Bowling

About Bowling

Ten-pin bowling on one lane, with a proper scoresheet. Pick your spot on the foul line, roll down the lane and watch the pins scatter. The pins move by real (if simplified) physics: where the ball meets the rack, how fast it is going and how much it hooks all change what falls. Bowl ten frames, chase strikes and spares, and try for a 300.

Also called: ten pin bowling, bowling alley game.

How to play Bowling

1. Swipe (the default): put your finger (or the mouse) on the lane where the ball should start. The ball jumps under it; slide sideways to fine-tune the spot. Then swipe up the lane.
2. The swipe does three things. Its lean sets the aim, its speed sets the power, and a swipe that bows out to one side puts spin on the ball, so it hooks back the other way near the pins.
3. Aim & power (the button under the lane): drag sideways or use ← and → to place the ball, then tap (or press Space) to stop the swinging aim line, and tap again to stop the power bar. Pick a hook left, straight or hook right ball with the arrow buttons.
4. After each ball the pins that fell are cleared and you throw at the ones left standing. The little rack in the corner shows which pins are still up.
5. Ten frames make a game. The scoresheet across the top keeps the running total, like the one at a real alley.

Rules

• Each frame you get two balls to knock down all ten pins, unless the first ball takes them all.
• A strike (X) is all ten pins with the first ball of a frame. It scores 10 plus the pins from your next two balls.
• A spare (/) is all ten pins with the two balls of a frame. It scores 10 plus the pins from your next ball.
• Any other frame (an open frame) scores the pins knocked down. A dash (-) means a ball that knocked nothing down.
• In the 10th frame, a strike or a spare earns bonus balls so it can be counted in full: a strike gives two more balls, a spare gives one. The pins are reset after every strike or spare in the 10th. You can throw at most three balls in the 10th frame.
• The highest possible score is 300: twelve strikes in a row.
• A split is marked when the head pin is down after the first ball and the pins left standing are in two or more groups with a gap between them, such as the 7-10 or the 4-6. The corner rack turns red, and the sheet circles the count.
• A frame's total appears once its bonus balls are known, so a strike waits for two more balls before it shows a number.

Bowling tips and strategy

• Aim for the pocket, not the head pin. Hitting the 1 pin dead-on often leaves a split. The best strike ball comes in between the 1 and the 3 pins (or the 1 and the 2 from the left), at a slight angle.
• Let the hook do the work. Start on the right of the lane, lean your swipe a touch left and bow it out to the right, and the ball will curl into the 1-3 pocket late, where it carries the most pins.
• Use the arrows. The seven triangles a third of the way down are aiming marks. Pick one and roll over it; move your starting spot a little each time to adjust.
• For spares on the right side (the 6 or 10 pin), start on the left and roll across the lane. For left-side spares, start on the right.
• A faster ball hooks less and deflects less off the pins. A slower one hooks more. If your hook is missing the pocket, change the speed before you change the aim.
• If a single pin is left standing, a straight ball is the safest way to pick it up: switch the curve off in Aim & power mode.