Ten Pin Bowling - Glossary

This section will familiarise you with some of the jargon and symbols used in ten pin bowling.

/	Used to denote a spare on the scoresheet.
Double	When a bowler gets two strikes in a row.
Four-Bagger (Five-Bagger etc)	When a bowler gets four (or more) strikes in a row.
Frame	Part of a game where the bowler tries to knock over all 10 pins. He has two tries at doing this. There are 10 frames in a game.
Game	A game consists of 10 frames of bowling. Normally there are 3 games in a match.
Gutter	Where you don't wanna be! Channel at the side of the lane where the ball falls when it has gone too wide. Balls entering in the gutter cannot knock any pins over.
Half-Strike	Another name for a spare.
Handicap	An amount given to a player to add onto his scratch score to try and even the games out between experienced players and non-experienced players. Currently the formula used to calculate this is: (200 - average) * 75%.
Handicap Score	Term used to describe a player's score that includes his handicap.
Lane	Used to describe the playing area for bowling. It has a gutter down either side and the pins stand at the far end.
Match	A match consists of three games.
Pin	Sometimes known as a Skittle, although that is actually a different game. These are the things you try and knock down with your ball. There are ten of them stood at the end of the lane, hence the name: Ten Pin Bowling.
Scratch Score	Actual number of pins knocked over by the bowler during a game or match.
Series	Used to describe the total from all the games played in a match.
Spare	Where a bowlers knocks all ten pins down at the second attempt. This allows the bowler to add on the number of pins knocked down with his next ball.
Strike	Where a bowler knocks all ten pins down at the first attempt. This allows the bowler to add on the number of pins knocked down with his next two balls.
Turkey	When a bowler gets three strikes in a row.
X	Used to denote a strike on the scoresheet.