All You Need to Know about Candlepin Bowling

Candlepin Bowling

Candlepin bowling is nothing but a variation of bowling, played primarily in the Canadian Maritime provinces as well as in the New England states of the United States.

Game plan Of Candlepin Bowling

Candlepin Bowling

Candlepin bowling lane, which is almost identical to a tenpin bowling lane, engulfs an approach area of 4.3 to 4.9 meters (i.e 14 to 16 ft) for the concerned player to bowl from, and lastly, the lane proper, which is actually a maple surface approximately 1.05 meters (i.e 41 inches) wide, and is bounded on either side by a gutter, channel or a trough. The lane is always separated from that of the approach by a “foul line” which is common to almost all bowling sports, which must not be crossed by players.

At the end of the lane are the pins, 60 ft about 18 meters from that of the foul line to the center of the headpin (or pin #1), carefully placed by a machine called pinsetter which occupies considerable space both above and behind the pins. Contrary to a tenpin lane, which has a strong level surface stretching all the way from the foul line end of the lane’s approach to that of the back end of the lanebed’s “pin deck”, a candlepin lane, in fact, has a hard-surfaced “pin plate” where the pins are usually set up, with the pin plate depressed by 7⁄16 inch at about 11 mm below the lanebed forward of it.

The pin plate can be well made from the hard-surfaced metal, “phenolic”, “high-density plastic”, or say a “synthetic” material. Behind the pin plate area of a candlepin lane lies a well-depressed “pit” area for the felled pins and the balls to fall into. A heavy rubber backstop, faced with a certain black curtain, catches the flying pins and balls so that they may drop into the pit. Usually, there is a seating constructed behind the approach area for the teammates, spectators, and scorekeeping.

Candlepin Bowling Images

The candlepins themselves are about 15 and 3⁄4 inches and about 40 cm tall, possess a cylindrical shape tapering equally at each end and therefore they have no distinct “top” or “bottom” end, unlike a tenpin, giving them an overall appearance like that of a candle, and possess a maximum weight of 2 lb 8 oz which is about 1.1 kg per piece.

Candlepin bowling usually uses the same numbering system throughout. The shape for the formation within the ten candlepins is set in the same manner as the tenpin sport does. Also, as in during tenpin bowling, due to the spacing of the pins which are about 12 inches or in other words about 30 centimeters, are placed center to center, it is almost impossible for the ball to strike every one. However, in tenpin, a well-placed ball which is usually located between the headpin and the 2 or 3 pin knocks down all the ten pins from the chain reaction of the pin hitting the pin.

In the case of candlepins, the small thickness of the pins makes throwing a strike very much difficult. In order to make the count, the pin is to be knocked over entirely; in the most unlucky of circumstances, a pin wobbles furiously, or even more frustratingly, is “kicked” to the side by several inches, and still it comes to rest being upright, thus indicating at not being scored. It is even very much possible for a toppled pin to readily bounce off a side “kickback”, and thereby return to a standing position on the lane’s pin deck situated in the candlepin sport. However, in the possible event that a fallen pin returns to its standing position, the pin is still and always counted as fallen and is played as live wood.

Candlepin Bowling Scoring

In addition to the foul line drawn for the bowler themselves, there is a line about 10 feet at 3.0 m down the lane from the foul line. This is is the lob line, and the ball must first make contact with the lane at any point on the bowler’s side, be it on the approach of the first 10 ft. of the lanebed. The “airborne” ball delivery not making good contact with the approach or the lanebed short of the “lob line” in reality constitutes a violation of this rule, and is actually termed a lob.

Also, a third line, centered at a distance of 61 cm (24 in) forward of the headpin (number-1 pin) spot is known as the deadwood line, which actually defines the maximum forward limit that any toppled pins ( that is “wood”) can easily occupy and still be legally playable (as “live wood”). This type of lane specification essentially results in the presence of the three foul lines, more than that in any other bowling sport.

Scoring In Candlepin Bowling

Candlepin Bowling Pics

One point is usually scored for each pin that is knocked over every time. So, in a game say, if player A felled 2 pins with their first ball, 4 with the second, and 2 with the third, they would receive a total of 8 points for that particular box. Now, if player B knocks down 8 pins with their first shot, but later miss out at the second and third, then they would also in this case score 9.

In the possible event that all ten pins are felled by any one player and that too in a single box, and by no more than just two throws (just as in the case of tenpins) bonus points are awarded in case of a strike or a spare. A strike is achieved with just the first delivery downing all the ten pins, with a spare needing just two throws, once again just as in case of the tenpin sport. If all ten pins are felled by that of rolling all the three balls in a box, then the result brings a Ten or ten-box, which is usually marked by an X as happens in case of the Roman numeral for ten but here no additional points are awarded.

Candlepin Bowling Old Images

The maximum score in a Candlepin bowling game is 300. This score is achieved by bowling 12 strikes with one ball in each box and another strike with both the bonus balls in the 10th box. In this manner, each box holding will score 30 points each.

This known scoring system of Candlepin, except for the visuals of the scoring sheets and that of the graphic symbols in active usage to record the strikes, spares and the 10-boxes, is quite identical to that of Duckpins, it is the other major form of bowling that unlike Candlepin uses three balls per frame.

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