1

Learn the basics of how the game is structured. A game of bowling has 10 frames. Within
each frame, each player has 2 opportunities to knock down all 10 pins.
If all 10 pins are knocked down by a player on the first roll of a frame, the player is
awarded a strike and won't need a second turn in that frame.
If a player uses 2 balls to knock down all 10 pins in a frame, the player is awarded a
spare. For example, the player may knock down 7 pins on the first roll and 3 pins on the
second.

If a player misses all 10 pins on the first roll and then knocks all 10 down on the second,
it's still considered a spare (not a strike) because it took 2 balls to knock the pins down.

An open frame is when a player doesn't knock all 10 pins down in both attempts.

2
Understand the format of a bowling score card. The score card has a place for each bowler's
name, followed by 10 boxes (one for each frame) and a final score box. Each of the 10 boxes has
a set of 2 smaller boxes; these are to record the number of pins knocked down for each roll
within the frame.
The final score box has 1 smaller box, which designates the third roll in frame 10 -- used
only if the bowler gets either a spare or strike in the tenth frame.
Know the extras. Depending on the rules you and your friends have determined, you may need
to determine how to mark variations in game play. Once in a while, things out of the norm
happen -- how will these be marked?
An "F" can denote when a bowler has gone over the line (literally) -- the line separating
the walk-up to the actual lane. If they do, they receive 0 points for that turn.
If a bowler receives a split, you may mark an "O" around the number to indicate the pin
set-up. As an alternative, mark an "S" in front of the number of pins knocked down. A
"split" happens when the headpin has been successfully knocked down, yet there is still a
gap between all the others still standing.

If the headpin was missed, sometimes the terms "wide" or "washout" are used. A "W" can
be denoted on the card, but, in general, this annotation has fallen out of common usage.[1]

Score an open frame. Scoring an open frame on the score card is simply adding the number of
pins the player knocked down on their first roll with the number of pins knocked down on the
second roll. This is the total for the frame.
In bowling, a running total is kept. The current score of each player is added and placed
in the box designated for each frame. For example, if a player knocks down 3 pins on
their first roll and 2 pins on their second, a 5 is placed in the box for frame 1. If a player
knocks down a total of 7 pins in the second frame, a 12 is placed in the box for frame 2.
Record a spare. If a player spares, the number of pins the player knocked down on the first roll
is listed in the first box, and a slash is placed in the second box.

A spare is worth 10 pins plus the number of pins the player knocks down on the next roll.
For example, if a player gets a spare in the first frame and then knocks down 7 pins on
the first roll of the second frame, list a 17 in frame 1.

Score a strike. If a player gets a strike, record an X in the box for the first roll.
When scoring a strike, the strike is worth 10 pins plus the number of pins the player
knocks down on the next 2 rolls. For example, if a player gets a strike in frame 1, then
knocks down 5 pins on the first roll in frame 2 and 4 pins on the second roll, list a 19 in
frame 1.
If the player bowls a strike and follows with another strike, the player still adds in the
next roll. Therefore, if a player gets a strike in frames 1, 2 and 3, the total for the first
frame would be 30.
Record combinations. Sometimes it gets a little messy. Let's do some concept-checking: if you
bowl a strike in the first frame, a split (7|/) in the second frame, and a 9 in the third, what's the
final score?
Did you come up with 48? The first frame is 20 (the strike plus the spare is 10+10), the
second frame is 39 (20+10+9), and the third frame is 48 (39+9).