Candlepin bowling originated in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1880. It continues to be popular primarily in New England and the Canadian Maritime provinces, according to the International Candlepin Bowling Association. Candlepin bowling is similar to standard 10-pin bowling. The most notable differences are the shape and size of the equipment and the number of times you can roll the ball in a frame.
Equipment
In candlepin bowling, there are 10 pins measuring 15.75 inches high and 2 15/16 inches in diameter--and weighing a maximum of 2 lbs. 8 oz each. The pins, which resemble candlesticks, feature a red band around the middle. The bowling ball, which has no finger holes, is 4.5 inches in diameter and can weigh no more than 2 lbs. 7 oz. Bowlers can choose to use lighter balls.
The Lane
The candlepins are arranged in a triangle and placed 12 inches apart. Each bowler throws the ball from behind the foul line, which is 60 feet from the head pin. The lob line rests 10 feet down the lane from the foul line, and the deadwood line is 2 feet in front of the head pin. Each side of the lane has a gutter measuring .75 inches deep.
Bowling
The bowler grasps the ball in the palm of her dominant hand and rolls it underhand toward the pins from behind the foul line. She may choose to start her approach from well behind the foul line, taking up to three steps and sliding to the line to build momentum before releasing the ball. A bowler can use three throws of the ball in a frame to knock down the 10 pins. Players or teams alternate turns for 10 frames, and the player with the highest score wins.
Fouls
The bowler receives a foul if he passes over or touches the foul line during delivery, his ball doesn't make contact with the lane before reaching the lob line or the ball otherwise fails to make what the ICBA deems "fair contact," such as in a gutter ball that bounces out of the gutter to knock down pins. In these cases, the knocked-down pins don't count toward the score, the pins are reset and the bowler loses that throw in the frame.
Scoring
The bowler receives one point for each pin she knocks down in her three throws. She earns a strike if she topples all 10 pins with her first throw and a spare if she knocks them all down with her first two throws. When the bowler receives a strike or spare, called marks, she doesn't use her remaining balls for that frame, but receives extra points. For a frame with a spare, the bowler gets 10 points, plus the pins on her next throw, and with a strike, the player receives 10 points plus the points earned on her next two throws; the points in the throws after a mark are counted for both frames.
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