Bowling Score Calculator
Tap in each ball like a real scoresheet and see the running total for every frame and your final score. Advanced adds the most you can still score, what you need, several players, average and handicap.
Fills the sheet of the player you’ve picked. Spaces are optional; 10 also means a strike.
How your score is worked out
Your game, step by step. Score = pins knocked down + strike bonuses + spare bonuses.
- 1
Count the pins
all balls, 10 frames
= 108 pins - 2
Strike bonuses
4 strikes × 2 balls
= +48 - 3
Spare bonuses
3 spares × 1 ball
= +28 - 4
Add it up
108 + 48 + 28
= 184
Read more: the formula, a worked example, marks, the 10th frame and notes
Ten-pin bowling is scored frame by frame. Each frame starts with 10 pins and you get up to two balls to knock them down. Knock them all down and you earn a bonus from the balls that follow, which is why a run of strikes adds up so fast.
The formula
open frame = pins knocked down with both balls
spare (/) = 10 + pins from your next ball
strike (X) = 10 + pins from your next two balls
10th frame = pins from its 2 or 3 balls (no extra bonus)
game score = all 10 frames added up
= all pins + strike bonuses + spare bonuses
A frame’s running total = the frame before it + this frame’s score. A strike or spare frame has no total until its bonus balls are bowled.
Worked example
The default game is X 7/ 9- X X 8/ 9- X 7/ X9/.
| Frame | Balls | Frame score | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | X | 10 + 7 + 3 = 20 | 20 |
| 2 | 7 / | 10 + 9 = 19 | 39 |
| 3 | 9 - | 9 + 0 = 9 | 48 |
| 4 | X | 10 + 10 + 8 = 28 | 76 |
| 5 | X | 10 + 8 + 2 = 20 | 96 |
| 6 | 8 / | 10 + 9 = 19 | 115 |
| 7 | 9 - | 9 + 0 = 9 | 124 |
| 8 | X | 10 + 7 + 3 = 20 | 144 |
| 9 | 7 / | 10 + 10 = 20 | 164 |
| 10 | X 9 / | 10 + 9 + 1 = 20 | 184 |
The same total the other way: the balls knock down 10 + 7 + 3 + 9 + 0 + 10 + 10 + 8 + 2 + 9 + 0 + 10 + 7 + 3 + 10 + 9 + 1 = 108 pins. The four strikes in frames 1–9 add bonuses of 10 + 18 + 10 + 10 = 48, and the three spares add 9 + 9 + 10 = 28. 108 + 48 + 28 = 184.
With current frame scoring the same game would be 30 + 17 + 9 + 30 + 30 + 18 + 9 + 30 + 17 + 30 = 220.
Scores to know
| Game | Score |
|---|---|
| 12 strikes in a row (perfect game) | 300 |
| A spare every frame, 9 first ball, 9 on the fill ball | 190 |
| A spare every frame, 5 first ball, 5 on the fill ball | 150 |
| Strike and spare in turn (X 9/ X 9/ … ) | 200 |
| 9 pins every frame, no marks (9-) | 90 |
| Gutter every ball | 0 |
Notes
- Marks. X = strike, / = spare, - = miss, F = foul (counts as 0). A strike in frames 1–9 ends the frame, so its second box stays empty.
- 10th frame. A strike earns two more balls and a spare one more. After a strike, the next two balls are bowled at fresh racks only if they clear the pins, so X 7 / is possible but X 7 5 is not.
- What you need. The plan shown is the easiest steady way to reach your target: the same open frame or spare every frame, or a few strikes in a row then 9/ spares. Many other mixes get you there too.
- Handicap. Leagues commonly give (basis − your average) × a percentage, such as 90% of 220, with fractions dropped. Your league sets its own basis, percentage and rounding, so check its rules.
- Current frame scoring. World Bowling has used this simpler system (strike 30, spare 10 + first ball, no 10th-frame bonus balls) at some events. Most bowling centres and leagues still use the traditional scoring above.
Common questions
How is a bowling score worked out?
A game has 10 frames. An open frame scores the pins you knock down. A strike (all 10 with the first ball) scores 10 plus your next two balls. A spare (all 10 with two balls) scores 10 plus your next ball. Add the 10 frames up for your score.
How does the 10th frame work?
Strike in the 10th and you get two more balls; spare and you get one more. Those bonus balls only count towards the 10th frame. With an open 10th frame the game ends after two balls.
What do X, / and - mean on a scoresheet?
X is a strike, / is a spare (the second ball knocked down every pin left) and - is a miss (no pins). F marks a foul, which counts as 0.
What is a perfect game in bowling?
300: twelve strikes in a row, one in each of frames 1 to 9 and three in the 10th. Each frame then scores 30.
Why does my frame show no total yet?
A strike or spare scores a bonus from the balls that come next. Until those balls are bowled the frame total isn’t known, so it stays blank, just like on a bowling alley screen.
What is current frame scoring?
A simpler system used in some World Bowling events: a strike scores 30, a spare scores 10 plus the pins from the first ball of that frame, and an open frame scores its pins. There are no bonus balls in the 10th. Advanced shows it, clearly labelled, next to the normal score.
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