Bowling can refer to two distinctly different types of game. The first is played along an "alley", most commonly made of synthetic material imitating a wood surface. Historically, bowling lanes were made of wood, however, many newer centres are built with synthetic playing surfaces.
Several sports involve a ball rolling towards a target (in the case of bowling, pins); the players attempt to score points by knocking the targets down. Included in this group are:
- Ten-pin bowling, which evolved from ninepin bowling in the 19th Century.
- Five-pin bowling, played in Canada.
- Nine-pin skittles.
- Candlepin bowling, played in eastern Canada and New England, is a variation of ten-pin bowling, where the player gets to roll a small ball three times per frame instead of two, and the fallen pins are not removed between throws.
- Duckpin bowling, commonly found in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States and eastern Canada, is another variation of ten-pin bowling, where the player rolls three times per frame toward small, squat pins. A variant with pins encircled with rubber at their widest points, rubberband duckpin bowling, uses the same rules as ten-pin bowling.
The second group of bowling is played outdoors, usually on a lawn. Here the players throw a ball, which is sometimes eccentrically weighted, in an attempt to put it closest to a designated point. This group includes games such as Lawn bowls, Bocce, and Pétanque.
