About Bowling Scores

You don't want to go bowling and not understand the scoring system. Though it is a bit complex for the beginner, once it's learned, it's generally not forgotten.

Considerations

Every bowling game is divided into 10 frames. Every player is given two shots to try to knock down all 10 pins. If the player fells all 10 pins on his first shot, he has recorded a strike and his frame is over. If he knocks over some on his first shot and the rest on his second shot, he has recorded a spare. If he leaves any pins standing, the number he has knocked over in two shots is his score for that frame.

History

Throughout the history of bowling, scores were kept by the participants on a bowling scoresheet. But in recent years, electronic scorekeeping has taken the process out of the hands of the bowlers and keeps scores automatically. Scores can often be seen both on the screen at the table where the bowlers congregate and on an electronic board above.

Features

Players don't just receive 10 pins for a strike. They receive those 10 pins, plus the number of pins they knock down with their next two balls. For example, if a player gets a strike, then knocks down a combined nine pins on his two shots in the following frame, 19 pins are recorded in the first frame and nine are added in the next frame, giving the player a total of 28 for those two frames. A spare is scored a bit differently. Added to the 10 pins for the spare are the pins knocked down only on the first ball of the next frame. Players who follow a spare with a seven, for instance, get 17 for the first frame and seven plus whatever is recorded for both balls thrown in the next frame.

Misconceptions

Some believe that since the game of bowling features 10 frames. that a perfect game is recorded when a player throws 10 consecutive strikes. That is not true. The 10th frame requires three shots when a strike is achieved on the first ball or a spare is recorded on the second ball. If a player enters the 10th frame with strikes in all nine previous frames, she must throw three more strikes, for a total of 12, to record a perfect game of 300 pins.

Benefits

The fastest way to a big score is through multiple consecutive strikes. If a player throws two strikes in a row, he receives 20 points in the first frame plus the number of pins he knocks down on the first ball of the third frame. If he records three successive strikes, he automatically receives 30 additional points in the frame of his first strike. Three strikes in a row is called a "turkey."

Warning

Missing spares can destroy a bowling score. When a player records neither a strike nor a spare, he has what is known as an "open frame" and scores only the number of pins he has knocked down. Tallying nine or fewer pins in three or four consecutive frames is a sure way to wreck your score. If you are bowling only for fun, that's fine. But if you are looking to improve, you want to keep the open frames to a minimum.