Bowling score calculator

Type the game ball by ball, the way a scoresheet reads. A half-finished game works too: you get the score so far and the best you can still finish with.

Score

Final score 167

5 strikes and 2 spares.

-8

-6

120

148

X81

167

Frame by frame

Frame	Marks	Pins	Frame score	Running total
1	X	10	20	20
2	7 /	7 + 3	19	39
3	9 -	9 + 0	9	48
4	X	10	18	66
5	- 8	0 + 8	8	74
6	8 /	8 + 2	10	84
7	- 6	0 + 6	6	90
8	X	10	30	120
9	X	10	28	148
10	X 8 1	10 + 8 + 1	19	167

How to use it

Enter each ball in order. Write a strike as X, a spare as / after the first ball's count, a gutter or miss as -, and a foul as F (it counts as zero pins). Any other ball is just the number of pins it knocked down. Spaces are for your own readability: X7/9- and X 7/ 9- are read the same way. If you prefer numbers, 10 written on its own is a strike, and 7 3 is a spare.

The calculator checks every ball against the pins actually standing. It will refuse an 8 followed by a 5 in the same frame, a spare on a first ball, or a thirteenth ball after a finished game, and tell you which frame the problem is in, which catches most transcription errors from a paper sheet.

The scoring rules

Ten-pin bowling scores a game in ten frames. In each of the first nine frames you get up to two balls to knock down ten pins.

Open frame (pins left standing after two balls): the frame scores the pins knocked down.
Spare (all ten with two balls): 10 plus the next ball.
Strike (all ten with the first ball): 10 plus the next two balls, and the frame ends at once.
Tenth frame: a strike earns two fill balls and a spare earns one, so the bonus can be counted. The rack is reset whenever it is cleared.

Because a strike or spare waits for later balls, a frame's score is not known the moment it is bowled. The calculator marks those frames "pending" and leaves the running total blank from that point, just as a scorer would. The best-possible score assumes every remaining ball knocks down every pin still standing.

Worked example

The default game is X 7/ 9- X -8 8/ -6 X X X81. Frame 1 is a strike followed by 7 and 3, so it scores 10 + 7 + 3 = 20. Frame 2 is a spare followed by a 9: 10 + 9 = 19, running total 39. Frame 3 is an open 9, total 48. Frame 4 is a strike followed by a miss and an 8: 18, total 66. Frame 5 is an open 8 (74), frame 6 a spare followed by a miss (10, total 84), frame 7 an open 6 (90). Frame 8 is a strike followed by two strikes, worth 30 (120). Frame 9 is a strike followed by a strike and an 8, worth 28 (148). The tenth is a strike, 8 and 1: 19, for a final score of 167.

Reference games

Game	Notation	Score
Twelve strikes (perfect game)	X X X X X X X X X X X X	300
Strike and spare alternating (“Dutch 200”)	X 9/ X 9/ X 9/ X 9/ X 9/X	200
A spare every frame, 9 on every first ball	9/ 9/ 9/ 9/ 9/ 9/ 9/ 9/ 9/ 9/9	190
A spare every frame, 5 on every first ball	5/ 5/ 5/ 5/ 5/ 5/ 5/ 5/ 5/ 5/5	150
Nine and a miss every frame	9- 9- 9- 9- 9- 9- 9- 9- 9- 9-	90
Eleven strikes, then 9 on the last ball	X X X X X X X X X X X 9	299

What it does not cover

This is standard ten-pin scoring as used in leagues and on alley scoring systems. It does not score candlepin, duckpin or five-pin bowling, which have different rules. It does not apply league handicaps, which are usually a percentage of the difference between a bowler's average and a basis score, and vary by league.

Some newer formats use "current frame" scoring, where a strike is simply worth 30 and a spare 10 plus the first ball's pins, so that the score is known immediately. That system gives different totals from traditional scoring and is not what this calculator does. It also does not record splits, which are marked on paper sheets with a circle around the first ball's count but do not affect the score.

Common questions

How do you score a strike in bowling?

A strike is worth 10 plus the pins knocked down by your next two balls. A strike followed by a 7 and a 2 is worth 10 + 7 + 2 = 19. A strike followed by two more strikes is worth 30, which is the most any frame can score.

How do you score a spare?

A spare (all ten pins with both balls of a frame) is worth 10 plus the pins from your next single ball. A spare followed by a first ball of 8 is worth 18. That is why the first ball after a spare matters twice: it counts in its own frame and as the bonus.

How does the tenth frame work?

In the tenth frame a strike or spare earns extra balls so that its bonus can be counted: a strike gives two more balls, a spare gives one. Those fill balls count only toward the tenth frame; they are not a frame of their own. That is why a perfect game is twelve strikes, not ten.

What is the highest possible score?

300, from twelve consecutive strikes. Each of the ten frames is worth 30. A single miss anywhere drops the maximum: eleven strikes followed by a 9 scores 299, which is the highest score short of perfect.

Does this work for candlepin or duckpin bowling?

No. It scores ten-pin bowling under the standard rules. Candlepin and duckpin allow three balls per frame and do not clear fallen pins (called wood) between balls, which changes the scoring, and five-pin bowling gives pins different values.