AnchorFrame 1
Tap the pins left standing
Keyboard: 0-9 pins knocked down, X strike, / spare, - gutter, F foul, Backspace undo. Digits record the count only, so tap pins when you want the exact leave.
How bowling scoring works
A ten-pin bowling game has ten frames. In each of the first nine frames you roll up to two balls to knock down all ten pins. Your score is the total of every frame, and the most you can score is 300. The only thing that makes scoring feel tricky is that strikes and spares borrow pins from the balls that come after them.
Open frames
If you leave pins standing after both balls, the frame is open. You score exactly the pins you knocked down, with no bonus. A 7 then a 2 is worth 9.
Spares
Knock down the remaining pins with your second ball and you have a spare, marked /. A spare scores 10 plus the pins you knock down with your next ball. A 6 and a spare followed by a 5 is worth 10 + 5 = 15 for that frame.
Strikes
Knock down all ten pins with your first ball and you have a strike, marked X. The frame ends there. A strike scores 10 plus the pins from your next two balls, which is why a frame's running total stays blank until those balls are rolled. Two strikes in a row is a double, three is a turkey.
The 10th frame
The last frame is special. If you throw a strike or a spare you earn fill balls so the bonus can be counted: a strike gives you two more balls, a spare gives you one. The pins from two or three balls are added together with no extra bonus, and the rack is reset after a strike or a spare. If you leave the frame open you only roll two balls. That is how twelve strikes in a row add up to 300.
Fouls, gutters and splits
A ball that misses every pin is a gutter, shown as a dash. A foul, crossing the foul line, is shown as F and scores zero for that ball. A split is a leave where the headpin is down and the standing pins are not connected, such as the 7-10. Splits are hard to convert, so this calculator tracks them separately in your stats.
A worked example
Here is a complete 164-point game. Enter these balls into the calculator above to see the same sheet: 9 0, 6 4, 10, 8 2, 7 0, 10, 10, 4 5, 9 1, 10 8 1.
| Frame | Marks | Frame value | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 – | 9 (open) | 9 |
| 2 | 6 / | 10 + 10 (next ball is the strike) = 20 | 29 |
| 3 | X | 10 + 8 + 2 = 20 | 49 |
| 4 | 8 / | 10 + 7 = 17 | 66 |
| 5 | 7 – | 7 (open) | 73 |
| 6 | X | 10 + 10 + 4 = 24 | 97 |
| 7 | X | 10 + 4 + 5 = 19 | 116 |
| 8 | 4 5 | 9 (open) | 125 |
| 9 | 9 / | 10 + 10 = 20 | 145 |
| 10 | X 8 1 | 10 + 8 + 1 = 19 | 164 |
Notice frame 2: a spare takes only the next single ball, here the strike in frame 3, so it adds 10. Frame 3's strike then looks at the next two balls, 8 and 2.
What is a perfect game?
A perfect game is 300: twelve strikes in a row, nine for frames one to nine and three in the 10th. Every one of the first nine frames is worth 30 (10 plus two strikes), and the 10th frame adds another 30. The running total goes 30, 60, 90 and so on up to 300. Try it above by pressing the Strike button twelve times.
How does handicap work?
Handicap lets bowlers of different ability compete fairly. Most leagues take a base score, usually 200 to 220, and award a percentage of the gap between the base and your average. A common setup is a base of 210 at 90 percent. With a 185 average your handicap is (210 − 185) × 0.9 = 22.5, rounded down to 22, so a 170 game counts as 192. If your average is at or above the base, your handicap is zero, never negative. Anchor for iOS works out handicap from your own games for you.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate a bowling score?
Add up ten frames. Open frames score their pins, spares score 10 plus your next ball, and strikes score 10 plus your next two balls. The 10th frame simply adds its two or three balls.
How is a strike scored in bowling?
A strike is 10 plus the pins from your next two balls. If your next two balls are also strikes, the frame is worth 30.
How is a spare scored in bowling?
A spare is 10 plus the pins from your next single ball.
How does scoring work in the 10th frame?
A strike earns two fill balls and a spare earns one. All the pins are added with no further bonus. An open 10th frame ends after two balls.
What is the lowest possible bowling score?
Zero. Twenty gutter balls or misses leave every frame worth nothing.
What is a split in bowling?
A split is a first-ball leave with the headpin down and a gap between the remaining pins, such as 7-10, 4-6 or 5-10. A leave that includes the headpin is never a split.
Does this calculator work offline?
Yes. Once the page has loaded it needs no connection to score a game, and your games are stored in your browser. Only the web fonts need the network.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. Games, names and stats stay in your browser's local storage and are never uploaded. Use Export JSON to keep a copy.