Dice Bowling Game: Rules, Scoring and Odds

Dice bowling is a paper version of ten-pin bowling for two or more players. Each frame you roll for your first ball, and if pins are still standing you roll again for a spare. The game uses real bowling scoring, with bonuses for strikes and spares and a best possible score of 300. You need two dice, a pencil and a scoresheet, and a game for four players takes about 20 minutes. Below is a simple home version with the exact chance of each roll and of each final score.

What you need

• Two six-sided dice, or a dice roller.
• A scoresheet with ten boxes, called frames, for each player. The tenth box needs room for three balls.
• Two or more players. Larger groups can play in teams.
• A random name picker to decide the bowling order.

Who bowls first?

Type everyone’s name into a random name picker and pick them one by one: that is the bowling order for the whole game. In the next game, start with whoever bowled last, so everyone gets a turn at the front.

How to play

1. A game has ten frames. In each frame, every player bowls in turn.
2. First ball: roll both dice. Any double is a strike and knocks down all ten pins. Otherwise add the dice and take away 2: that is how many pins fall, from 1 to 9.
3. Second ball: if pins are left, roll one die. A 1 is a gutter ball and knocks down nothing. A 6 knocks down all the pins left, which is a spare. A 2 to 5 knocks down that many pins, and if that is at least as many as are left, it is a spare too.
4. Write the pins in the frame, and mark a strike with X and a spare with a slash, as on a real bowling sheet.
5. In the tenth frame, a strike gives you two more balls and a spare gives you one more ball. After ten frames, the highest score wins.

The pin chart is a common style of home version, not an official game, so agree on it before the first frame. The scoring, though, is the same as in real ten-pin bowling.

How bowling scoring works

• Open frame: you score the pins you knocked down, up to 9.
• Spare: 10 plus the pins from your next ball.
• Strike: 10 plus the pins from your next two balls.
• Perfect game: twelve strikes in a row, ten frames plus the two extra balls, for 300 points.

Keep a running total in each frame. After a strike or a spare, leave the frame total empty until you have rolled the bonus balls.

The first ball and the chance of each result

In the table, “First ball pins” is how many pins fall with the first roll of a frame and “Chance” is the exact probability out of the 36 ways two dice can land.

So a strike comes one frame in six, exactly as often as five pins. On average the first ball knocks down about 5.8 pins. The middle results are more common for the same reason that 7 is the most common total of two dice, as explained in our guide to dice probability.

The chance of a spare

In the next table, “Pins left” is how many pins are still standing after the first ball and “Chance of a spare” is the exact probability that the one-die roll knocks them all down.

Put together with the first ball, a frame is a strike one time in six, a spare exactly one time in three and an open frame half of the time. If the first ball is not a strike, you pick up the spare 40% of the time.

What does a final score look like?

With this chart a player scores about 117 points in an average game, and about 8 in 10 games end between 90 and 146. These numbers are worked out exactly from the chart, not simulated.

In the next table, “Game score” is one player’s final total and “Chance” is how likely that is.

A perfect 300 needs twelve doubles in a row on the first ball, a chance of 1 in 6 to the power 12, or about 1 in 2.2 billion games.

Tips

• Let a different player keep the scoresheet each game, so everyone practises the bonus rules.
• Say the pins out loud before you write them down. It makes mistakes easy to spot.
• For a quick game, play five frames. A player then scores about half as much.
• A dice roller on a phone or classroom screen lets everyone see the roll at once.

Classroom ideas

• Mental maths: pupils add up frames with strike and spare bonuses and check each other’s totals.
• Number bonds to 10: after the first ball, ask how many pins are left. That is the number they need for a spare.
• Fractions: pupils compare the chance of a strike, 6 in 36, with the chance of five pins, also 6 in 36, and turn both into 1 in 6.
• Fair order: pick the bowling order with a random name picker and swap it every game.

Variations

• No-tap bowling: a first ball of 9 pins also counts as a strike. Strikes then come 8 times in 36, about 22% of frames.
• Team bowling: two players share a scoresheet and take turns rolling the frames.
• Baker format: five players on a team each bowl two frames of one shared game.
• Handicap: give younger players a few bonus pins at the start, so the scores are close.

If you like sports played with dice, try dice volleyball or dice darts next.

FAQ

How do you play bowling with dice?

Roll two dice for the first ball: any double is a strike, otherwise the total minus 2 is the number of pins that fall. If pins are left, roll one die for the second ball. Score the game like real ten-pin bowling.

How do you score a strike and a spare?

A strike is 10 plus the pins from your next two balls. A spare is 10 plus the pins from your next ball. An open frame is just the pins knocked down.

What is the chance of a strike?

Any double is a strike, so the chance is 6 in 36, or 1 in 6 for each frame.

What is a typical score?

About 117 on average, and about 8 in 10 games end between 90 and 146.

Can you bowl a perfect game with dice?

Yes, with twelve strikes in a row for 300 points, but the chance is about 1 in 2.2 billion.

How do you decide who bowls first?

Pick the order with a random name picker, then let the last bowler start the next game.