Bowling can be a complicated game to score. Bowlers know that a perfect score in a game is 300. However, how a bowler gets to that score can be difficult to understand. After all, the bowler is attempting to knock down 10 pins in each frame. Whether he knocks down all 10 pins with one ball or two, the maximum number of pins that can be knocked down in the first nine frames is 90, while there is a possibility of knocking down 30 pins in the last frame if the bowler throws three strikes. Since many bowling establishments use automatic scorekeeping, few bowlers understand the nuances of scorekeeping.
Step 1
Write down each player's name on the scoresheet. The score sheet will have a number next to each player's name, so that will be the order in which you bowl each game. This will help prevent bowlers from going out of order and having to manually reset the automatic scorekeeper that will also keep track of the game score.
Step 2
Record the number of pins that were knocked down on the first throw by player No. 1 in the scoring grid. There are two small boxes in the top corner of the scoring box for the first frame. If that player knocked down seven pins, write that number down. If the player knocked down two pins on the next frame, write down that number in the second small box. Then add up the total and put it in the big scoring box on the grid.
Step 3
Write down the symbol for a spare if the player knocks down all the pins with two balls. That figure is a diagonal line going from the upper right to the lower left. Do not write down a score for that frame. When a player rolls a spare, that player gets a score of 10 plus the number of pins he gets on the next throw. So if the bowler had a spare in the second frame and knocks down nine pins on his first throw of the third frame, he has scored 19 points in the second frame. Since he had nine in the first frame, he now has 28 after two frames. If he misses the final pin, he will have 37 after three frames.
Step 4
Write down the symbol for a strike if the player knocks down all 10 pins with one throw. The symbol for a strike is the letter "X." If a player throws a strike, he gets credit for those 10 pins plus the number of pins he knocks down with his next two throws. So if the bowler rolls a strike in the fourth frame, you have to see how many pins go down on the next two throws. If the bowler rolls another strike in the fifth frame and then nine pins with his first throw in the sixth frame, you would add 29 pins to his total in the fourth frame because that would be the total of the original strike ball plus the next two throws. That would leave the bowler with 66 after four frames. If the bowler spares on the final throw of the sixth frame, he would then have 86 after five frames. His sixth frame score would be determined with the first throw of the seventh frame.
Step 5
Add in the total number of pins knocked down in the final frame. If the bowler throws a strike in the 10th frame, he gets two extra balls to throw. If he throws a spare, he gets one extra ball. Add up the number of pins knocked down from all balls rolled in the 10th frame to get the score for that frame. Add that total to the previous nine frames to get the final score.
Things You'll Need
- Scoresheet
- Pencil
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