How to Set Up Elakai Lawn Bowling
The Setup
- Remove the 10 pins and 2 balls from the carry bag.
- Find a flat, open space and set up the 10 pins (sand or grass is recommended to help protect the equipment).
- You are now ready to play Elakai Lawn Bowling!
The Playfield
- Set the pins up in the standard 10-pin bowling formation (a triangle layout with 4–3–2–1 pins).
- Each pin should be no more than 4 inches away from the others.
- The recommended throwing distance is 12–15 feet from the front of the first pin.
Outdoor Lawn Bowling Rules
Objective
The goal of Outdoor Lawn Bowling is to knock down all 10 pins in each frame. A full game consists of 10 frames, and the player or team with the highest total score at the end of the 10 frames wins.
Turn Order
- Flip a coin to determine who throws first.
- Players agree on a rotation order before starting.
- The same rotation is followed for all 10 frames.
Frames, Strikes & Spares
Open Frame
- An open frame occurs when a player does not get a strike or spare and has pins still standing after both throws in that frame.
Strike
- A strike is when a player knocks down all 10 pins on the first throw of a frame.
- When a strike is thrown (in frames 1–9):
- The player’s turn for that frame is over.
- The next player in rotation takes their turn.
- In the 10th frame:
- If a strike is thrown on the first ball, the pins are reset.
- The player receives two additional throws, allowing up to three strikes in the 10th frame.
Spare
- A spare is when a player does not knock down all 10 pins on the first throw, but knocks down the remaining pins on the second throw of that frame.
- In the 10th frame, if a spare is thrown:
- The pins are reset.
- The player is awarded one extra throw.
Scoring
- Each pin knocked down is worth 1 point.
- After the first throw of a frame, any pins knocked down are removed from the play area before the second throw.
- The total pins knocked down in a frame form the base score for that frame.
Bonus Scoring
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Spare Bonus:
- If a player rolls a spare, they add the number of pins knocked down on their next throw to that frame’s score.
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Strike Bonus:
- If a player rolls a strike, they add the number of pins knocked down on their next two throws to that frame’s score.
The maximum possible score in a game of Outdoor Lawn Bowling is 300, which requires rolling strikes in all 10 frames plus bonus throws in the 10th frame.
