All the boys like to play wargames. And some girls like it too. Paintball is the coolest game for active people! Shut and run! Hide and ambush! «Kill» and win! Do the battle with your friends! Know the rules of Paintball.

General Rules

1. In each game a minimum of one person is elected as the Referee. His function is starting the game, stopping the game for paint checks, deciding the issues that may arise and ending the game. The Referee should have a whistle to make signals to start, to stop and to end the game.

2. If the player is hit by a paintball (marking pellet) and it breaks on him (his clothing, gun or equipment) he must left the game. He is «dead». It doesn’t matter whether the player is shot by a opposing player or a teammate (friendly fire). When a player is hit she or he have to instantly call themselves «out or deadman». The «killed» player must hold his gun over his head, continues to call out «out or deadman» and leaves the playing field by the shortest route.

3. If the paintball didn’t break when it hit the player it is not a killing shot and the player keeps alive. The strike by a splatter from a marking pellet is not considered as hit and the player continues the game. Sometimes players think that they were shot and start to call themselves «deadman», they left the field and after they discover that they are clean — but it’s too late, they can’t return into the game. That is the rule.

4. When two or more players mark each other at the same time, they all must be eliminated. A referee will decide who is to be eliminated when two or more players are marked.

5. If there is question as to whether a player has been marked, call for a «Paint Check». It is the task of the referee. In this case the game is stopped, all players remain where they are at until the referee solves the problem and restarts the game.

6. The length of game must be predetermined. Usually game runs 30 to 60 minutes. One of the function of The Referee is to keep track of the time. The time limit makes a game more aggressive.

7. If you play «Capture the flag», only one player is permitted to guard the flag at the station. In the case of eliminating of the guardian, she or he leaves the flag at the point where she or he got shot.

8. It is not allowed to player to move together with the barricades.

9. «Dead Man Silent». It means that «deadman» is not allowed to speak to any of the players when he lefts the field.

10. The captain is very important person in the team. At the meeting, he receives any final instructions and written notice of rules. After the battle, captains of both teams attend the calculation of the points done by the referee.

11. Every field has its boundaries. During the game, if player go outside of the boundaries he must leave the play field area at once. All shots fired from outside the Boundaries do not count.

12. A team will be disqualified if any player enters a playing field for a game without having signed a waiver.

Safety Rules

1. All players must wear long-sleeve shirts and full-length pants. Arms and legs must be fully covered during play by special equipment.

2. Do not take off the glasses or mask during a game.

3. It is prohibited to shoot from a distance less than 5 meters. The capsule leaves the barrel with an average speed of 80-100 m/sec., and this may lead to injuries. If the distance between two rival players is under 5 meters, the must increase the distance, or the referee stops the game.

4. If a player holds his or her gun with both hands stretched out over his or her head, it is banned to shoot at the player.

Related posts:

1. The Rules of Snooker
2. The Rules of Ping Pong (Table Tennis)
3. Bowling Terms

To be a good bowling player you should know not only the rules of bowling, but the language of the game as well. Creeper, deadwood, railroad, mixer… What does it mean?

Read the glossary of bowling terms and you will know the language of bowlers.

Alley (also lane bed) — Surface on which the ball is rolled.

Approach (also runway) — The space extending back from the foul line used to make the steps and delivery.

Arrows — The triangles embedded on the lane used in aiming the throw.

Baby split — The 2-7 or 3-10 split.

Backup ball — A ball that curves left to right for a right-handed bowler or right to left for a left-handed bowler.

Bed posts — The 7-10 split.

Big four (also double pinochle). The 4-6-7-10 split.

Blind score — When a league bowler is “blind” and can’t find his/her way to the league that evening, the bowler’s average is simply used (as if he/she just bowled that score) when figuring the team’s total for each game.

Blocking — Creating an illegal track to the strike pocket by the way the lane is dressed (oiled).

Blow — A miss or an error failing to covert a spare other than a split.

Brooklyn (also crossover) — Refers to a ball that crosses over to the other side of the headpin opposite the side it was thrown.

Bucket — The 2-4-5-8 or 3-5-6-9 leave after the first throw.

Carry — To knock down a pin or pins.

Channel (also gutter) — Semicircular grooves or drop-off area on each side of the bowling surface.

Cherry — To pick off the front pin or pins but leaving the back pin on a spare attempt.

Christmas tree — The 3-7-10 split for a rt. hander; 2-7-10 split for a left hander.

