How to Figure Total Pins in Bowling

Bowling strikes and spares might be hard to get for newcomers to the sport, but neither is as difficult as trying to understand the scoring system. You have two rolls per frame to knock 10 pins down, and a total of 10 frames. If you roll a strike by knocking all pins down, you are done for that frame. Because strikes and spares cause the points to be multiplied, you cannot simply count the number of pins you knock down to get your overall score. Once you know the basics, it's just a matter of a little multiplication.

Instructions

    • 1

      Find a bowling scoring sheet, or create one with a notepad. Make 10 large boxes, then draw a line in the middle to split the boxes. Create two smaller boxes in the top of each frame for a total of 20 smaller boxes. The smaller top boxes contain the rolls per frame. The bottom, larger box is where you write in the total current score.

    • 2

      Write down the number of pins knocked down per roll. For instance, if you knocked down five pins on your first roll and 3 more on the second roll, that frame would say "5,3." Mark down any strikes with an "X" and any spare with a "/" mark. A strike is when you knock down all 10 pins on the first roll. A spare is when you knock down all 10 pins within the same frame, but it takes you two bowls to do so. If you hit nine pins on the first roll and knock the last pin down on the second roll of the frame, the scoring for that frame would look like "9/."

    • 3

      Starting with the first frame, add up the total score below the frame. For instance, if you knocked five pins down on the first roll, then knocked the other five on the second roll, it would equal 10 total pins for the frame.

    • 4

      Score the second frame, keeping in mind the multipliers from the previous frame. When you throw a spare, you add the next roll to the score of the previous frame. For instance, suppose you knock down seven pins on the first roll of the second frame, then two more on the second roll. Using the previous example, and assuming you rolled a spare in the first frame, you would add those seven pins to the score of the first frame. So instead of scoring a 10 for frame one, your score would now be 17 for frame one and nine for frame two. So the total score through two frames is 17 + 9 = 26.

    • 5

      Calculate the rest of the frames in sequential order. Bowling a strike means that you add the following two rolls to the previous frame score. For instance, say you bowl a strike for the third, fourth and fifth frames. Your score would be 10 + 10 + 10 = 30, for the third frame. That is because you add the 10 pins knocked down in the third frame plus the next two rolls, both of which were 10-pin strikes. After three frames your score would be 17 + 9 + 30 = 56. Continue scoring this way until you get to the last frame.

    • 6

      Calculate the 10th and final frame. The last frame gives you three rolls, but only if you get a spare or a strike. If you roll twice and don't knock all the pins over, the frame is finished. If you bowl a spare, you get a third and final bowl. If you get a strike on the first roll of the 10th frame, you get another two rolls for a possibility of three strikes in the last frame. If you bowled strikes for the rest of the game your score would be: 17 + 9 + 30 + 30 + 30 + 30 + 30 + 30 + 30 + 30 = 266.