How Bowling Scoring Works: Strikes, Spares and the 10th Frame
How bowling is scored frame by frame: open frames, spares, strikes, the 10th frame and the perfect game of 300, with a complete sample game and the symbols on the score sheet.
Tina Mendo
How bowling scoring works in brief
A game of bowling has ten frames. In each frame you have up to two deliveries to knock down all ten pins. Every pin counts one point. A strike or a spare earns bonus points from the following deliveries, and that bonus is what makes bowling scoring look complicated at first. The highest possible score is 300.
This guide explains bowling scoring frame by frame, with examples and a complete sample game, so you can follow any score sheet and check it yourself.
The three results of a frame
- Open frame: pins are still standing after two deliveries. The frame is worth the number of pins you knocked down.
- Spare: you knock down all ten pins with two deliveries. The frame is worth 10 plus the pins of your next delivery.
- Strike: you knock down all ten pins with the first delivery. The frame is worth 10 plus the pins of your next two deliveries.
Because the bonus depends on deliveries still to come, the score of a strike or spare frame can only be filled in once those deliveries have been bowled.
Open frames
An open frame is simple addition. Example: 7 pins with the first delivery and 1 with the second – the frame is worth 8 points. An open frame is worth at most 9 points.
Spares: 10 plus the next delivery
Example: you bowl a spare in frame 3 and then knock down 7 pins with the first delivery in frame 4. Frame 3 is worth 10 + 7 = 17 points.
So the first delivery after a spare counts twice: once as the bonus for the spare and once in its own frame. A spare followed by a strike is worth 20 points, the most a spare can earn.
Strikes: 10 plus the next two deliveries
Example: you bowl a strike in frame 5 and then 6 and 3 in frame 6. Frame 5 is worth 10 + 6 + 3 = 19 points.
Double and turkey
- Double (two strikes in a row): if you strike in frames 1 and 2 and then knock down 7 pins, frame 1 is worth 10 + 10 + 7 = 27 points.
- Turkey (three strikes in a row): the first of the three strikes is worth 10 + 10 + 10 = 30 points, the maximum for a single frame.
The 10th frame
In the last frame there are no further frames to provide the bonus, so the bonus deliveries are bowled within the 10th frame:
- Strike with the first delivery: two more deliveries (three in total).
- Spare with the first two deliveries: one more delivery (three in total).
- Open frame: the game ends after two deliveries.
All pins in the 10th frame count directly towards that frame. Example: strike, strike, 8 – the 10th frame is worth 10 + 10 + 8 = 28 points.
The perfect game: 300
A perfect game consists of twelve strikes in a row: one in each of frames 1 to 9 and three in the 10th frame. Each frame is then worth 30 points, and 10 × 30 = 300.
A sample game
X stands for a strike, / for a spare.
| Frame | Deliveries | Result | Frame score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8, 1 | Open | 9 | 9 |
| 2 | X | Strike | 10 + 6 + 3 = 19 | 28 |
| 3 | 6, 3 | Open | 9 | 37 |
| 4 | 7, / | Spare | 10 + 10 = 20 | 57 |
| 5 | X | Strike | 10 + 10 + 6 = 26 | 83 |
| 6 | X | Strike | 10 + 6 + 2 = 18 | 101 |
| 7 | 6, 2 | Open | 8 | 109 |
| 8 | 9, / | Spare | 10 + 10 = 20 | 129 |
| 9 | X | Strike | 10 + 8 + 1 = 19 | 148 |
| 10 | 8, 1 | Open | 9 | 157 |
Final score: 157. The double in frames 5 and 6 makes the difference here: frame 5 alone is worth 26 points because it is followed by another strike and then 6 pins.
Symbols on the score sheet
- X – strike
- / – spare
- – – a delivery that knocks down no pins
- F – foul: if you step over the foul line on a delivery, it counts as zero pins, even if pins fall
- Circled number – split: the pins left standing after the first delivery have a gap between them
Scoring overview
| Result | Calculation | Maximum per frame |
|---|---|---|
| Open frame | Pins knocked down | 9 |
| Spare | 10 + next delivery | 20 |
| Strike | 10 + next two deliveries | 30 |
Automatic scoring and World Bowling scoring
Bowling centers calculate the score automatically. If a pin is not registered correctly, the display can be wrong – with the formulas above you can check it yourself and ask the staff to correct it.
Besides the traditional system described here, World Bowling has introduced a simplified alternative: a strike counts 30 points straight away, a spare counts 10 plus the first delivery of the same frame, and there are no bonus deliveries in the 10th frame. The maximum is also 300, reached with ten strikes.
What this means for your game
Strikes bring the most points, but spares keep your score climbing. Every converted spare avoids an open frame and adds a bonus from the next delivery. If you want to bowl more consistently, start with a repeatable approach – our beginner's guide covers the basics, and your own bowling shoes help with a predictable slide.
Further reading: Bowling rules explained simply · Bowling glossary · Bowling for beginners