| Many
centers have automatic scorers which display your scores on
a video screen. All you have to do is punch in a few commands
(fellow bowlers or the center staff can assist) and the rest
is automatic.
If your center does not have automatic scoring,
you will be given a scoresheet and a pencil to keep your own
score. You'll find that keeping your own score can be enjoyable.
Frames and Games
A game is made up of ten frames. At the beginning
of each frame, the bowler tries to knock down all ten pins.
If successful the result is a strike and the frame is over.
If any pins are still standing after the first shot a second
ball is rolled. If the remaining pins are knocked down it
is a spare.
If a pin or more is standing after the second
shot the result is an "open" frame. The bowler is
credited with just the amount of pins that fell.
When a spare is made the bowler gets credit
for 10 plus the number of pins knocked down on the next throw.
No score is marked in that frame until the next shot is made.
For instance, a player who follows a spare
by rolling a 6 count on the next ball will get credit for
those 6 pins added to the 10 for the spare. It is now known
that spare was worth 16.
A strike is worth 10 plus the number of pins
knocked over on the next two tosses. Say a strike is followed
by a frame in which the bowler knocks down 5 on the first
ball and 3 more on the second throw.
he strike would then be worth 10 + 5 + 3 for
a total of 18. The score of each frame is added to the score
of the previous frame until reaching a final total after 10
frames. In the final frame, if a spare is recorded, another
ball must be rolled to determine how much that spare will
be worth.
For the same reason, when a strike is made
in the 10th frame, two more shots are needed to find out how
much the strike will be worth.
Scoring Premiums
The scoring system is not just a simple count
of pins knocked down. Spares and strikes provide a bonus opportunity
to get extra credit.
The scoring system greatly rewards consecutive
strikes. In fact, real high-scoring games-over 200-are possible
only by bunching together strikes.
Bowling
Rules | Bowling
Equipment| History
of Bowling| Bowling
Ball| Bowling
Techniques|
Length
of a Bowling Alley| How
to Score| How
to Create A Hook Ball|
12
Tips on Bowling Etiquette|
Bowling
Ball Buying Guides|
Bowling
Tips For The Recreational Bowler |
