Sorting Out Strikes and Spares

Sorting Out Strikes and Spares - Bowling Game Scoring
 
Believe it or not, the ordinary leisure bowler, while capable of doing well on the bowling alley, may be completely unable to keep score.
 
Many bowling alleys now use an automated scoring system that calculates the scores for them. While it isn't really a talent that may help you improve your game, knowing how to score a game is an important part of understanding bowling.

The following is a simple (hopefully) to understand walk-through of how the fallen pins convert to points on the board:
 
1. As you may be aware, each game is separated into ten frames. That figure relates to the number of boxes in a row next to a player's name on the scoreboard. Each box contains a tiny box in the upper left corner.
 
2. Write down the number of pins that fell on the player's first try of the frame in the smaller box.
 
3. Write the number of pins that fell on the second try in the box adjacent to the smaller one where you recorded the first attempt.
 
4. Add the two numbers and write the total in the bigger area at the bottom of the box.
 
5. If you got a strike on the first try, mark it with a 'X' in the little box. Add 10 points (for the strike) to the total number of pins recorded in the preceding box and note it in the totals section of that specific frame.
 
6. If a second strike followed the first, add 10 points for the first strike and another 10 points for the second, but before closing the score for this frame, note the number of pins that fell on the first try of the following frame. Add this number to the previous frame's 20 points.
 
7. If you have a spare, put a slash (/) in the little box after all of the pins have been knocked down on the second try. Then, add the number of pins that fall on the first try in the next frame to the 10 points from the spare. Fill in this figure in the totals section of the frame where the spare was created.
 
The tediousness of the procedure is obscured by the ease with which machines perform it, but it is part of understanding what bowling is all about. Taking the time to practice the game will let one fully understand it in all of its elements.