Bowling ball to skid longer before reacting (hooking). Reactive cover stocks finishes include "matte" (aggressive reaction), "shiny" (longer skid distance than matte finish), "pearl" (greatest skid distance among reactive cover stocks), and "hybrid" (combination of skid distance and back end reaction). Duckpin balls weigh each, with up to three balls delivered per round (or "frame") of bowling for one bowler. The duckpin ball has a maximum diameter of , slightly larger than a candlepin ball but, like a candlepin ball, contains no finger holes. Duckpins are correspondingly shorter and lighter than their ten-pin equivalents and it is more difficult to knock them
Five-pin bowling bowlers use a number of terms to denote the results of a throw: All modern bowling centres use automated pin-setting machines (first used in 1957) to reset the pins after each ball is thrown. In five-pin, two types of pinsetters are used—"string" and "free fall". The "string" pinsetter is known for each pin having a string attached to the head. These pinsetters were first invented in 1963 and are characterized by a string being attached to the head of each pin. This type of pinsetter has a low operating cost, so it is the most commonly used type of pinsetter.