head pin dead on. The pins split to both sides and often leave a split.
- Slow balls hook more, fast balls hook less. Tune speed and hook together.
- For spares, aim straight at the front pin. The small pin map at the top right shows what is still standing.
Pins fall through real collisions between ball and pins and between pins, so the same line can give slightly different results. The best score bowled by a human player is saved in this browser.