Clothesline (also picket fence) — The 1-2-4-7 or 1-3-6-10 pins still standing after the first ball.

Count — Usually the number of pins knocked down in the next frame that apply to a spare or strike.

Creeper (also known as a puff ball) — A slow ball.

Curve ball — A ball thrown with spin that follows a wide arc toward the pins.

Dead ball — A weak ball that has lost its drive, rotation, or forward thrust

Deadwood — Pins that have been knocked down.

Delivery — The rolling of the ball.

Double — Two consecutive strikes.

Dutch 200 — A game of exactly 200 by alternately rolling spares and strikes.

Field goal — A missed throw between widely separated pins hitting nothing but air.

Foul — Touching the foul line or beyond in any way when delivering the ball.

Foul line — The restraining line between the lane and the approach.

Four bagger — Throwing four strikes in a row.

Frame — One of ten units that comprise a game (represented by a large square and smaller squares within on the score sheet).

Game — A line on the score sheet consisting of 10 frames. (Same as Line.)

Goal posts — The 7-10 split. (Same as Bed posts.)

Graveyard (s) — An extremely difficult lane in the house.

Gutter (also channel) — Semicircular grooves on each side of the surface on which the ball rolls.

Gutter ball (also channel ball) — An errant ball that enters the gutter before reaching the pins.

Hambone — New term given to a 4-bagger (four strikes in a row).

Handicap — An adjustment in scores in order to equalize competition by adding pins on a predetermined basis.

Head pin — The number one pin.

High hit — A solid hit on a pin due to contact near its front center; hitting too much head pin on a strike attempt.

Holding lane — A lane where the ball does not curve or hook much.

Hook — A ball that initially moves straight down the alley and curves towards the pin (from right to left for a right-hander or left to right for a left-hander) on the latter part of the lane.

House — The bowling establishment or building.

Kegler — A bowler (German word).

Kickbacks — The side boards around the pins that divide lanes where pins frequently rebound or “kick” back onto the lane aiding in pin action.

Kindling (wood) — Light pins or pins that are falling easily during a game.

King pin — The number 5 pin. It is a key pin to produce a strike: a light pocket hit or deflected leaves this pin still standing.

Lane bed — The surface on which the ball is rolled.

League — Organized competition on a weekly basis for team play.

Leave — Pins left standing after the first ball has been rolled.

Lift — Upward motion on the ball at the point of release. (As the ball rolls from the fingers of the up swinging hand, spin is imparted to help drive the ball.)

Light hit — A ball hitting mostly the side of the pin deflecting it sideways.

Line — A game — 10 frames. Also refers to the path of the ball from release to the pins.

Line bowling — A method of aiming by visualizing the imaginary line the ball will take to the pins.

Lofting — Throwing the ball too high above the lane bed.

Mark — Making either a spare or strike in a frame.

Miss — An error in a spare attempt other than a split. (Same as a Blow.)

Mixer — A ball that creates a lot of pin action.

Move in — Adjusting of stance position nearer the center of the approach.

Move out — Adjusting of stance position nearer the outside of the approach.

Nose — The front of the pin.

Oil — Dressing or conditioner used to coat the lanes.

Open frame — A frame having neither a spare or strike.

Perfect game — A game of all strikes–twelve strikes in a row–resulting in bowling’s maximum score of 300.

Pin bowling — Looking at the pins to aim and throw the ball (better bowlers tend to spot or line bowl).

Pin deck — Area on which the pins are set.

Pocket — The space between the 1-3 pins for the right-handed bowler; between the 1-2 pins for the left-handed bowler.

Pushaway — The pushing out (forward) of the ball to begin the swing (coincide with first step of four-step approach.)

Railroad — A split.

Rake (also sweep bar) — The part of the pin-setting machine that drops and sweeps the fallen pins into the back of the lane.

Running lane (opposite of holding lane) — A lane where the ball curves a lot relative to a normal delivery.

Sandbagging — Deliberating keeping an average low so that person can receive a bigger handicap.

Scratch — The actual score the bowler makes; it is without any handicap adjustment (to equalize competition).

Six pack — Six strikes in a row!!

Sleeper — A rear pin that is not easily seen because of a pin directly in front of it (Ex.: 2-8, 3-9, 1-5).

Span — On a bowling ball, the distance between the thumb and finger holes

Spare — To knock down with the second throw the pins standing left after the first throw.

