How to Keep Track of Marks in Bowling

The mark of a proficient bowler is the number of marks he records during a game. A bowler's goal is to knock down 10 pins in each frame to earn a mark, such as a strike or a spare. Most bowling establishments keep score automatically, but keeping track of your own score to make sure that the automatic scoring is accurate. Using a bowling score sheet will allow you to keep track of your marks in bowling.

Things You'll Need

  • Bowling score sheet
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Instructions

    • 1

      Obtain a paper score sheet and a pen or pencil from the front desk at your bowling establishment.

    • 2

      Mark down everyone's name in the order that each is bowling on the score sheet.

    • 3

      Note how may pins the first bowler knocked down when he threw his first ball down the lane in a given frame. Mark an "X" or fill in completely the square in the upper right corner of the corresponding frame if he knocked down all the pins -- this is mark known as a "strike" and the frame would look like [X]. Record the total pins he knocked down if any remain standing in the space next to the single box in the frame -- the bowler then gets to throw a second ball to try to knock down the rest of the pins in that frame.

    • 4

      Write down how many pins the bowler knocked down using the second throw in the frame in the box in the upper right corner of the frame. If he knocked down the remaining pins, mark the box with a diagonal line ("/") or and leave as is or fill in only half of the square (the part below the "/") in the box in with pencil or ink -- this is known as a "spare." For example, if the bowler knocked down nine pins on his first ball and picked up the spare with the second, the frame would look like 9 [/].

    • 5

      Continue scoring in this way, keeping track of all strikes and spares, until the end of the game.