Understanding Scoring on the Overhead Monitors
Everyone is thankful for the electronic scoring at the bowling alley. We see our score come on the screen above us, but many of us don’t know how it is determined. Hopefully the following explanation will clear up this mystery.
And here at Bundoran Glowbowl, we like to keep up with technology and make things easier for our customers. In 2022, we installed the very latest Brunswick Sync Scoring System and this updates every few months to bring unbelievable graphics for the Bowler and ease of play in understanding the Overhead Screens and adding a little fun for the Player.
The score board for a bowling game has TEN FRAMES.
During each frame, the player gets TWO TRIES to knock down all of the ten pins. The number knocked down is recorded:
A Strike
A Spare
A Split
Bowling explained
The bowler can have up to two attempts at knocking down a set of ten pins. Any that are knocked down at the first attempt are removed and the bowler tries to knock down the remainder. Knocking all of the pins down with the first ball is called a ‘strike’, and knocking down all the remaining pins on the second go is called a ‘spare’.
A game of bowling consists of ten frames, and the maximum you can score is 300 points.
Frames 1 to 9 are identical in their scoring, and then you come to the tenth and final frame. On the overhead monitor this looks different from the others, as it has an extra space. This is to allow the bonuses to be put in if the player scores a strike or a spare in this frame. If you get a strike with your first ball in the tenth frame, you are allowed two more balls. You could get three strikes in the tenth. You could get a spare in your first two balls; this then means you are allowed one extra ball to get the bonus points for your spare. Of course you may not knock all of the pins down with the first two balls and you get no further bonus goes and your game is finished.
A strike in every frame and two extra strikes in the tenth scores as follows: 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, 270 and 300 giving the maximum score. Strangely enough a strike alternating with a spare throughout the game gives a score of 200.
Bowling Technique
You will notice lots of dots and arrows marking the floor, with dots on the approach and arrows on the lane. These are to help you position yourself as you bowl. Before you start, walk up to the black line, called the ‘Foul Line’, that marks the beginning of the lane.
