Bowling Study Guide
History
1. Bowling dates back to Ancient Egypt around 5,000 B.C.
2. A game called nine-pin developed in Germany with Martin Luther as one of its
leading enthusiasts. During this time the basic rules of the game developed and the pins
were set in a diamond shape.
3. After many years a tenth pin was added and the pins were set in a triangular shape.
4. Bowling was brought to America by the Dutch. In 1895 the American Bowling
Congress was organized.
Rules
1. A game is composed of ten frames.
2. A player rolls two balls per frame unless a strike is scored.
3. A strike is when you knock down all your pins with one ball (on the first ball of the
frame).
4. A spare is when you knock down all ten pins with two balls.
5. If a strike is made in the tenth frame, the bowler completes the game by rolling two
more balls. If a spare is made in the tenth frame, the bowler rolls one extra ball.
6. A foul is when any part of the foot, hand, or arm touches or crosses the foul line.
Any pins knocked down do not count. The foul counts as a ball rolled.
7. A ball is declared dead when:
a. One or more pins are missing from the setup.
b. Any interference occurs before the ball reaches the pins.
c. In team play, a bowler rolls out of turn or bowls on the wrong lane.
8. The pins do not count when:
a. A ball rebounds from the rear cushion.
b. A ball leaves the alley and returns to knock down pins.
c. A foul is committed.
Scoring
1. A perfect game is 300 points.
2. The total possible points for each frame is 30.
3. A strike is all 10 pins with the first ball plus the number of pins cleared with the next
two balls rolled.
4. If a spare is made, a score of 10 in that frame plus the number of pins cleared with
the next ball rolled is recorded.
5. If a strike or spare is not made, record the number of pins cleared from 0 to 9.
Strike = 10 + next 2 balls
Spare = 10 + next ball
Pins cleared first ball
A miss - gutter ball
A foul
Sample: