| Bowling is a sport in which players | | | | for this game since it's just for kids. |
| attempt to score points by rolling a | | | | 3-6-9 bowling, special form of ten-pin |
| ball along a flat surface and knock down | | | | bowling where the 3rd 6th and 9th frame |
| objects called pins. There are many | | | | already have strikes in them. |
| forms of bowling, with the earliest | | | | Low-Ball Bowling, uses a standard |
| dating back to ancient India. Origins | | | | ten-pin setup, but the object is to bowl |
| can also be traced to ancient Egypt and | | | | the lowest score by aiming at only the |
| much later in 300 A.D. Germany. In the | | | | seven or ten pins. Strikes and spares |
| US the best known form of bowling is | | | | are scored identically as in ten-pin |
| probably the North American game of | | | | bowling, and gutter balls are scored as |
| ten-pin bowling. This form, in both | | | | strikes. At least one pin must be |
| amateur and professional versions, is | | | | knocked down per delivery, so a miss on |
| played around the world, making it one | | | | the first ball must be recorded as a |
| of the largest participation activities | | | | strike (only a gutter ball can result in |
| spacewide. Bowling blocks are so common | | | | this). If the second ball is thrown and |
| today, people will find them in almost | | | | it misses pins without going in the |
| every town of more unpopulated areas | | | | gutter, it's recorded as a spare. A |
| Most forms of bowling may be categorized | | | | perfect low-ball score is 20 (1 pin on |
| as either indoor or outdoor. Most indoor | | | | each of 2 balls per frame). |
| forms are played on a "lane", a flat | | | | Beruit Bowling, game usually played in |
| surface made of wood or a synthetic | | | | teams with two lanes. Similar to a rally |
| imitation, which is several times longer | | | | race the first team to have all their |
| than it is wide. The overall length of a | | | | team mates make a strike are the |
| regulation lane is 60 feet measuring | | | | winners. The game begins with two |
| from the foul line to the head pin (1 | | | | players, one in each lane, after the |
| pin). The lane should be between 41 and | | | | first strike is made the player takes a |
| 42 inches in width. | | | | seat and the next team mate steps up to |
| Included in the indoor category: | | | | bowl. Usually played in a 10 pin game, |
| Ten-pin bowling, which evolved from | | | | and can also be played with candle pin. |
| ninepin bowling in the 19th century. | | | | No-Tap Bowling, No-Tap bowling is played |
| Five-pin bowling, played in Canada. | | | | with the standard ten-pin setup. In a |
| Nine-pin skittles, played in Europe. | | | | no-tap game the scoring is the same, but |
| Wii Sports Bowling, developed for the | | | | rolling a nine (or eight, in some cases) |
| Wii entertainment system. | | | | on your first ball results in a strike. |
| Candlepin bowling, played in eastern | | | | A split without the head-pin counts as a |
| Canada and New England, is a variation | | | | spare in other variants of this game. |
| of ten-pin bowling. | | | | Baker System Bowling, Baker system |
| Cocked-Hat bowling, brought to the US | | | | bowling is a team sport. There are |
| from Germany. Now there is only one | | | | generally 5 players that bowl one game. |
| place to play this in the US; The Corner | | | | Player 1 bowls frames 1 and 6. Player 2 |
| Bar in St. Charles, Missouri. It uses | | | | bowls frames 2 and 7. And so on. Widely |
| duckpin bowling balls and three regular | | | | seen in High schools and colleges. |
| sized pins. | | | | For nearly a century, ten-pin bowling |
| Duckpin bowling, commonly found in the | | | | lanes had a surface made of wood. |
| mid-Atlantic and southern New England | | | | Beginning about 1980, most ten-pin lane |
| United States and eastern Canada, is a | | | | surfaces have been converted to or built |
| variation of ten-pin bowling involving | | | | with a synthetic material imitating a |
| small, squat pins, sometimes with rubber | | | | wooden surface. In ten-pin bowling, a |
| at their widest points (rubber band | | | | building containing many lanes has |
| duckpin bowling). | | | | traditionally been called a bowling |
| Feather Bowling (Belgian trough bowling) | | | | "alley." Some such buildings have |
| originated in Belgium. It is also | | | | recently called themselves "bowling |
| popular in Metro Detroit, as the Cadieux | | | | centers" instead to avoid the negative |
| Cafe in Detroit and the "Bay City | | | | connotation of alleys. |
| Bistro" in Mount Clemens are the only | | | | The second category of bowling is |
| United States venues where the game is | | | | usually played outdoors on a lawn. Here |
| available. | | | | the players throw a ball, which is |
| Six-Pin Bowling, a kids version of | | | | sometimes eccentrically weighted, in an |
| bowling, bowling set is usually bought | | | | attempt to put it closest to a |
| at a toy store. There are no official | | | | designated point. |
| tournaments, scoring systems, or venues | | | | |