Ninh explains, the Rules of Candlepin Bowling. The object of the game is to knock down more
pins than your opponent. Candlepin Bowling, is a variation of ten pin
bowling, that is predominantly played in the North East of the United States, and the maritime
provinces of Canada. It’s played very similar to ten pin bowling and is played on a surface
known as a lane. The lanes are 60ft long and are up to 42 inches
wide, but lane can vary depending on location. If you bowl the ball wide of the lane, they
land in the gutters and will be carried past the pins.
The pins themselves are taller, but significantly thinner than ten pin bowling pins. They’re
spaced in the identical spots and each pin is designated a number.
A bowler uses a small, light ball, and has up to a 16 ft approach to the foul line, which
is the start of the lane. A game is divided into 10 frames or 10 boxes.
Each box represents one turn for the bowler. In a turn, a player is allowed to roll the
ball up to three times. This means that you have three chances to
knock down all 10 pins, as opposed to just two chances in ten pin bowling.
If you fail to knock down all 10 pins with your three balls, this is known as an ‘open
frame’ or ‘open box’ and this scores the exact number of pins that you knocked
down.
If you knock down all 10 pins with all three balls, this is known as a ‘derby’ and
this scores exactly 10 points. If you knock down all 10 pins with two balls,
this is known as a ‘spare’ – and this scores 10 plus the number of pins knocked
down with the next ball. For example, if you score a spare and then with the next ball
score 9, the spare box is 10+9, which is 19. And if you knock down all 10 pins with your
first ball, this is known as a ‘strike’. This scores 10, plus the number of pins you
knock down with your next two balls. For example, if you score a strike, and then
follow it up with another two strikes, the first box is scored as 10 + 10 + 10 = 30 points.
Players generally alternate turns between boxes, and once both bowlers have finished
10 boxes each, the person with the highest score … wins.
So what’s the point? Why not just play ten pin bowling?
Some people prefer this game because the ball isn’t anywhere near as heavy and is less
of a strain on the body to bowl. Also, with the fact that the pins are a lot narrower,
it’s harder to get strikes, so this is a bigger challenge to some. You also get three
chances as opposed to just two with ten pin bowling, which again, appeals to some people.
But one of the biggest differences between this and ten pin bowling that people may prefer,
is the fact that the pins are not necessarily cleared out of the way in between bowls. This
is the deadwood line and any pins that have fallen behind this line stay where they are.
This means that players can deflect the fallen pins, known as ‘wood’ into the remaining
standing pins in order to help knock them down. This adds an extra dimension to the
game and plays in the strategy of the sport. Any pins that roll forward of this line, are
removed from play. You also have to manually reset the pinsetter
machine after you have had your turn. This is done automatically in ten pin bowling.
That’s the bare basics of candlepin bowling, but there’s a few other things you need
to know before playing or watching a game. For example:
Format. The most common format is a single match,
where one person plays against another person. But there are also competitions for teams
of 2,3 or 4 players to bowl against another team. There are separate contests for men
and women, or a mixture of both. Split
This is where the first ball of a frame or box results in pins away from each other still
standing. This is known as a split.
Terminology. Candlepin bowling has unique terminology that
isn’t found in other types of bowling. Some of these terms include.
- Head pin and King pin, which refers to the #1 and #5 pin respectively.
- Wood. Which is any fallen pin that is lying on the lane behind the deadwood line. It’s
also known as live wood. - Deadwood. Which is any fallen pin that is
lying on the lane in front of the deadwood line or in the gutter.
- Four horsemen – where the only pins left standing are the four pins in a diagonal to
the left or right. - Diamond – where the pins left standing
form a diamond shape. - Half Worcester – where the bowler misses
the head pin and strikes the 2 pin or the 3 pin too directly, only punching out the
pin directly behind it. This makes it difficult to complete a spare.
- If you roll two half Worcesters, i.e. clearing the 2,3,8,9, pins, this is known as a Full
Worcester. - And a mark refers to either a strike or
a spare. Foul
This either refers to a ball that is rolled into the gutter, or a player that has stepped
across the foul line when. Doing so will count as a ball, but will not
score. The pins that are knocked down are replaced.
Also, any pins that are knocked down by a ball in the gutter or by bouncing off deadwood
into the pins count either.
Perfect Game (300)
As in regular ten pin bowling, the maximum you can score is 300 points. This is done
by rolling 12 strikes in a row. Why 12 strikes, instead of 10? Because, if a bowler gets a
strike in the last frame, the score for that frame can't be recorded before rolling twice
more. This is known as a ‘Perfect Game’ or a 300, and is the equivalent of a 147 Maximum
Break in Snooker or a 9 Dart Finish in Darts. Having said that, nobody has officially done
so. The highest score ever recorded in an officially sanctioned game is just 245, so
if you want to try and roll a perfect game, you’d be the first person in history to
do so. Be sure to check out my other video on ten
pin bowling if you’re still not sure. But if you have found this video at all helpful,
please be sure to like share and subscribe. It takes me ages to make one of these things
and good karma is very much appreciated. Follow me on Twitter also and share this video on
Reddit, but in the meantime, enjoy Candlepin Bowling.
Ninh Ly - www.ninh.co.uk - @NinhLyUK