# Are all bowling scores 0 to 300 possible? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 8, 2006, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492 "2006-11-08T00:38:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/1 "2006-11-08T00:38:23Z")
Just wondering if every (integer) score 0 to 300 is possible? ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/2 "2006-11-08T00:45:03Z")
I haven’t gone through them all in my head, but knowing how to score bowling, I would say yes… example… 1-10 from numbers of pins on first frame and all gutterballs after that… 11-20 from strike on first frame, then 1-10 on next frame and gutterballs after that… etc ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/3 "2006-11-08T00:53:22Z")
[QUOTE=USCDiver] 11-20 from strike on first frame, then 1-10 on next frame and gutterballs after that… etc [/QUOTE] a strike on the first and a gutter on 3-10 could not produce a score of 11 (or 13 for that matter), but what I suspect may not be possible is the higher numbers (299, 298, 297, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/4 "2006-11-08T00:56:04Z")
[QUOTE=kanicbird] a strike on the first and a gutter on 3-10 could not produce a score of 11 (or 13 for that matter), but what I suspect may not be possible is the higher numbers (299, 298, 297, etc.) [/QUOTE] Wouldn’t all strikes, followed by nine pins on the last frame accomplish 299? If so, extrapolate downwards. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/5 "2006-11-08T01:17:00Z")
[QUOTE=JSexton] Wouldn’t all strikes, followed by nine pins on the last frame accomplish 299? [/QUOTE] I don’t believe so X |X |X |X |X |X |X |X |X |9,0 I don’t think is 299 ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/6 "2006-11-08T01:19:49Z")
[QUOTE=kanicbird] I don’t believe so X |X |X |X |X |X |X |X |X |9,0 I don’t think is 299 [/QUOTE] No, it’s not. But: X |X |X |X |X |X |X |X |X |X,9 is. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/7 "2006-11-08T01:29:02Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker] But: X |X |X |X |X |X |X |X |X |X,9 is. [/QUOTE] Well I never really had the need to learn about advanced math in regards to bowling, but wouldn’t this be higher: X |X |X |X |X |X |X |X |X |X,X,9 ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/8 "2006-11-08T01:33:49Z")
The answer to your question is yes, although in some cases it would be stupid hard. I mean, imagine trying to get a score of 1? That would be hard for anybody. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/9 "2006-11-08T01:36:30Z")
[QUOTE=kanicbird] Just wondering if every (integer) score 0 to 300 is possible? [/QUOTE] Yes, they are. As a kinda math-geek thing, I tried to figure out how many different ways there are to bowl each score. Part of that was figuring out if each score was possible. Being in a bowling league 5 years in a row in the 90’s, I remember many times watching someone that was on fire, bowling strike after strike. After 11 in a row, their minimum possible score is 290. The 12[sup]th[/sup] (and last) ball just adds on its pin count. (Sadly for them, more often than not, they didn’t get that last strike.) ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/10 "2006-11-08T03:24:26Z")
298 is possible. That’s a friend of mine’s best score ever. My best score ever - 134 ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/11 "2006-11-08T03:28:42Z")
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] The answer to your question is yes, although in some cases it would be stupid hard. I mean, imagine trying to get a score of 1? That would be hard for anybody. [/QUOTE] Scores of one and three are reasonably easy. Scoring two is extremely difficult; I’ve heard it described as “nearly impossible” to knock down two pins on a first roll. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/12 "2006-11-08T03:36:35Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] Scores of one and three are reasonably easy. Scoring two is extremely difficult; I’ve heard it described as “nearly impossible” to knock down two pins on a first roll. [/QUOTE] But we’re talking about 2 for the game - you can get that by two frames of 1 pin each and the rest gutter balls. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/13 "2006-11-08T03:37:07Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] Scores of one and three are reasonably easy. Scoring two is extremely difficult; I’ve heard it described as “nearly impossible” to knock down two pins on a first roll. [/QUOTE] An overall score of “1” would be really hard: all gutter balls except one ball that knocks down one pin. An overall score of “2” is not that much harder: all gutter balls except two balls that knock down one pin. 292 is quite difficult, by comparison, because it means 11 strikes followed by a count of 2 on the final ball. I once saw compiled statistics on games from 290 to 300 kept by the (now) USBC, and they certainly happen, though far less often than scores like 299, 298, 297 and, interestingly, 291 and 290 (when not the result of 11 strikes AFTER an initial spare), where the bowler manages to totally screw up the last ball under pressure. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/14 "2006-11-08T03:52:05Z")
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] The answer to your question is yes, although in some cases it would be stupid hard. I mean, imagine trying to get a score of 1? That would be hard for anybody. [/QUOTE] My wife and I went bowling, probably 15 years ago, and her score through the fifth frame was zero. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/15 "2006-11-08T04:01:52Z")
[QUOTE=yabob] But we’re talking about 2 for the game - you can get that by two frames of 1 pin each and the rest gutter balls. [/QUOTE] Right. :smack: **AWB** do you still have those figures anywhere? ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/16 "2006-11-08T04:06:04Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] Scoring two is extremely difficult; I’ve heard it described as “nearly impossible” to knock down two pins on a first roll. [/QUOTE] You heard wrong. Two on the first ball isn’t all that uncommon (for a mediocre bowler, anyway). It’s relatively easy to pick off the 4-7 and leave the 8 standing, or the 6-10 and leave the 9 standing. I dare say that 0, 1 and 3 are all more common than 2, but 2 is not especially rare. Incidentally, you can pick up a 0-count by fouling, which probably accounts for some of the 290’s reported by **DSYoung**. One can imagine few worse experiences than hearing the foul buzzer while rolling the last ball of a 300 game! ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/17 "2006-11-08T04:51:12Z")
[QUOTE=pimaspinner] 298 is possible. That’s a friend of mine’s best score ever. My best score ever - 134 ☹ [/QUOTE] Two questions: 1) what was your friend’s reaction to bowling eleven strikes in a row, then knocking down eight pins with the twelfth (I’m guessing something like :smack: ); and 2) how did you manage a negative 134? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/18 "2006-11-08T05:56:16Z")
[QUOTE=SCSimmons] 2) how did you manage a negative 134? 😉 [/QUOTE] Drats, you beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/19 "2006-11-08T14:48:10Z")
[QUOTE=kanicbird] a strike on the first and a gutter on 3-10 could not produce a score of 11 (or 13 for that matter), but what I suspect may not be possible is the higher numbers (299, 298, 297, etc.) [/QUOTE] as others have said, it IS possible. but since you’re refuting my post, I’m going to refute yours… X | 1/0 | 0 | 0 | etc would give you 11… in short, a strike scores 10+sum of next 2 rolls. If the sum of the next 2 rolls is 1-10 you get 11-20 ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492/20 "2006-11-08T15:01:51Z")
[QUOTE=USCDiver] X | 1/0 | 0 | 0 | etc would give you 11… [/QUOTE] Looks more like a 12 to me! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-all-bowling-scores-0-to-300-possible/379492.md?page=2)