Split — Various combination of pins standing after a first throw where one or more pins has been knocked down creating a space between standing pins and thus a harder spare. Examples: 4-5, 5-6, 4-7, 6-10, 7-10, 4-6-7-10.

Spot — A target on the alley bed (usually the arrows or the dots) where the bowler aims.

Spot bowling — A method of aiming the ball in which spots (arrows and dots) on the lane are used as targets rather than looking at the pins during the throw.

Stiff lane — A non-hooking lane.

Straight ball — Ball thrown that takes a direct path to the pins without curving.

Strike — Knocking down all ten pins with the first effort.

Strike out — Making three strikes in the tenth frame.

Tap — An apparent perfect hit for a strike but one pin is left standing.

Thin hit — (also light hit) — A ball hitting mostly the side of the pin deflecting it sideways.

Throwing rocks — Piling up strikes with a speed ball.

Triple (also turkey) — Three consecutive strikes.

Turkey — Three consecutive strikes.

Vacancy — A “dummy” score used when a team does not have the same number on the team roster as do other teams. The vacancy score is set by the league and carries a handicap the same as if some bowler was carrying that average.

Washout — The 1-2-10 or 1-2-4-10 leave for right-handers; 1-3-7 or 1-3-6-7 for left handers. Distinguished from a split due to the head pin (1 pin) still standing.

Working ball — A ball with great spin that produces a lot of action among the pins. The same ball will break up splits when hit on the nose.

Related posts:

1. The Rules of Bowling (Ten Pin Bowling)
2. The Rules of Ping Pong (Table Tennis)
3. The Official Rules of Ping Pong (Table Tennis)

Bowling is one of the most popular indoor games for party. Everyone can play it. The rules of bowling aren’t difficult. If you want to have a good time, go to the bowling with your friends.

The Lane

The length of bowling lane (or alley) is 18.2 m and the width is 1.7 m. On the both side of the lane there are gutters. If the ball goes in the gutter it will pass by the pins and you will score 0 points. The zone for run and throwing the ball calls “the approach“. The length of approach is 4.68 m. The approach finishes with the “foul line“. If the bowler step over the line it will be a foul, his throw won’t score. 10 pins form a triangle with 4 rows: the first row — 1 pin, the second row — 2 pins, the third — 3 pins, the forth row — 4 pins.

The pins and the balls

The are different balls for bowling which differ one from another by size and weight. Each bowler chooses ball to his liking. But there are some recommendations: for children — 4kg ball, for women — 4.5-5.4 kg balls, for men — 5.9-7.2 kg balls. The ball has 2 or 3 holes for fingers.

The tall of pin is 38 cm and the width is 12 cm at the widest point (where ball contacts with the pin).

The game

A game (it calls sometime “string“) consists of 10 frames. In frame each player rolls the ball two times.

When the bowler knocks down all 10 pins with his first roll, it is a strike.

When all the pins are knocked down after second ball, it is a spare.

If any pins are left standing at theirs places, it is “open frame“.

If player steps over the foul line during delivery, it is a foul and it counts as a roll. If any pins are knocked down they will be respotted without counting.

If some pins are knocked down by a ball that has dropped in the gutter, or by a ball bouncing off the rear cushion, they won’t count, and will be respotted.

Scoring

In an open frame, a player simply gets point for the number of pins that he knocked down.

When it is a spare, a slash mark is recorded in a small square in the upper righthand corner of that frame on the score sheet, and no score is entered until the first ball of the next frame is rolled.

Then point is given for 10 plus the number of pins knocked down with that next ball. For example, a player rolls a spare in the first frame; with the first ball of the second frame, the player knocks down 6 pins. The first frame, then, gets 16 points. If 1 of the remaining 4 pins get knocked down, 7 points are added, for a total of 23 in the second frame.

In the case of a strike, it is recorded with an X in the small square, the score being 10 plus the total number of pins knocked down in the next two rolls. Thus, the bowler who rolls three strikes in a row in the first three frames gets credit for 30 points in the first frame.

In the case of spare in the last frame, player must do one more roll to close frame.

When the bowler gets strike in the last frame, he rolls two times again before the final score can be tallied.

The maximum score is 300 per game.

Do you have some difficulties with terms of bowling? Read the Glossary of Bowling Terms.

Related posts:

1. Bowling Terms
2. The Rules of Snooker
3. The Rules of Ping Pong (Table Tennis)