A game of tenpin bowling is ten frames: you get two deliveries in each of the first nine frames to knock down ten pins, unless you bowl a strike, and a strike or spare in the 10th frame earns you a third ball. The maximum score is 300, which takes 12 strikes in a row.
This page follows the USBC Playing Rulebook, as of November 2026, in its 2026-2027 season edition. The USBC is the national governing body for bowling in the United States, and the rulebook covers the American tenpins game. Leagues can add their own rules on top, so check yours if you join one.
Ten frames and how many balls you get
In each of the first nine frames you deliver up to two balls. If your first ball is a strike, that's your frame done. In the 10th frame you deliver three balls if you score a strike or a spare, and two if you don't.
Players bowl in regular order, and every frame must be completed by each player in turn. A delivery is made when the ball leaves your possession and crosses the foul line into playing territory, and it has to be made entirely by manual means. Every delivery counts unless a dead ball is declared.
Leagues and tournaments must be bowled on USBC certified lanes with USBC approved equipment. Before you bowl, it's your job to check the setup of ten pins and insist that any wrongly set pin is respotted. If you don't, the setup is deemed acceptable.
Strikes, spares, opens and splits
| Result | Meaning | How it's marked | What it's worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strike | All ten pins down with the first delivery of a frame | An x in the small square at the upper right of the frame | 10 plus the pins from your next two deliveries |
| Spare | The pins left after your first delivery all knocked down with the second | A slash | 10 plus the pins from your next delivery |
| Open | Fewer than 10 pins down after two deliveries | First delivery's count beside the small square, second inside it, or a dash if no standing pins fall | Just the pins knocked down |
A split is a setup of pins left standing after the first delivery, as long as the head pin is down and at least one pin is down either between two or more standing pins, like the 7-9 or the 3-10, or immediately ahead of two or more standing pins, like the 5-6. Splits are tough to convert, which is why they get their own name.
Bowling scoring, worked through
Strikes and spares aren't worth their value straight away. A strike waits for your next two deliveries and a spare for your next one, so a frame's score can change after you've bowled it. Here's an illustration of my own, using only the strike and spare formulas above:
- Frame 1: you bowl a strike. You can't write a number yet, because it waits for your next two deliveries.
- Frame 2: you knock down 7, then 2. That's an open frame worth 9, and frame 1 is now 10 plus 7 plus 2, which is 19.
- Running total after frame 2: 19 plus 9, which is 28.
- Frame 3: you knock down 6, then the other 4 for a spare. It waits for your next delivery.
- Frame 4: your first ball knocks down 8. Frame 3 is now 10 plus 8, which is 18, so the running total after frame 3 is 46.
Notice how frame 1 didn't get its number until two deliveries later. That delay is why people new to bowling think the screen's gone wrong.
Doubles, turkeys and the 300 game
Two strikes in a row is a double. The count for the first strike of a double is 20 plus the pins knocked down with the first delivery after the second strike.
Three strikes in a row is a triple, also called a turkey, and the count for the first strike is 30. To bowl the maximum score of 300, you have to bowl 12 strikes in succession: one in each of the first nine frames, then all three balls in the 10th.
The foul line
A foul happens when part of your body goes on or beyond the foul line and touches any part of the lane, equipment or building, during or after a delivery. Your shoes and clothing count as part of your body.
Here's the catch. When a foul is recorded, the delivery still counts, but you get no credit for any pins it knocked down. So stepping over on your first ball uses up that ball and wipes out its pins.
The ball itself isn't part of your body, so a ball rolling over the line on its own isn't a foul. The foul line is also treated as infinite in length, running through walls, floors, posts and ball returns. Something falling out of your pocket, like a pen or coins, isn't a foul, and you should ask permission before crossing the line to pick it up.
A bowler who fouls deliberately to benefit from the call gets zero pinfall for that delivery and isn't allowed any more deliveries in that frame. In league play, the opposing team captains call fouls unless there's an automatic foul detecting device or a foul judge. In tournaments, management assigns a foul judge or has the official scorers call them.
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Which pins count: pinfall, dead wood and dead balls
Legal pinfall includes pins knocked down or off the lane by the ball or by another pin, and pins knocked down by a pin bouncing back off a side partition or rear cushion. No pins may be conceded: only pins knocked down or moved entirely off the playing area by a legal delivery count.
Pins that lean and touch the kickback or side partition are called dead wood, and they have to be removed before the next delivery. Pins that bounce back and end up standing on the lane count as standing pins. If a pin is still standing but the machine registers it as down, it's still a standing pin, and the score gets corrected.
Illegal pinfall means the delivery counts but the pins don't. Examples are a ball that leaves the lane before reaching the pins, a ball rebounding from the rear cushion, a pin knocked down while dead wood is being cleared, and a foul.
A dead ball is different: the delivery doesn't count at all, the correct pins are respotted and you bowl it again. Reasons include a missing pin noticed straight after the delivery, bowling on the wrong lane or out of turn, and the ball hitting something like the sweep bar coming down.
My verdict for a night at the lanes
I'd learn two things before your first frame: a strike is 10 plus your next two balls and a spare is 10 plus your next one, and you stay behind the foul line or your pins don't count. Those two rules explain almost every number on the screen. Glance at the lane number too, because bowling on the wrong one means a rebowl.
I'd skip the dead wood, pinsetter and foul judge rules unless you join a league, where they start to matter. For other games where you aim at a target, my bocce rules guide and cornhole rules suit a garden, and darts is the classic pub alternative.
Frequently asked questions
How many frames are in a game of bowling?
Ten. You get two deliveries in each of the first nine frames unless you bowl a strike, and three in the 10th frame if you score a strike or spare.
How is a strike scored in bowling?
A strike is worth 10 plus the pins you knock down with your next two deliveries.
How is a spare scored in bowling?
A spare is worth 10 plus the pins you knock down with your next delivery.
What is a perfect game in bowling?
300. To bowl the maximum score the player must bowl 12 strikes in succession.
What happens if you step over the foul line?
The delivery counts, but you get no credit for any pins knocked down by it.
