acalculator

What is my bowling score?

Type the rolls of a ten-pin game in order, using X for a strike and / for a spare. The bowling score calculator scores every frame by the USBC rules, shows the running total, and works for a game still in progress.

Your numbers

For example X 7/ 9- X X X 8/ 9- X XX7. Spaces are optional; type 10 as its own word for ten pins.
Score
211

Your bowling score is 211 (Complete).

Game
Complete
Frame by frame
1: X = 20; 2: 7 / = 39; 3: 9 - = 48; 4: X = 78; 5: X = 106; 6: X = 126; 7: 8 / = 145; 8: 9 - = 154; 9: X = 184; 10: X X 7 = 211
Highest possible final score
211
Strikes
7
Spares
2

Score: 211. Your bowling score is 211 (Complete).

How to calculate

Scores a ten-pin bowling game from its rolls, with strikes, spares and the tenth frame by the USBC rules, frame by frame, for a full game or one in progress.

Example with the default inputs (Rolls X 7/ 9- X X X 8/ 9- X XX7): Your bowling score is 211 (Complete).

Method: Open frame = its pins. Strike = 10 + the pins of the next two rolls. Spare = 10 + the pins of the next roll. The tenth frame = its pins, with two bonus rolls after a strike or one after a spare. The score is the running total of the frames.

  • Rolls are typed in order: X is a strike, / a spare, - a miss, F a foul (0 pins), a digit its pins; a separate word 10 is ten pins.
  • A frame whose bonus rolls are not thrown yet is not scored, and neither is any frame after it.
  • The highest possible final score assumes every later roll knocks down every pin left standing.

Machine-readable copies: Markdown, JSON.

Worked examples

Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.

  1. Rolls X 7/ 9- X X X 8/ 9- X XX7 gives Score 211, Game Complete, Frame by frame 1: X = 20; 2: 7 / = 39; 3: 9 - = 48; 4: X = 78; 5: X = 106; 6: X = 126; 7: 8 / = 145; 8: 9 - = 154; 9: X = 184; 10: X X 7 = 211, Strikes 7, Spares 2.Source: United States Bowling Congress, Playing Rules 2024–2025, rules 1a (a game is 10 frames), 2a (strike: 10 plus the next two deliveries) and 3a (spare: 10 plus the next delivery), https://bowl.com/getmedia/cabf49db-8cc5-4ce4-abc0-dfca1a1d7706/071724_USBC-Playing-Rules.pdf; Wikipedia, Ten-pin bowling, Scoring (traditional scoring; a perfect game is 300), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten-pin_bowling
  2. Rolls XXXXXXXXXXXX gives Score 300, Highest possible final score 300, Strikes 12, Spares 0.Source: Wikipedia, Ten-pin bowling, Scoring (traditional scoring; a perfect game is 300), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten-pin_bowling (the maximum score is 300, twelve strikes in a row); United States Bowling Congress, Playing Rules 2024–2025, rules 1a (a game is 10 frames), 2a (strike: 10 plus the next two deliveries) and 3a (spare: 10 plus the next delivery), https://bowl.com/getmedia/cabf49db-8cc5-4ce4-abc0-dfca1a1d7706/071724_USBC-Playing-Rules.pdf
  3. Rolls X 36 gives Score 28, Game In progress: 2 of 10 frames scored.Source: Wikipedia, Ten-pin bowling, Scoring (traditional scoring; a perfect game is 300), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten-pin_bowling (frame 1: 10 + 3 + 6 = 19; frame 2: 9; total 28)
  4. Rolls 7/ 42 gives Score 20.Source: Wikipedia, Ten-pin bowling, Scoring (traditional scoring; a perfect game is 300), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten-pin_bowling (frame 1: 10 + 4 = 14; frame 2: 6; total 20)
  5. Rolls 9/ 9/ 9/ 9/ 9/ 9/ 9/ 9/ 9/ 9/9 gives Score 190, Spares 10.Source: United States Bowling Congress, Playing Rules 2024–2025, rules 1a (a game is 10 frames), 2a (strike: 10 plus the next two deliveries) and 3a (spare: 10 plus the next delivery), https://bowl.com/getmedia/cabf49db-8cc5-4ce4-abc0-dfca1a1d7706/071724_USBC-Playing-Rules.pdf

How it works

Reading the rolls. The text is split into words at spaces, commas, semicolons and bars. A word that is exactly 10 is one roll of ten pins. Any other word is read one character at a time: X is a strike (10 pins, only as the first ball on a full rack), / a spare (the pins still standing, never the first ball on a full rack), - a miss (0), F a foul (0), and a digit 0 to 9 that many pins. Letters are read in either case.

