Ten-Pin Bowling Score Calculator
Type your game as X for a strike, / for a spare, - for a miss and numbers for pins. You get the running total for every frame and the best finish still on.
Examples: X is a strike, 7/ is seven then a spare, 9- is nine then a miss, 81 is eight then one. The tenth frame can have three balls.
Worked examples
A complete game
X 7/ 9- X -8 8/ -6 X X X81
167
Running totals 20, 39, 48, 66, 74, 84, 90, 120, 148 and 167.
A perfect game
Twelve strikes
300
Each of the ten frames scores 30.
About Ten-Pin Bowling Score Calculator
Ten-pin bowling scoring looks mysterious until you see it written out. A game has ten frames, and in each you get up to two balls to knock down ten pins. If you do not clear them, the frame scores the pins you knocked down. A spare, clearing all ten with two balls, scores 10 plus the pins from your next ball. A strike, clearing them with the first ball, scores 10 plus your next two balls.
That borrowing is why a frame's score is not known until later balls are bowled. The tenth frame gives bonus balls after a strike or spare so that the last frame can also borrow, for up to three balls. A perfect game of twelve strikes scores 300. Type your game with X for a strike, a slash for a spare, a dash for a miss and a number for pins, and the calculator shows the running total for each frame and the best you can still reach.
How to use Ten-Pin Bowling Score Calculator
- Type your balls in order using X, /, - and the numbers 1 to 9. Spaces between frames are fine.
- Check the table to see each frame's balls and running total.
- Frames waiting on later balls show their total when those balls are in.
- Look at the best score still possible to see what you are playing for.
Common uses
- Keeping score of a league night by hand
- Checking an alley's scoring display
- Learning how strikes and spares are counted
- Working out the highest score you can still reach
Frequently asked questions
How is a strike scored?
10 points plus the number of pins knocked down by your next two balls. Three strikes in a row score 30 for the first one.
How is a spare scored?
10 points plus the pins from your next ball. A spare followed by a 7 scores 17 for that frame.
What is the highest score in bowling?
300, which is twelve strikes in a row: ten frames and two bonus balls in the tenth.
How does the tenth frame work?
You get a third ball if you bowl a strike or a spare in the frame. After a strike you bowl two more balls with a full set of pins, and after a spare you bowl one.
What is the score for a game of nine and a miss in every frame?
90. Each frame is 9 pins with the second ball missing, 10 frames of 9.