How to score bowling
A game of ten-pin bowling has ten frames. In each of the first nine you get up to two balls to knock down all ten pins, and your score for the frame is the pins you knocked down — plus a bonus if you cleared the rack. The score sheet keeps a running total: each frame's box shows the whole game so far, not just that frame, which is why the number under frame 10 is your final score.
The catch is that a frame with a strike or a spare can't be scored yet when you bowl it. Its bonus depends on balls you haven't thrown. That is why a real score sheet, and this calculator, leaves a frame's total blank until the balls it is waiting on have been rolled.
How strikes and spares are scored
A strike is all ten pins on the first ball. It scores 10 plus the pins from your next two balls. Strike, then 7 and a spare, gives the first frame 10 + 7 + 3 = 20.
A spare is all ten pins using both balls. It scores 10 plus the pins from your next one ball. A spare followed by a 9 on the next first ball is worth 19.
An open frame — pins left standing after two balls — scores just the pins down, with no bonus. Nine and a miss is 9. Put those together and a game that starts strike, 7-spare, 9-miss, strike, strike, 8-1 stands at 104 after six frames, exactly as the sheet above adds it up when you enter it.
How the 10th frame works
The last frame has no next frame to take a bonus from, so it gets its own. Strike or spare in the 10th and you bowl a third ball; leave pins standing after two and the game is over. The 10th frame scores only the pins it knocks down, so three strikes there is worth 30. This is how a perfect game adds up to 300: twelve strikes in a row, every frame worth 30.
A few other totals worth knowing: a spare in every frame with 5 pins on every first ball scores 150, and alternating strikes and spares all game — the "Dutch 200" — scores exactly 200.
Reading a bowling score sheet
Every frame has small boxes for its balls and a larger space below for the running score. The marks are shorthand: X is a strike, / is a spare, - is a ball that missed every pin, and a number is the pins that ball knocked down. A strike in frames 1 to 9 ends the frame, so its second box stays empty.
To use this bowling score counter, tap the keypad for each ball in order — the highlighted box is the one you are filling. Keys that would knock down more pins than are standing are greyed out, and you can tap any filled box to correct it. Bowling with friends? Set the number of players in the top corner of the calculator, name each sheet, and tap a sheet to score that bowler's turn. If you like game tools, the Pokemon type chart works the same tap-and-see way, and for a game night that moves from the lanes to the table, a free online dice roller saves you hunting for the real dice.
FAQ
How do you score a strike in bowling?
A strike scores 10 plus the pins from your next two balls. If you bowl a strike and then 7 and a spare, the strike frame is worth 10 + 7 + 3 = 20.
Two strikes in a row and then an 8 makes the first strike worth 28. Three strikes in a row — a turkey — makes the first one worth the maximum of 30.
How is a spare scored?
A spare scores 10 plus the pins from your next ball. A spare followed by a 9 is worth 19; a spare followed by a strike is worth 20.
That is why the calculator leaves a spare frame's score blank until you have entered the next ball.
How does the 10th frame work in bowling?
If you bowl a strike or a spare in the 10th frame, you get a third ball. If you leave pins standing after two balls, the game ends there.
The 10th frame scores only the pins it knocks down, so its extra balls are its bonus. Three strikes in the 10th is worth 30 points.
What do X, / and - mean on a bowling score sheet?
X is a strike, / is a spare, and - is a ball that knocked down no pins (a miss or a gutter ball). A number is the count of pins that ball knocked down.
After a first ball, the keypad only offers what's still possible: leave 1 pin standing and your choices are / (you got it) or 0 (you missed it).
Can I keep score for more than one bowler?
Yes — choose up to six players in the top corner of the calculator. Each bowler gets their own score sheet and name, and the keypad fills whichever sheet you tap. Every sheet shows that bowler's total, and whoever is ahead is highlighted.
The whole game, names included, is saved in the page address, so you can bookmark it or send it to the group.
What is a perfect game in bowling?
A perfect game is 300: twelve strikes in a row, one in each of the first nine frames and three in the 10th. Every frame scores 30.
What is the highest score without a strike?
190. Bowl 9 and a spare in every frame and 9 on the 10th frame's bonus ball, and each frame scores 10 + 9 = 19. A spare in every frame with 5 on each first ball scores 150.