TEN PINS.
The standard American game of Ten Pins is played upon an alley 41 or 42 inches wide, and 60 feet long from the head pin to the foul or scratch line, from behind which the player must deliver his ball. There should be at least 15 feet run back of the foul line, and the gutters on each side of the alley must be deep enough to allow a ball to pass without touching any of the pins standing on the alley.
The Pins are spotted as shown in the margin, the centres 12 inches apart, and those of the back row 3 inches from the edge of the pit. The regulation pins are 15 inches high, 2¼ diam. at the base, 15 inches circumference 4½ from the bottom, and 5¼ at the neck. The Balls must not exceed 27 inches in circumference in any direction, but smaller balls may be used.
Frames. Each player rolls ten frames or innings, in each of which he is supposed to have three balls, although as a matter of fact he rolls two only. In match games, two alleys are used, and the players roll one inning on each alternately.
A Strike is made when all ten pins are knocked down with the first ball of the innings, and it is scored on the blackboard with a cross, the number of pins made with the three balls being filled in afterward. A Spare is made when all ten pins are knocked down with the two balls of one inning, and it is marked with a diagonal stroke. If the player fails to get either a strike or a spare, it is a Break, marked with a horizontal line, under which is written the actual number of pins down. After each ball is rolled any pins that have fallen on the alley are called deadwood, and must be removed before the second ball is rolled.
Counting. If a player makes a strike in one inning, all that he makes on the next two balls rolled, whether in one inning or not, counts also on the strike, so as to give him the total score on three balls for the frame. Three successive strikes would give him 30 points on the first frame, with a ball still to roll to complete the second frame, and two balls to roll to complete the third. If he got two strikes in succession, and 5 pins on the first ball of the third frame, 4 on the second ball, the first frame would be worth 25, the second frame 19, and the break on the third frame 9; making his total score 53 for the three frames.
If the player makes a spare in one inning, all the pins knocked down by the first ball of the next inning count also on the spare. Suppose a spare to be followed by a strike, the frame in which the spare was made would be worth 20. If he made 5 pins only, the spare would be worth 15.