Ten-pin bowling duckpin bowling (conceived in 1895), popular in the Northeast United States, as well as Canada's own sport of five-pin bowling, all three of which use smaller diameter, lighter weight bowling balls when compared to tenpin bowling, without the necessity for finger holes in them. The , lane is bordered along its length by semicylindrical channels called "gutters", which are designed to collect errant balls. The overall width of the lane including the channels is . The narrow lane prevents bowling a straight line at the angle required to consistently carry (knock down) all ten pins for a strike. Most skillful
Five-pin bowling no fingerholes, although the Canadian 5 Pin Bowlers Association (C5PBA) have approved balls with thumb holes made by one manufacturer (the E. Parrella Co., known as EPCO). At the end of the lane there are five pins arranged in a V. In size they are midway between duckpins and ten pins, and they have a heavy rubber band around their middles, similar to the pins used in the rarely seen "rubberband duckpin" form of duckpin bowling, to make them move farther when struck. Unlike any other form of bowling popular in North America, the pins in five-pin bowling are worth