The long shuffleboard described at the close of the preceding section makes an excellent bowling alley for table ten-pins, or the pins may be placed flat on the floor. For this 9-ft. alley, smooth golf balls are about the right size for pins 41/4 or 41/2 in. high on f-in. bases. The setup diagramed in A, Figure 5.13, can be painted on the board in a contrasting color to those used for shuffleboard or other games.

Fig. 5-13. Table bowling.

The lathe enthusiast will be able to turn out a set of maple pins of orthodox shape as in B. However, candle pins, such as are illustrated in C, are well within the capabilities of home craftsmen who depend upon hand tools; the trick is to cut the base ends square to prevent wobbling. Plane or rip 41/4-in. lengths of 13/4-in. square stock into octagons, then plane or spokeshave the corners until there are sixteen of them, and continue until the pin can be sanded smooth, tapering from 3/4 in. at both ends to a thickness of about 11/2 in. Pine is easier to work than a hardwood such as maple, but pine pins will wear down quickly if the game proves as popular as is usually the case.

If three wooden balls of about 11/2-in. diameter cannot be turned or otherwise procured, smooth golf balls, or even lacrosse or handballs, will make a lively game. Or weighted disks can be slid over a waxed surface as in shuffleboard.

For a miniature set on the smaller, fenced alley, 1-in. marbles propelled by 3/8-in. dowel cues will insure an absorbing game. The alley 16 in. wide marked out for snap shuffleboard is just the right size for pins about 21/2 in. high, and the divided and bolted fence end will keep the balls on the table top. To prevent "long" balls from bouncing back and knocking over missed pins, the bolted rear section of the fence can be pushed 11/2 or 2 in. beyond the rear table edge, permitting balls to fall off into a wastebasket or other container. Balls which roll beyond the parallel alley lines into the "gutters" are dead, and any pins they may knock over by ricochet are immediately replaced. If play becomes violent it may be necessary to dowel an extra piece of furring strip into the top, inner edge of the rear fence to form a higher backstop. A remnant of old blanket tacked to the top of this added piece so that it hangs down the inner face of the fence, will keep pins and balls from bouncing.

Rules

In order to accustom young players to standard bowling procedure, the regulation scoring method can be used in conjunction with a penciled, printed, or chalked score card (D). Each player rolls two balls before the pins are set up again, for a total of ten frames.

1. A player is credited with one point for each pin knocked over if he uses both balls.

2. If a player knocks over all ten pins with his first ball he scores a "strike," and the second ball is not bowled. A strike is indicated by an "X" in the small square on the score card, and entitles the player to a score of 10 points plus whatever score is made by the next two balls bowled in the following frame.

3. If some pins remain standing after the first ball is bowled, the player can score a "spare" if his second ball knocks down the remaining pins. A spare is indicated by a "/" and entitles the player to 10 points plus the score made by only the first ball played in the succeeding frame.

Strikes, spares, and blows (neither strike nor spare), are marked on the score card immediately, but in the case of strikes and spares the number of points cannot be entered until the additional balls have been bowled in the next frame. The score is cumulative, in that each frame includes the score made in the previous frame.

4. Should a strike be made in the 10th frame, two additional balls are played immediately to determine the total score. A spare in the 10th frame entitles the player to only one additional ball.