Frames. In frames 1 to 9, a strike ends the frame; otherwise the frame has two rolls. The tenth frame has two rolls, plus a third after a strike or a spare. After a strike or a spare in the tenth frame the pins are reset.

Scores.

  • Open frame = the pins of its two rolls.
  • Strike = 10 + the pins of the next two rolls.
  • Spare = 10 + the pins of the next roll.
  • Tenth frame = the pins of all its rolls.
  • The score is the running total, frame by frame.

A frame whose bonus rolls have not been typed yet is not scored, and no frame after it is added either. Highest possible final score: the same scoring, with every roll after the typed ones knocking down all the pins standing (a strike on a full rack, a spare otherwise).

Strikes counts every first ball on a full rack that knocks down all 10 pins, including those in the tenth frame. Spares counts every rack cleared by its second ball, including 10 pins after a first ball of 0.

Rules

The page gives no answer, with a message, when:

  • the text has no rolls, or a character other than X, /, -, F, digits, spaces, commas, semicolons or bars;
  • a spare (/) is the first ball on a full rack, or a strike (X) is not the first ball on a full rack (after a first ball of 0, clearing the 10 pins is a spare: -/);
  • two rolls on one rack add up to more than 10 pins (8 then 5);
  • there are more rolls than a 10-frame game allows.

The text is at most 200 characters.

Output format. Scores and counts are whole numbers. Frame by frame lists “frame: marks = running total”, joined by semicolons; a strike shows as X, a spare as /, a miss as -, a foul as F; a frame not yet scored shows = —. Game is “Complete”, or “In progress: n of 10 frames scored”.

Worked examples by hand

X 7/ 9- X X X 8/ 9- X XX7. Frame 1: 10 + 7 + 3 = 20. Frame 2: 10 + 9 = 19, total 39. Frame 3: 9, total 48. Frame 4: 10 + 10 + 10 = 30, total 78. Frame 5: 10 + 10 + 8 = 28, total 106. Frame 6: 10 + 8 + 2 = 20, total 126. Frame 7: 10 + 9 = 19, total 145. Frame 8: 9, total 154. Frame 9: 10 + 10 + 10 = 30, total 184. Frame 10: 10 + 10 + 7 = 27, total 211. Seven strikes, two spares.

Twelve strikes. Each frame is 10 + 10 + 10 = 30, so the total is 300.

X 36. Frame 1: 10 + 3 + 6 = 19; frame 2: 9; total 28, 2 of 10 frames scored.

7/ 42. Frame 1: 10 + 4 = 14; frame 2: 6; total 20.

9/ in every frame, then 9. Each frame is 10 + 9 = 19, so the total is 19 × 10 = 190.

Other questions people ask

How do you score a strike in bowling?

A strike counts 10 plus the pins of your next two rolls. A strike followed by 3 and 6 scores 10 + 3 + 6 = 19 in the first frame, and the open second frame adds 9 for a total of 28.

How do you score a spare?

A spare counts 10 plus the pins of your next roll. A spare (7 then 3) followed by a 4 scores 14; if the next frame is 4 and 2, the total is 14 + 6 = 20.

How does the tenth frame work?

A strike in the tenth frame earns two more rolls, and a spare earns one. The tenth frame counts all its pins: X X 7 is 27. An open tenth frame has just two rolls.

What is a perfect game?

Twelve strikes in a row: one in each of the first nine frames and three in the tenth. It scores 300, the highest possible.

How do I type my rolls?

X for a strike, / for a spare, - for a miss (gutter ball), F for a foul, and digits for the pins. Spaces are optional, so X7/9- and X 7/ 9- are the same. A separate word 10 also means ten pins.

Can I score a game that is not finished?

Yes. Frames are scored as soon as their bonus rolls are known, and the page also shows the highest final score still possible if every later roll clears the pins.