Bowling 

is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin

bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term bowling usually refers to pin bowling (most
commonly ten-pin bowling), though in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries, bowling
could also refer to target bowling, such as lawn bowls.
In pin bowling, the goal is to knock over pins on a long playing surface known as a lane. Lanes have
a wood or synthetic surface onto which protective lubricating oil is applied in different specified oil
patterns that affect ball motion. A strike is achieved when all the pins are knocked down on the first
roll, and a spare is achieved if all the pins are knocked over on a second roll. Common types of pin
bowling include ten-pin, candlepin, duckpin, nine-pin, and five-pin. The historical game skittles is the
forerunner of modern pin bowling.
In target bowling, the aim is usually to get the ball as close to a mark as possible. The surface in
target bowling may be grass, gravel, or synthetic.[1] Lawn bowls, bocce, carpet bowls, pétanque,
and boules may have both indoor and outdoor varieties. Curling is also related to bowls.
Bowling is played by 120 million people in more than 90 countries (including 70 million in the United
States alone).[2]

Pin bowling[edit]

Candlepin balls are the smallest, but candlepins are tallest and thinnest.

Duckpins are the shortest, and duckpin balls are barely larger than candlepin balls.

Ten-pin balls and pins are the heaviest.

Five main variations are found in North America, with ten-pin being the most common but others
being practiced in the eastern U.S. and in parts of Canada:[3]

 Ten-pin bowling: largest and heaviest pins, and bowled with a large ball with two or three
finger holes.
 Nine-pin bowling: uses a small ball without finger holes.
 Candlepin bowling: tallest pins (at 40 cm or 16 in), thin with matching ends, bowled with
the smallest and lightest (at 1.1 kg or 2.4 lb) handheld ball of any bowling sport, and the
only form with no fallen pins removed during a frame.
 Duckpin bowling: short, squat, and bowled with a handheld ball.
 Five-pin bowling: tall, between duckpins and candlepins in diameter with a rubber girdle,
bowled with a handheld ball, mostly found in Canada.