Bowling Alley

Tips for Bowling Alley

In Bowling Alley the swipe does three jobs at once: its speed sets the power, its direction sets the line and its bow sets the hook. Change one of those at a time, and watch the dotted arc before you let go, since it shows where the ball will skid through the oil and where it will turn. Aim to hit the pocket flush at a good angle; that starts the chain reaction that makes a strike, while a light hit tends to leave the 4 pin, the 7 or a split.

The lane condition changes where the same throw ends up. Oily lanes let the ball run long and straight, dry lanes grab early and hook hard, and medium is the house shot and the best place to learn. Ball weight matters too: the ten-pound ball bends a long way, and the sixteen-pounder hooks less and drives straight through the rack. Once you can repeat a throw on medium, try the Sharp computer, which lives in the pocket and shoots its spares.

How to play Bowling Alley

Bowling Alley follows the rules of ten-pin bowling. A game has ten frames, and in each frame you get up to two balls to knock down the ten pins at the end of the lane. All ten with the first ball is a strike, all ten with both balls is a spare, and both earn bonus pins from the balls that follow. A strike or spare in the tenth frame earns the bonus balls. The game keeps the score for you, calls out doubles and turkeys and names any split.

Each throw starts with your position. Drag the ball across the approach, or move it with the arrow keys, then throw. On touch you swipe up: the speed of the swipe sets the power, its direction sets the line and the way it bows sets the hook. On a keyboard, A and D add hook and you hold Space to bowl. A dotted arc shows where the ball will skid through the oil and turn before you let go.

There are three lane conditions, oily, medium and dry, and six balls on the return rack, from a ten-pound ball that bends a long way to a sixteen-pounder that hooks less and drives straight through the rack. Bowl ten frames on your own, pass the device round for two to four bowlers with their own names, or take on the computer at Easy, Steady or Sharp. P pauses and M mutes.

About Bowling Alley

Ten-pin bowling is a popular indoor sport: a heavy ball rolled down a long, polished lane at a triangle of ten pins. Bowling Alley takes its look from a cosmic bowling night, with black lights, glowing arrows and gutters, a mirror ball throwing spots down the boards and a pixel scoreboard over the pins. It was made by Kiloo and plays in the browser on a computer, tablet or phone.

What sets this version apart is that the pins are simulated rather than scripted. Each pin is a weighted body that topples, knocks its neighbours over and bounces off the kickback plates, so strikes, leaves and splits happen as a result of your throw. That makes Bowling Alley a good fit for anyone who wants to learn how hook and entry angle work, while pass and play for up to four bowlers makes it easy to share with family or friends. Your best game and your recent scores are kept in your browser, so you can see how each new game compares.

Frequently asked questions