Ten-pin bowling regulations, identification letters and numbers, and general wear from normal use. For much of the history of bowling, bowling balls were made using a three-piece construction method. Starting in the mid-1990s, however, most manufacturers switched to a two-piece method. In response to these innovative ball designs, the American Bowling Congress placed further restrictions on the technical characteristics of the ball such as the radius of gyration and hooking potential. A game of bowling consists of ten frames. In each frame, the bowler will have two chances to knock down as many pins as possible with their bowling ball. In games
Bowling pin Canadian fivepins are between duckpins and tenpins in size, but have a thick, inch-wide rubber band around the widest part of the pin to increase pin action when struck. Candlepins are dissimilar to the others, being the tallest of all at 15-3/4 inches (40 cm), but only 2-15/16 inches wide and in weight, each pin nearly matching the maximum weight of a candlepin ball. They are nearly cylindrical in shape with a slight taper toward either end, making them vaguely resemble candles (hence the name). Unlike other bowling pins, because they are vertically symmetrical, candlepins may be set on either