So where did bowling start?
Archaeologists have discovered bowling balls, pins and other equipment in an Egyptian child's grave dating back to 5200 B.C. So we know that Egyptians were playing a form of bowling centuries ago. In Germany, back in A.D. 200, village dances and celebrations included a similar form of the game -- they rolled stones at nine wooden clubs called kegles. Bowlers in Germany are sometimes still referred to as "keglers." Bowling was recorded in England as early as the 1100s. In the Netherlands people took up a related game, and it was the Dutch who introduced the sport to America in the 1600s -- it was called Dutch pins. In what is now New York City, Dutch residents bowled in a section of the city still known as "Bowling Green."
In America the game became very popular. But people began to gamble on the sport, and for a while it was looked on as an evil event. The state of Connecticut outlawed "bowling at nine pins," as it was described. To get around that law, residents added an additional pin and this was the beginning of the 10-pin game played today! By the mid-1900s, the sport was once again an accepted form of family recreation. Now, bowling is recognised all over the world as an exciting, competetive and physically challenging game for the whole family and professionals!
The modern game of bowling
A game of Ten-Pin Bowling is divided into ten rounds (called "frames"). In a frame, each player is given two opportunities to knock down the skittle targets (called "pins").
He or she rolls the first ball at the pins. Whatever pins are knocked down are counted and scored. Then the player rolls a second ball at any remaining targets. In the event that all ten pins were razed with the first ball (a "strike"), the player receives points and a bonus, and play passes to the next competitor.
A player has no more than two balls to play in each frame (one exception applies, see below), so even if he or she fails to knock over any pins, after having taken two shots, play passes to the next competitor.
The ten pins are usually automatically set by machine into a triangle with four pins in the back row, then three, two, and finally one in the front, at the centre of the lane. Obviously, due to the spacing of the pins, it is impossible for the ball to strike every one, therefore a tactical shot is required, which will result in a chain reaction of pin hitting pin. In order to count, the pin must be knocked over entirely; in unlucky circumstances, a pin may wobble furiously, yet come to rest upright, thus not being scored.
