Rules
Bowling Solitaire rules at a glance
- Use one standard 52-card deck.
- Each frame starts with ten empty numbered pin spaces, 1 through 10.
- Turn one card face up as the current card.
- Place the current card into any empty pin space where the rank order stays low to high from pin 1 to pin 10.
- Cards do not have to match pin numbers.
- Equal ranks are legal, so two 8s can sit in neighboring order positions.
- If the card cannot legally fit any pin, send it to Ball 1 or Ball 2.
- Ball 1 always fills first and holds up to three cards.
- After Ball 1 has three cards, unplaceable cards go to Ball 2.
- Fill all ten pins before Ball 1 fills for a strike.
- Fill all ten pins after Ball 1 fills but before Ball 2 fills for a spare.
- If Ball 2 fills before all ten pins are placed, the frame is open.
Version
The Bowling Solitaire version on this page
Bowling Solitaire has an unusually confusing rule history. This page plays the numbered-pin version designed by Warren Schwader and familiar from Solitaire Network and Hoyle-style solitaire collections. It is the version where cards are placed into pins 1 through 10, and unplaceable cards collect in Ball 1 and Ball 2.
That matters because another game, Sid Sackson's Bowling, uses a small twenty-card deck, connected pin groups, and modular arithmetic. It is a clever game, but it is not the game most web players mean when they search for Bowling Solitaire with numbered pins and ball columns.
Pin order
How the ten pin spaces work
The pin numbers are order positions. Pin 1 is the low end of the rack and pin 10 is the high end. When a card is placed, every filled pin with a lower number must be equal to or lower than that card, and every filled pin with a higher number must be equal to or higher than that card.
If a 7 is on pin 5, then pins 1 through 4 can hold only cards up to 7, while pins 6 through 10 need cards of 7 or higher. A 7 can sit on either side because ties are allowed.
Ball columns
What Ball 1 and Ball 2 mean
Ball columns are not optional discard piles. A card goes there only when it cannot fit any open pin space under the low-to-high rule. The first three such misses go to Ball 1. Once Ball 1 has three cards, it records the first ball's pin count and the frame continues with Ball 2.
If Ball 2 receives three cards before you fill all ten pins, the frame is open. You keep only the pins you successfully placed. If all pins are filled before that happens, the frame becomes a spare.
Scoring
How Bowling Solitaire scoring works
The scorecard follows ordinary bowling scoring. A strike is worth 10 plus the next two ball results. A spare is worth 10 plus the next ball result. An open frame scores the number of pins filled in that frame.
The tenth frame may need extra scoring frames. If frame 10 is a strike, the game keeps dealing bonus frames until two more ball results are known. If frame 10 is a spare, it needs one more ball result. Those extra frames are used only to finish the score.
Examples
Legal and illegal placements
Suppose pin 4 holds a 6 and pin 7 holds a jack. A 9 can fit on pins 5 or 6 because it is above the 6 and below the jack. The same 9 cannot go on pins 1, 2, or 3 because those spaces are below the 6. It also cannot go on pins 8, 9, or 10 because those spaces are above the jack.
A card may skip ranks and spaces. You do not need to place a 5 on pin 5, and you do not need to build 4, 5, 6, 7 in exact sequence. The only question is whether the new card keeps the entire row of filled pin spaces sorted from low to high.
Strategy
Bowling Solitaire strategy
Good Bowling Solitaire play is mostly about preserving room. A low card such as an ace, 2, or 3 usually belongs early in the pin order. A queen or king usually belongs late. Middle cards are the dangerous ones because they can either keep the rack flexible or split it into cramped zones.
When several pin spaces are legal, think about how many future ranks each choice leaves. If a 4 can go on pin 1 or pin 2, pin 1 is often better because pin 2 can still accept another 4, a 5, or a 6 later. Placing that same 4 too high may leave only aces, 2s, 3s, or another 4 for the lower pins.
Do not panic when cards go to Ball 1. A couple of early misses can still become a spare or even a strike if the remaining cards cooperate. The real danger is making a placement that technically works now but leaves no legal home for a wide range of future cards.
Mistakes
Common mistakes
- Trying to match card ranks to pin numbers.
- Forgetting that equal ranks are legal.
- Putting a middle card too far left or right when a more flexible space is open.
- Thinking Ball 1 and Ball 2 are optional discards.
- Ignoring the first-ball cutoff: Ball 1's third card separates strike chances from spare chances.
Difficulty
Is Bowling Solitaire winnable?
Bowling Solitaire is scored rather than simply won or lost. A frame can strike, spare, or stay open, and the goal is to build a strong ten-frame total. The Solitaire Network target is 150 or more, which is a useful benchmark because it asks for more than just occasional open frames.
Not every frame is cleanly solvable. The deck order can force awkward cards into Ball 1 and Ball 2. Skill shows up in how often you turn borderline frames into spares, and how often you keep the rack open long enough for a strike.