Bowling

What is Bowling?

Ten-pin bowling is the alley game everyone knows: a heavy ball, a long oiled lane and ten pins set in a triangle at the far end. Here you bowl from behind the ball, and the camera follows it down the lane to the pins.

You choose where the ball starts on the foul line, the line it takes over the arrows, and how much spin it carries. On the back end of the lane the spin hooks it into the pins, and every lane has its own oil, so a line that strikes on one lane can miss on the next. Every day brings a Daily lane, the same for everyone.

How to play Bowling

A game has ten frames, and each frame gives you two balls to knock down all ten pins.

• Your start. Drag sideways on the lane to move the ball along the foul line.
• Your line. Drag the marker on the arrows. The ball starts where it stands and rolls through the marker.
• Spin. Pick it under the lane: left, straight or right, light or strong. A slower ball takes more of its spin.
• Bowling. Swipe up. The faster the swipe, the faster the ball, and a swipe that leans sideways leans the line with it.
• Score. A strike (all ten with the first ball) scores ten plus your next two balls; a spare (all ten with two) scores ten plus your next ball. The tenth frame gives its bonus balls on the spot, and 300 is a perfect game.

Tips and strategy

1. Aim for the pocket. The best strike ball enters between the 1 and 3 pins when it hooks left, or the 1 and 2 when it hooks right. Straight at the head pin, it tends to leave a split.
2. Use the hook. A ball that comes into the pocket at an angle carries far more pins than a straight one, which has to be almost perfect.
3. Read the line on the lane. After every ball its path stays on the lane. If it hooked too early, move the marker or the start a few boards; change one thing at a time.
4. Keep the same swipe. Speed changes the hook: a slow ball curls more, a fast one less. Once a line strikes, repeat the same swipe.
5. Cross the lane for spares. For a pin on the right, start on the left and roll straight across, and the other way round. Spin is rarely needed on a single pin.

Frequently asked questions

Is Bowling free?

Yes. Like every game on Play, it runs free in your browser, with no download and no account.

Why does my ball curve?

Because of its spin. On the first two thirds of the lane the oil lets the ball skid; on the back end it grips and the spin turns it. Each lane's oil is a little different, so the first ball tells you how this one hooks.

How do strikes and spares score?

A strike scores 10 plus the pins of your next two balls, a spare 10 plus your next ball. Three strikes in a row in the middle of a game is already 30 points for the first of them.

What happens in the tenth frame?

A strike or a spare in the tenth gives you the bonus balls right away: two after a strike, one after a spare. That is how a perfect game reaches twelve strikes and 300.

What is the Daily lane?

Every day everyone bowls on the same lane, with the same oil, so the scores compare directly on the leaderboard.