Spare points in bowling how to#
Spare points in bowling plus#

The tenth frame throws a wrench in this a bit. For example, four consecutive strikes in the first nine frames will max out the score of the first two strikes at 30, while the values of the next two strikes are contingent on the pin counts in forthcoming throws.

The interesting thing about strikes is that they can be worth anywhere from 10-30 points, based on the results of your latter two balls. When all the pins aren’t knocked down in a frame, it’s called an open frame and no bonus points are awarded. In that case, you get bonus points equivalent to the value of your next ball and your next ball only.

Spare points in bowling plus#

When you knock down all ten pins in the first frame through the ninth frame of a bowling game, you’re awarded ten points plus bonus points equivalent to the pins knocked down on your next two balls.Ĭompare this to when you knock down all ten pins with two shots in a frame and pick up a spare. We’ll shed some light on scoring strikes bowled consecutively, how a game score is typically rendered and calculated, and the complete skinny on bonus points for strikes in a standard bowling scoring setup.īut first, here’s the answer to the question you’ve likely come here for… How much is a strike in bowling?Ī strike, by itself, is worth ten points. If you’re unsure what happens when you bowl a strike on your first ball and why ten points aren’t the exact worth of a strike, we’re here to clear things up. After all, consecutive strikes are scored differently than alternating strikes and spares, and the maximum score of a bowling game shifts wildly based upon the pins knocked down in any given frame. For those unfamiliar with the standard ten-pin bowling scoring system, points scored during a game of bowling may not make much sense. Get in touch with the location nearest you. If you are looking for the perfect bowling alley, come check out the fun we offer at Stars & Strikes. Find a bowling alley to get the hang of it and get as close to 300 points as you can! Scoring is easy once you’ve had a few tries to practice. Otherwise, you receive points for the number of pins you’ve knocked over. This horizontal line shows that no pins were knocked over.ġ0 th frame- during the tenth frame, you get two more shots if you score a strike and one more shot if it’s a spare.

Gutter ball- use a “-“to mark if your ball goes into the gutter or misses the pins for any other reason. You can still finish out your turn and bowl your second shot if you foul during your first roll. This is marked by writing down the number of pins bowled over during each turn.įoul- a foul is when you step past the foul line during a turn and is marked using the letter “F”. Open frame- an open frame is when you don’t knock over all 10 pins during your turn. For example, if you bowl a spare and then you knock over 2 pins and then 3 pins in your next frame, you will add 10 + 2 to get your score for your spare. For spares, you receive 10 points plus the number of pins knocked down during your next roll. Spare- a spare is when you knock down all 10 pins during both shots and is indicated by a “/”. For example, if you bowl a strike on the first turn and you knock over 6 pins in your second turn, the points from your first turn would be 10 + 6 and your second turn would be 6 leading to 22 total points earned. This leads to 10 points plus the sum of points in your next turn. Strike- a strike is when you knock down all 10 pins during the first shot and is indicated on the scoreboard using an “X”. Turns that have a strike or a spare result in bonus points. When you are going through each turn, you receive a point for each pin that you knock over with your bowling ball. The maximum number of points you can earn in a game of bowling is 300 which is also known as a “perfect game” consisting of 12 strikes. Those that score a strike during the tenth frame then get additional throws to earn more points. The only exception to this is during the tenth frame or last frame where players only get one turn to bowl unless they are able to knock all the pins down on their first try. This part is straightforward with each person getting two turns to bowl during each frame. To begin to understand how scores work, you need to understand how bowling works.

Scoring the most points is the goal of the game but how are the points totaled and why are there X’s and dashes on the screen? We prepare you for the game by explaining how the scoreboard works.

Spare points in bowling how to#

While many of us understand how to bowl, the scoreboard is a whole other story. Bowling is an exciting game to play whether you’re just bowling rounds with friends or trying to win a competition.