Never, Ever Use The "B" Word
OK. We cant resist it. We swore that we would never use the phrase "bowled over" about All Star Lanes but that's exactly what happened to the Whiteleys team when we tipped up for a quick "beer & bowl" at the new ASL here. So there it is, b-o-w-l-e-d o-v-e-r! And, to see just why, here are a few shots we gathered just before the doors were opened for the first time day. Ace, eh?
 Do you want to play? Do you know how to play?
So, as Whiteleys welcomes the arrival of All Star Lanes, the UK's first luxury bowling venue, we thought a timely reminder on the Basic Rules, Scores and Guidelines of Ten Pin Bowling would be a good idea.
So here goes...
Let's start with the scoring rules. The game of Ten Pin Bowling is split up into 10 frames, and each frame is split up into two shots. Each frame score is combined with the previous frames to give you a points total. There are special rules in the way that each frame is combined with the previous frames and will be described later.
A blank score sheet with a highlighted frame is shown below.
An example frame is contained within the blue box. The red box shows where your secondary shot for this frame is scored. The following is an example of the very first frame with score.
The number seven on the right is the first shot at the pins. Obviously 7 pins were knocked down. The number two on the right was the second shot in the frame, and in this frame you try to "convert" the frame, or in other words knock the rest of the pins down. The number nine at the bottom is the combined score of the two shots. This score carries forward to the next frame and becomes part of the total score.
The following diagram shows the first three frames in this game.
So we have the 9 from the first frame carried forward. Looking at the second frame we can see that the first shot got 6 pins and the second shot was a spare marked with a /. A spare means that the very next shot can also be added to this frame's score (think of it as a bonus). The next frame's first shot was a 7, so for the second frame's pin total we need to add 9 from the previous frames (in this case one frame), 10 from the second frame and 7 from the third frame. This gives a second frame total of 26. The third frame was not converted and so only the pins from the third frame are added to the previous frames total. This now gives us a score of 35 in the third frame.
The scoring continues until 10 frames have been played, remembering that in the 10th frame a strike would give two more bowls and a spare gives one more bowl.
The maximum that can be scored in any one game is 300. For this the player would have to strike 10 times for the 10 frames and then because the last frame strike allows two more bowls, these two should also be strikes making 12 in total.
So, now you know. Limber up your swing and go bowl!
 Are you an Anchor or a Cranker?
Tap into the culture of bowling by brushing up on your terminology...
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All the way - Finishing a game from any point with nothing but strikes.
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Apple 1) Bowling ball; 2) bowler who fails to come through in a clutch situation (choke).
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Baby Split - The 2-7 or 3-10.
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Barmaid - A pin hidden behind another pin; 1-5, 2-8, 3-9 (bicycle, double wood, oneinthedark, sleeper, tandem).
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Big five - Spare leave of three on one side and two on the other.
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Grandma's teeth - A random array of pins left standing.
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Rug jerker - A 5-pin that is swept out to the right on a strike ball as if someone had jerked the rug out from under it.
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Cracked thumb - Actual cracks that appear on the calluses of a bowler's thumb.
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Anchor - Last man to roll in team competition. Usually the best bowler; ie, the bowler most likely to get a strike in the ‘foundation frame' (the ninth frame) and most likely to ‘strike out'. The term originated in 1913 when a bowler (Hans Arfsparger) for the Anchor Brewing team in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, bowled in the fifth position and struck out 94 times in succession.
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Kingpin - The headpin or the number 5 pin, varying with local usage.
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Buzzard - Three open frames in a row.
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Looper - An extra-wide hook ball, usually slow.
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Mule ears - The 7-10 split (bedposts, fence posts, goal posts, snake eyes).
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Bucket - Four-pin diamond on sides or center of lane - 2-4-5-8, 3-5-6-9, or 1-2-3-5 (dinner bucket).
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Cranker - Bowler who uses cranking motion (lift and turn) at the top of the backswing to generate high speed and considerable hooking action.
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Dime Store - The 5-10 split - 5-7 is the ‘Kresge' (Woolworth).
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Dutch 200 - A 200 game scored by alternating strikes and spares (sandwich game).
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Five-bagger - Five strikes in a row.
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Honey - A good ball.
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Love tap - A tap from a moving pin, usually off the wall/sideboard, which delicately knocks it down.
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Perfect game - Twelve strikes in a row with a count of 30 pins per frame resulting in a score of 300.
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Powder puff, puff ball - Slow ball that fails to carry the pins.
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Sixpack - Six strikes in a row.
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Snake eyes - The 7-10 split (bedposts, fence posts, goal posts, mule ears).
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Turkey - Three strikes in a row (triple).
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