We have most bowling alleys where Bowling Birthday Parties are held, including bowling lanes from indoor family fun parks, with additional attractions such as Arcade Games or Billiards. Look also for Glow in the Dark Bowling or Cosmic Bowling, also known as Extreme Bowling. This is a new state of the art light, sound, and music show.
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Many parents have learned that a birthday party at a bowling centre could be more inexpensive than any other outside function. Great care and attention is paid by many bowling centers’ staff to make the party a great success.
Birthday bowling parties are fun for children of all ages, even if bowling is a whole new experience for them. For minibowling, bumpers could be available to ensure that every ball hits the pins. And most bowling centers are equiped now with additional attractions, such as Arcade games or Billiards.
In recent years, lots of bowling centers dramatically changed their interior to increase the appeal to youger generations.
Cosmic Bowling at Bowlerama
Extreme Bowling is a newer state of the art light, sound, and music show. The regular bowling room gets an explosion of special effects (like cosmic or glowing in the dark), video, lights, lasers, fog, and music in a club (with DJ) like atmosphere. Check with your local bowling alley, it may be available some days of the week.
Bowling Game Rules
Five Pin Bowling
Depending on the number of pins, you’ll find five pin and tenpin bowling. The five pin is frequently played with smaller balls (minibowling) and bumpers can be rised on the gutters on both sides of the alley, to make it easier for younger kids to hit the pins in almost any strike.
The playing surface is a long alley (or lane), on which the bowler must roll the ball and strike as many pins as possible, without stepping over the foul line or droping the ball into the gutters (unless they are replaced by bumpers). The pins are arranged in four or three rows, in a pyramid shape. Beside regular duckpins there is a candlepin minibowling variation of the game, played mostly in some Canadian provinces. Large and heavy balls come in different weights and sizes and may have two or three finger holes. Most bowlers use the three-holed ball, inserting the two middle fingers and the thumb into the holes.
Candlepin Bowling
A game (or string) is made up of 10 frames for each bowler. After each strike, computers accurately keep score on above monitors and you don’t have to calculate the score by yourself, but here below are the scoring rules, in case you want to learn more about the game, or to be ready to help your kids if they play it for the first time.
Each frame represents one turn for the bowler, and in each turn the player is allowed to roll the ball twice. If the player knocks down all the pins with the first roll, it is a strike, otherwise a second roll at the pins still standing is attempted. If all the pins are knocked down with two balls, it is a spare, otherwise it is an open frame.
If a bowler commits a foul, by stepping over the foul line during delivery, it counts as a shot, and any pins knocked down are respotted without counting. If pins are knocked down by a ball that has entered the gutter, or by a ball bouncing off the rear cushion, they do not count, and are respotted.
Tenpin Bowling Party at Cross Roads Bowling Center
In an open frame, a bowler simply gets credit for the number of pins knocked down. In the case of a spare, a slash mark is recorded in a small square in the upper righthand corner of that frame on the score sheet, and no score is entered until the first ball of the next frame is rolled.
Then credit is given for 10 plus the number of pins knocked down with that next ball. For example, a player rolls a spare in the first frame. With the first ball of the second frame, the player knocks down seven pins. The first frame, then, gets 17 points. If two of the remaining three pins get knocked down, 9 points are added, for a total of 26 in the second frame.
Bowling Ball
If a bowler gets a strike, it is recorded with an X in the small square, the score being 10 plus the total number of pins knocked down in the next two rolls. Thus, the bowler who rolls three strikes in a row in the first three frames gets credit for 30 points in the first frame.
Virtual Lightning Strikes at Don Carter Bowling
Bowling’s perfect score, a 300 game, represents 12 strikes in a row, for a total of 120 pins knocked down. Why 12 strikes, instead of 10? Because, if a bowler gets a strike in the last frame, the score for that frame can’t be recorded before rolling twice more. Similarly, if a bowler rolls a spare in the last frame, one more roll is required before the final score can be tallied.
Safety
Party On, Dude!
Minimum age is usually 3 years old, but kids under 10 should play only minibowling. Make sure five pin alleys are available and reserve these lanes, if they are played with leightweight balls. Larger regular bowling balls are too heavy for younger kids. If lanes have bumpers, use them.
Don’t put your hand in the hole where the balls come back, you may get hurt.
Cost
Special Bowling Shoes you may have to rent
Bowling in ordinary shoes isn’t permitted, because it can damage the lanes. An unmatched pair of bowling shoes is usually rented for $1-$3 per player for the whole evening. One shoe ha a relatively slippery sole, the other one has a rubber sole. Shoe rental is frequently included in the birthday package.
A non-refundable $20-$25 deposit (less than the amount required by other themes) is usually required for a party reservation. Reservations are made for public sessions and available times, several days prior to reserved date. There could be a requirement for minimum 4 guests per lane. Maximum number of people per lanes is usually common sense: more people wait to play, less fun they will have. So divide the total number of your guests by 4, 5 or 6 and you’ll get the relative number of lanes you may have to reserve.
Kids under 10 usually play Minibowling
Different birthday packages are usually available for both children and adults. They may give you 1-2h unlimited bowling, with a fixed rate of $10..$40 per hour or per game, for one up to four persons on a lane. Or you may get a fixed rate ($10) per child. A few have also a separate party room, rented for the occasion to serve the cake.
The birthday package can include an ice cold pitcher of your favorite soda, a large popcorn or pizza. You bring just the candles and the cake. Or it’s left up to you to order and serve food while bowling. A party attendant is almost always assigned to a birthday party, to take food orders and assist you on an occasional basis. They can also help you with the game, to give game tips to beginners. They set up and clean up the mess.
Checklist
Duck Pin
Check the number of lanes of your bowling center. More lanes or alleys, less people will wait in line for reservations.
In many bowling centers, the birthday child receives as free souvenir an authentic bowling pin that everyone can sign. There can be also another special gift for him/her, such as a T-shirt or a crown.
Bowling party planners can help you also with invitations.
RSS Entries
We have most bowling alleys where Bowling Birthday Parties are held, including bowling lanes from indoor family fun parks, with additional attractions such as Arcade Games or Billiards. Look also for Glow in the Dark Bowling or Cosmic Bowling, also known as Extreme Bowling. This is a new state of the art light, sound, and music show.
Check the number of lanes of your bowling center. More lanes or alleys, less people will wait in line for reservations.
