1. A Strike is Still a Strike
Five pin bowling is a game much like regular 10 pin bowling, with a few exceptions. As the name suggests, you use only five pins, and you arrange them in a V-shape. Scoring is different than 10 pin bowling in that the center pin scores 5 points when knocked down, the two pins to either side of the five pin score 3 points each and the remaining two outside pins score 2 points each. If you bowl a strike by knocking all five pins down at once, the next two balls you roll count twice. If you knock all the pins down after two rolls, you have a spare, and the score of the next roll counts twice.
2. It's a Much Smaller Ball
The bowling ball used in five pin bowling has no finger holes in it. It's quite a bit smaller than a bowling ball used in 10 pin bowling and it fits in your hand. These smaller bowling balls weigh less than standard bowling balls and you can throw them faster than in a regular 10 pin game. A Canadian named Thomas Ryan invented five pin bowling in the early 1900s to allow a bowling game to finish within a lunch break from work.
3. A Perfect Game Is Even More Rewarding
Each frame in five pin bowling allows for three rolls of the bowling ball. A perfect score in this game amounts to 450 points, and, given the spacing of the pins, can prove quite difficult to accomplish. Splits occur regularly and create spaces on the lane between the pins that allow the ball to pass without touching any of the remaining pins.
4. Leave the Dead Pins Where They Are
Penalties in five pin bowling include a 15 point reduction in the total score for any player committing an infraction. If any part of a your body or clothing crosses the foul line at the top of the bowling lane, you incur a penalty. You can also receive a penalty if you roll your ball down the bowling lane in an attempt to clear a ball in the gutter or clear away pins still in the lane. If you receive permission from the other team before you roll the ball, you incur no penalty. Any player who throws their ball down the lane overhanded faces suspension.
5. Five Pin Lingo
Most Canadian bowling alleys offer five pin bowling along with the standard 10 pin. Five pin bowling has its own jargon that differs from that of 10 pin bowling. For instance, a split in five pin means hitting the five and a three pin for a score of 8 on the first roll of a frame. In five pin bowling, a punch is when you hit only one pin when more than one remains in the lane.
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