Intro:
Before you begin
Step 1:
Select your equipment
Step 2:
Understand the lane
Step 3:
Take your stance
Step 4:
Begin your motion and roll
Step 5:
Think about special shots

2torial #0636:
Learn2 Bowl

Have a bowl!

To bowl or not to bowl? Since long before Shakespeare's time, that's been the question. Balls and pins were recently found in ancient Egyptian burial sites that date back to 5200 B.C., but bowling wasn't introduced to America until the 1600s, when Dutch settlers played lawn bowling in an area of Manhattan still known as Bowling Green. The game evolved into the ten pin game we know today in the mid-1800s, when bowlers had to find a way around an anti-gambling law that prohibited the then-popular nine pin version.

Today, bowling is a popular sport among all age groups--probably because it's so easy to learn and fun to do. And just so you don't feel like a bowler from 5200 B.C. who's suddenly been inserted into a modern bowling facility, we'll give you the basics to get you ready for your next outing at the alley.

Like most sports, bowling is best learned through experience. That is, by actually going to a bowling alley and doing it. Perhaps the best piece of advice for the beginning bowler is: just try to hit the pins. It might help, though, to understand some general things about the sport.

As you may already know, the main goal is to knock down as many pins as possible. You get two chances per frame to knock down all ten pins, and there are ten frames per player per game. Usually, you bowl one frame, your score is recorded on a special score sheet, and then someone else takes a turn.

The best score possible is 300. To earn this, you'd have to get a strike (knock down all ten pins with the first ball thrown) in every frame--obviously a rarely accomplished feat. A score of 200 is also considered extraordinary. For beginners, a score of 100 would be impressive, although the average score can range anywhere from 50 to 120.

Regardless of your score, bowling can be a good way to get together with friends and have a fun time. Since most bowling alleys have restaurants and bars, and some play music and have special theme nights, bowling can be one of the more social sports.