Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 2: General knowledge
• Method 2 of 2: Scoring
• Necessities

Most modern bowling alleys keep score electronically, but understanding how to keep score in bowling is important when the electronic scoring system is not available, or if you are just playing a game in the backyard. Knowing how to keep score in bowling also gives a player a better understanding of the game and how to keep score.

To step

Method 1 of 2: General knowledge

1. Learn the basics of how the game is structured. A bowling match has 10 frames. Within each frame, each player has 2 chances to knock over all 10 pins.
   • If all 10 pins are knocked over by a player on the first roll of a frame, the player has a strike and does not need to roll a second time in that frame.
   • If a player uses 2 balls to knock over all 10 cones in a frame, the player has a spare. For example, the player can knock down 7 cones with the first roll and 3 cones with the second.
   • If a player misses all 10 pins in the first roll and knocked over all 10 in the second, it still counts as a spare (no strike) because it took 2 balls to knock over the pins.
   • An open frame is when a player does not knock over all 10 pins in both attempts.
2. Understand how a scorecard is laid out in bowling. A scorecard has space for each bowler's name, followed by 10 boxes (one for each frame) and a box for the total score. Each of the 10 squares has 2 smaller squares; these are for recording the number of cones knocked over for each throw within the frame.
   • The Total Score box has 1 smaller box, for the third throw in frame 10 - it is only used if the bowler hits a spare or strike in the tenth frame.
3. Know the extras. Depending on the rules you and your friends have set, you may need to determine how you score variations in the game. From time to time special things happen - how are they noted?
   • An "F" can indicate that a bowler has (literally) crossed the boundary - the line separating the run-up from the actual lane. If they do, they get 0 points for that turn.
   • When a bowler rolls a split, you can put an "O" around the number to indicate the position of the pins. Or you can put an "S" in front of the number of cones knocked over. A "split" is when the front cone has been successfully knocked over, but there is a gap between the other cones that are still standing.
   • If the cone in the front is missed, the terms "wide" or "washout" are sometimes used. You can put a "W" on the chart, but usually this notation is no longer used.

Method 2 of 2: Scoring

1. Score an open frame. Scoring an open frame on the scorecard simply means adding the number of pins knocked down by the player on the first roll to the number of pins knocked down on the second roll. This is the total for the frame.
   • In bowling, a continuous total score is kept. Each player's current score is added up and placed in the box for each frame. For example, if a player knocked down 3 cones with the first roll and 2 cones with the second, a 5 is placed in the box for frame 1. If a player knocks over a total of 7 cones in the second frame, a 12 is placed in the box for frame 2.
2. Write down a spare. When a player rolls a spare, the number of cones that the player knocked over on the first roll is placed in the first box, and a slash is added to the second box.
   • A spare is worth 10 pins, plus the number of pins that the player knocks over on the next roll. For example, if a player throws a spare in the first frame, and then knocked down 7 cones in the first roll of the second frame, write 17 in frame 1.
3. Score a strike. If a player throws a strike, put an X in the box for the first throw.
   • When a strike is scored, the strike is worth 10 pins, plus the number of pins the player knocks over in the next 2 throws. For example, if a player rolls a strike in frame 1, and then knocked down 5 cones on the first roll in frame 2 and 4 cones on the second roll, write 19 on frame 1.
   • If the player throws a strike followed by another strike, the next throw must still be added to that. So if a player strikes in frames 1, 2 and 3, the total for the first frame is 30.
4. Write down combinations. Sometimes it gets a bit messy. Let's practice: if you hit a strike in the first frame, a split (7 | /) in the second frame, and a 9 in the third, what is the total score?
   • Did you have 48? The first frame is 20 (the strike plus the spare is 10 + 10), the second frame is 39 (20 + 10 + 9), and the third frame is 48 (39 + 9).

Necessities

• Paper
• Pen / pencil
• Bowling gear