Ten Pin Bowling is really more of pastime in this country as opposed to a serious sport, whereas in the good old USA they take their games a lot more seriously, and it even gets on TV!!
Most of us here will have experienced Ten Pin Bowling as a social event, with friends, in one the big ... Read review
Ten Pin Bowling is really more of pastime in this country as opposed to a serious sport, whereas in the good old USA they take their games a lot more seriously, and it even gets on TV!!
Most of us here will have experienced Ten Pin Bowling as a social event, with friends, in one the big bowling places such as Mega Bowl or Hollywood Bowl that inhabit just about shopping centre in the country. The nearest one to me is the Metro Centre, ... .../>
The large bowling places are really rather good too. The one I go to has a bar, a fast food restaurant, loads of arcade machines and a large pool hall. There so much entertainment under one roof, and you really can spend hours (and lots of money) in one of these places.
As far as the bowling goes it isn't too expensive but it isn't too cheap either. Depending on what time of the day you go and what kind of offers they are ... more
Ten Pin Bowling is really more of pastime in this country as opposed to a serious sport, whereas in the good old USA they take their games a lot more seriously, and it even gets on TV!!
Most of us here will have experienced Ten Pin Bowling as a social event, with friends, in one the big bowling places such as Mega Bowl or Hollywood Bowl that inhabit just about shopping centre in the country. The nearest one to me is the Metro Centre, so when you go with your friends you normally do some shopping, eat some food and go bowling.
The large bowling places are really rather good too. The one I go to has a bar, a fast food restaurant, loads of arcade machines and a large pool hall. There so much entertainment under one roof, and you really can spend hours (and lots of money) in one of these places.
As far as the bowling goes it isn't too expensive but it isn't too cheap either. Depending on what time of the day you go and what kind of offers they are running at the moment it can cost from around £3 per game per person, but it could be more like £5 at peak times. You have to remember that you will need to hire some shoes, but these are normally less than £1.
However, at busy times these places can be rather full, so there is a better option! It is possible to book a bowling lane for a specific time, at the cost of about £20 per hour. This may sound like a lot, but if there are a few of you playing, and you fit in a couple of games, it soon works out a much cheaper option!
So, getting down to the actual bowling - there may be the odd person who doesn't know what it is so I'll explain......
Ten pin bowling takes place on a long wooden alley. At one end ten pins are placed in a triangular arrangement, and from the other side you throw a ball bown the alley to try to knock those pins over. The balls come in various weights depending upon your personal preferences.
Each player plays 10 frames, with each frame consisting of two 'bowls' of the ball. The pins you knock down on your first attempt remain down on the second attempt, and you get a score equal to the number of pins to knock down. There are two special cases, the spare and the strike.
A spare is denoted by a / on the scoreboard, and occurs when you knock down all 10 pins using two throws. This scores you 10 points
A strike on the other hand is when you knock all 10 pins down on your first shot, and is denoted by an X on the scoreboard. A strike is extra good though, because it scores you a few more points. I don't claim to fully understand the scoring system, but here's what I make of it! A strike scores you ten points for that frame, plus the score you get in the next frame. So say if in the first frame you got a strike, then in the second frame you scored 8, you would score 18 for the first frame as well as the 8 for the second frame. By getting strikes in a row one after the other you can build up large scores, with the highest being (but don't hold me to this ) 300.
The reason I don't know the scoring system inside out is because at all the large bowling centres they have clever computers that do it all for you. You type in everyone’s name at the start of the game and then the computer scores, automatically counting the pins remaining and adding them to the scoreboard. It's nice to see you're losing!!
Of course, this is only the fun, recreational side of bowling. You can see 10 pin bowling championships on TV!! Now don't laugh, lots of people take this sport seriously. Yes, it may rank along side darts as one of the most enthralling TV sports, but in America bowling is a pretty big thing! It seems that for these professional bowlers not getting a strike is a mistake, and the scores they rack up are way beyond anything I can manage! If you want to see some, check out Sky Sports!
For most people here in the UK bowling is a fun thing to do, akin to going to the cinema. But it is fun, which is why it's so popular, so if you haven't tried it then why not?
