How to Keep Track of Scoring in Bowling

Rolling a perfect 300 game, achieved by throwing 12 straight strikes, is bowling's biggest accomplishment. How 12 strikes translates into 300 confuses some people who may not know how bowling is scored. Keeping track of bowling scores takes a bit of practice, but it's an easy game to learn to score. Most games are scored electronically at bowling alleys, but keeping track manually is a good way to practice in case you need to score a game in the future.

Things You'll Need

  • Bowling scoresheet
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Instructions

    • 1

      Add the amount of pins knocked down in each frame. There are 10 frames in bowling. If the bowler gets six pins on the first ball and two on the second, that score adds up to eight and the frame is over. Bowlers then proceed to the next frame. As long as there are no strikes or spares, adding the totals from each frame involves no special rules.

    • 2

      Spares occur when the bowler knocks down all 10 pins in two rolls. Bowling scorers add the result of the next rolled ball onto the spare from that frame. If the bowler gets a spare in the first frame and then knocks down seven pins to start the second , the score will be 17 for the first frame. Proceed from there, adding up pins from the second frame or making another spare mark, if necessary.

    • 3

      Strikes result in two extra turns added to the score. Bowlers who roll a strike in the first frame get the score of 10 plus the result of the next two balls rolled. For example, if a bowler knocks down eight pins in the next frame (in two balls), the eight is added and the bowler has a score of 18 after one frame. Scorers who remember to add one additional roll to a spare and two additional rolls to a strike are on the right track.

    • 4

      Bowlers who keep rolling strikes are rewarded with higher scores. If a bowler rolls three strikes to start a game, known in bowling circles as a "turkey," the bowler gets a 30 for the first frame (10 for the first plus the results of the next two rolled balls). This keeps going until a bowler exhausts the one-roll bonus for a spare or the two-roll bonus for a strike. In short, the more strikes thrown, the higher the score.

    • 5

      The perfect game of 300 results from 12 straight strikes thrown during a game. The 300 total is derived from the score of each frame. Bowlers who roll three straight strikes to start the first three frames get a 30 score for the first frame. That score goes up to 60 in the second, 90 in the third, 120 in the fourth, continuing until the bowler stops rolling strikes.