Guide

Bowling guide: rules, technique and tips

29 articles to help you understand everything about bowling, from your very first game to league play.

Getting started

The basics for a successful first game.

Racks of rental bowling shoes arranged by size at the front desk of a bowling centre

Price of a game in Morocco

The price of a game compared across every bowling centre in Morocco, plus our tips for paying less.

3 min readGetting started
Young man rolling his bowling ball down the lane in a modern bowling centre

How to bowl

How a game works, gripping the ball, the approach, the release and aiming: everything you need for a great first few shots.

6 min readGetting started
Four smiling friends holding colourful bowling balls before starting their game

First time bowling

Clothing, shoes, choosing a ball, bumpers, game length and budget: answers to your questions before your first bowling outing.

5 min readGetting started
A bowler releasing the ball while friends wait patiently for their turn behind the approach

Bowling etiquette

Right-hand priority, the foul line, pace of play: the habits that make a game enjoyable for everyone.

5 min readGetting started
Children rolling a bowling ball down a ramp, with a parent beside them on the lane

Bowling for kids

Starting age, the right ball, ramps or bumpers, safety and birthday parties: how to make a family bowling outing a success.

5 min readGetting started

Rules and scoring

Understanding the game, fouls and how points are counted.

A bowler's foot just behind the foul line as the ball is set down on the lane

Bowling rules

Frames, deliveries, the 10th frame, fouls, legal pinfall and splits: the official rules of bowling, clearly explained.

5 min readRules and scoring
Bowling scoreboard screen showing strikes, spares and running totals for three players

Keeping score

Strike, spare, open frame, 10th frame: how scoring works, plus a 167 game broken down frame by frame.

4 min readRules and scoring
A row of white bowling pins with red stripes reflected on a dark lane

Bowling glossary

More than 70 bowling terms, from basic vocabulary to league bowlers’ jargon, explained simply.

8 min readRules and scoring
Bowling league night: several teams bowling on neighbouring lanes beneath the score screens

Average and handicap

The average and handicap formulas, worked examples, and how scratch and handicap leagues work.

5 min readRules and scoring

Technique

Improve your game: approach, release, hook, spares and strikes.

Bowler in the final slide, arm extended, releasing the ball right at the foul line

Basic technique

Stance, 4 or 5-step approach, swing and release: the movements that make every delivery consistent.

7 min readTechnique
A bowling ball smashing into the pins as they fly in all directions during a strike on the lane

Bowling a strike

The 1-3 pocket, entry angle and aiming at the arrows: everything that turns a good delivery into a strike.

6 min readTechnique
Three pins left standing at the end of the lane, a typical spare to convert

Picking up spares

The 3-6-9 system, shooting the 7 and 10 pins cross-lane, and common splits: a method to stop missing your spares.

5 min readTechnique
Bowler releasing the ball with rotation, thumb out before the fingers, for a hook shot

Hooking the ball

Hand position, release, axis and equipment: how to make your ball hook into the pocket.

6 min readTechnique
Automatic lane machine sitting on a bowling lane to apply conditioner

Lane oil patterns

House shot, sport pattern, length, ratio and transition: understand lane oil so you can read the lane better.

6 min readTechnique

Equipment

Balls, shoes, accessories and lanes.

Bowling shoes and a burgundy ball resting on the varnished wood of a bowling lane

Equipment

Ball, shoes, bag and accessories: what is genuinely useful, what order to buy it in and how much to budget.

5 min readEquipment
Bowler choosing a bowling ball from a rack of colourful balls, with lanes in the background

Choosing a ball

Weight for your profile, polyester, urethane or reactive, core and drilling: how to choose the right ball.

5 min readEquipment
Three pairs of colourful bowling shoes worn by players on the wooden floor of the lane

Bowling shoes

Slide sole, braking heel, renting or buying, care: everything you need to know about bowling shoes.

4 min readEquipment
Pins lined up on the pin deck at the end of a bowling lane, beneath the pinsetter

Lane and pins

Length, width, boards, arrows, dots, pins and machines: the bowling lane explained in detail, with a diagram.

5 min readEquipment

Bowling culture

History, records, competitions and variants of the game.

A four-lane bowling alley in 1946, with manual pinsetters at the far end of the lanes

History of bowling in Morocco

From open-air lanes in Tangier in 1953 to interactive bowling at WAW in 2026: 70 years of bowling in Morocco, backed by the archives.

8 min readBowling culture
1888 engraving: skittles players chatting and drinking beside a skittle alley

History of bowling

From the pin games of antiquity to modern ten-pin bowling: the key milestones of a sport that is several thousand years old.

5 min readBowling culture
Scoreboard showing twelve strikes in a row and a perfect score of 300 points

The perfect game (300)

12 strikes in a row for 300 points: how the perfect game is scored, its odds and its famous records.

4 min readBowling culture
Bowler mid-delivery during a bowling tournament, with competitors and spectators in the background

Bowling competitions

IBF Worlds, PBA Tour, the European circuit, the 2027 African Games and Moroccan tournaments: an overview of bowling competitions.

5 min readBowling culture
Duckpin bowling lanes with small, squat pins, an American variant of classic bowling

Types of bowling

Ten-pin, nine-pin, candlepin, duckpin, five-pin or string pinsetters: the different forms of bowling and what sets them apart.

4 min readBowling culture
American professional bowler Sean Rash (PBA) mid-delivery during an exhibition

Greatest bowlers

Title records, trailblazing women and the two-handed revolution: the men and women who shaped the history of bowling.

4 min readBowling culture

Outings and groups

Birthdays, corporate events, children and health benefits.

Group of smiling children holding colourful bowling balls at a bowling party

Bowling birthday party

Age, packages, schedule, budget and booking: everything you need for a great bowling birthday party, for kids, teens or adults.

5 min readOutings and groups
Bowling lanes under black light and neon during an evening session

Bowling during Ramadan

Split opening hours, evenings after iftar, special rates: how to go bowling during the holy month.

3 min readOutings and groups
Colleagues cheering and celebrating a strike together during a group bowling outing

Bowling team building

Team tournament, Baker format, handicap: how to organise a successful bowling team-building event for 10 to 100 employees.

5 min readOutings and groups
Smiling man with arms wide open, enjoying a relaxed moment on a bowling lane

Benefits of bowling

Moderate activity, calories, social ties, concentration: what bowling really does for you, and the precautions worth knowing.

4 min readOutings and groups