Bowling is a very fun game that you play when you want to have fun with your mates but you can also take it further.
Bowling can become a serious sport which also still captures the "fun" in the game.
There are many clubs for people of all ages. If you are under the age of 18 you can find many YBC's (youth bowling clubs) in your area.
In these YBC's you play leagues every week with other people in the club. It is a very social sport that you can ...
jimbocool 24.07.2000
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Review of Bowling - General
Advantages: Great entertainment for people of all ages Disadvantages: Can be expensive
...a great fan of tenpin bowling for many years. although i dont for one minute pretend to be an expert, it really can be great fun. I have bowled at Megabowl, Solarbowl and Hollywood Bowl, with Hollywood Bowl in my dooyoo opinion being by far the best. One has recently oponed in Norwich, and i guess the set up is the same in all Hollywood Bowl's, I know it is in the Leeds one. In all the times i have been there so far not once has anything gone wrong ... ...with a previous opion on bowling and Megabowl that it can be expensive. However, Hollywood Bowl seen to offer regular offers, e.g. every Wednesday 2 games and a meal (burger and chips) for £6.95 inc. shoe hire. A BIG downside to Solar and Mega bowl is that you are charged 50p simply to enter the building, whether you bowl or not. I assume this is the case in all Solar and Mega Bowls. Hollywood Bowl however do not charge to enter. A big bonus with ...
vestyboy 08.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Bowling - General
Do not cross the foul line, the lanes surface is very slippery, dont be one of those losers who fall flat on the face in front of 100's of people!! Use the heaviset ball you can, more weight = higher score. Any bloke over the age of 18, who is healthy anf fit, should be able to use a 16lb no problem. For women - I suggest a 12- There the blue ones at MEGABOWL, and purple at AMF. Make sure your shoes fit properly, nothing worse than flipping about ... ...will have blisters in no time cuased by that harsh, chaffing leather! Try and make out you a student, you can normally blag £'s off. Finally if you want to get better , join a league! This way you will meet new people and you will get a DISCOUNT CARD. This entitles you to game for about a £1 each! Lastly, just enjoy yourself! ...
trafficcone 13.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Bowling - General
Advantages: Cheap games, league bowling, professional staff Disadvantages: Centres do get busy - best to book in advance
AMF Bowling centres offer lots of advantages. AMF is the largest producer of bowling lanes, pinspotters, house balls, personal balls, bags, hand grips and much much more. Megabowl, and now Superbowl - as they have now merged, now own the most centres in the UK - where as AMF produces nearly all of the equipment for them. I have been to Solar Bowl in Norwich and found it very unprofessional to the league bowler. Megabowl does offer some services to ... ...of the BTBA (British Tenpin Bowling Association) as they are not affiliated with it.
AMF also caters for the non-league bowlers, and bowlers who would like to learn to bowl. They offer cheap game prices, with multiple game discounts and family specials, offers for the disabled, students and OAPs and other special offers. AMF centres also offer company discounts and special "Huge Night Out Offers" including three drinks from the bar, a basket meal ...
paulroyal2k 28.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Bowling - General
Advantages: Cheap games, league bowling, professional staff Disadvantages: Centres do get busy - best to book in advance
AMF Bowling centres offer lots of advantages. AMF is the largest producer of bowling lanes, pinspotters, house balls, personal balls, bags, hand grips and much much more. Megabowl, and now Superbowl - as they have now merged, now own the most centres in the UK - where as AMF produces nearly all of the equipment for them. I have been to Solar Bowl in Norwich and found it very unprofessional to the league bowler. Megabowl does offer some services to ... ...of the BTBA (British Tenpin Bowling Association) as they are not affiliated with it.
AMF also caters for the non-league bowlers, and bowlers who would like to learn to bowl. They offer cheap game prices, with multiple game discounts and family specials, offers for the disabled, students and OAPs and other special offers. AMF centres also offer company discounts and special "Huge Night Out Offers" including three drinks from the bar, a basket meal ...
paulroyal2k 28.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Bowling - General
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