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"The Bowling Book"
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The Basics (Game) |
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Bowling is a fairly simple game. There are 10 pins and you knock them down on two balls per frame.
Here is some basic information about how the game is played.
The Game
So what comprises a "game" you ask?
10 Frames (actually 12, but we will cover that later)
So what is a "frame" you ask?
One or two balls, depending on what happens on your first shot, except the 10th when you may throw
three balls.
OK, so 10 frames of 1 or 2 shots, this should be easy right? Nowadays with the electronic
scorekeepers it is, but it was not always that way. I actually used to keep score manually for
tournaments bowlers, and get paid to do it!
Frames
There are 10 frames in a game of bowling, with one caveat. If you get a strike or a spare in the
10th frame, you get another shot. So, up to 3 shots can be thrown in the 10th frame of a game. At
the risk of making this more confusing, if you get a spare, you get one extra shot (you have
already thrown the ball twice this frame), but if you get a strike, you get 2 extra balls, thus
you get 3 balls in the 10th frame if you get a mark (a strike or a spare).
Strikes and Spares
What are those words that you hear pouring out of bowlers mouths like: I got 6 strikes, 3 spares
and missed a ten pin for an open! Strikes, Spares, Splits, and Opens are the fundamental results
of throwing the ball down the lane.
- A STRIKE is when you get all 10 pins down on the first ball
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A SPARE is when you get all 10 pins down on two balls in the same frame. When you
"pick up a spare", you were able to knock down whatever pins were left after the
first ball on the second ball in the frame (you never pick up a strike).
- An OPEN is when you do not get all 10 pins down on two balls in the same frame
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A SPLIT is when you leave at least two pins that are separated by where another pin would
have been. So, if you leave the 4 and 5 pins (the 4 - 5 split), you would have a split. The
worst of the splits is the 7 - 10 split. These are the two pins that are farthest from each
other on the lane and is almost impossible to hit. Also, to be noted, if you leave the head
pin (the 1 pin, see The Basics - Pins), then it is not
considered a split.
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