Bowling is a popular sport that has been around for centuries. It involves rolling a ball down a lane to knock down pins. Bowling can be played competitively or just for fun. It’s a great activity for all ages.
Bowling also lends itself well to riddles. Riddles are a fun way to challenge your mind and think about things in new ways. This article contains 43 riddles about various aspects of bowling. Some focus on bowling balls, lanes, pins, scoring, and more. Each riddle helps you think creatively about this classic sport.
Why are riddles useful?
Riddles are useful for a few key reasons:
- They make you think in unconventional ways
- They test and strengthen comprehension skills
- They spark creativity and problem-solving abilities
- They’re fun to tackle and discuss with others
By working through these bowling riddles and their answers, you can expand your understanding of bowling while having some fun along the way.
Bowling Ball Riddles
Let’s start with a few riddles about one of the most iconic parts of bowling – the ball:
Riddle #1
I’m round in shape, heavy in weight. I’m often swirled with colors bright and bold. Bowlers choose me based on their style of play. What am I?
Answer:
A bowling ball.
Riddle #2
I have holes, but I don’t make doughnuts. I’m not very sweet. Bowlers stick their thumbs in me before sending me speeding down the lane. What am I?
Answer:
A bowling ball.
Riddle #3
You can have me drilled to fit your hand precisely. I come in weights from 6 to 16 pounds typically. Bowlers love sending me crashing into pins even though I can’t compete in major league sports. What am I?
Answer:
A bowling ball.
Bowling Lane Riddles
The next set of riddles focuses on bowling lanes:
Riddle #4
I’m long and narrow like a hallway in your home. I’m shiny, slick, and made of wood. Bowlers do their best to send balls straight down me to hit the pins. What am I?
Answer:
A bowling lane.
Riddle #5
I’m smooth as glass but not transparent at all. Squared off gutters line me on both sides. I’m specially oiled so balls can cruise at top speeds. What bowling essential am I?
Answer:
A bowling lane.
Riddle #6
I’m 60 feet long and 41.5 inches wide. 10 heavy pins await bowlers at the end of me. I’m built from maple wood and coated in oil. What am I?
Answer:
A bowling lane.
Bowling Pin Riddles
Let’s knock down some bowling pin riddles next:
Riddle #7
We stand in a triangle, 10 as a whole. We’re tall and slender, white as snow. Bowlers roll balls aiming to make us all fall. What are we?
Answer:
Bowling pins.
Riddle #8
I’m less than a foot tall but very tough to knock down. I feel strikes of excitement yet gutter balls of disappointment. I stand waiting for bowlers to roll balls my way. What am I?
Answer:
A bowling pin.
Riddle #9
At the end of the lane, I wait with my friends. We cheer for strikes and grumble when balls hook into the gutters. We smile for spares but frown when we’re left standing. What are we?
Answer:
Bowling pins.
Scoring Riddles
Let’s shift focus now to bowling scoring:
Riddle #10
Knock all 10 pins down with your first roll and you’ve earned me. Six frames of me makes for a score that’s quite heavenly! What am I?
Answer:
A strike.
Riddle #11
Miss pins on your first try, then get them all down with ball number two. That earns you one of me – I’m a word that rhymes with “true.”
Answer:
A spare.
Riddle #12
If you bowl me twice, that’s very nice! But if a third one is also yours, the crowd may start to roar. I’m the ultimate bowling prize. What am I?
Answer:
A strike.
Bowling Skill Riddles
Now let’s puzzle over bowling skills and techniques:
Riddle #13
My spin sends balls curving left across the shiny wooden floor. With practice, control emerges from chaos more and more! What type of bowling delivery causes commotion?
Answer:
A hook.
Riddle #14
Balls that I toss go straight ahead without any crosses. They sail smoothly down alley gaps aiming for middle pins foremost. What’s this most basic bowling skill called?
Answer:
Straight bowling.
Riddle #15
I’m the exact reverse of a hooking swirling sphere. Bowlers try landing me precisely in the pocket’s very rear! What tricky delivery makes pins scatter far and near?
Answer:
A back-up ball.
Bowling Experiences
Up next are riddles capturing the experience of bowling:
Riddle #16
Come one, come all onto the wooden floor! Grab shiny balls from round conveyors galore. Roll them straight or hook them round the curve. Cheer for strikes in this pastime you deserve! What fun activity brings joy for every age?
Answer:
Bowling
Riddle #17
Music pumps in darkened spaces lit so bright. Balls crash and pins clatter through the night! Friends laugh and cheer with frosty mugs in hand. Tell me bowling fans, where do you like to band?
Answer:
The bowling alley.
Riddle #18
I’m quite the rage when teammates tie their shoes. Conversation ceases when players start to choose their colorful balls. What joyous pastime is about to let loose?
Answer:
Bowling
Famous Bowlers
Let’s think now about iconic bowling stars:
Riddle #19
Who’s the champion bowler with nickname “The Golden Boy” earned through skill unmatched by other men or boys? This Hall of Famer’s still the only player to score 20 perfect 300 games on TV!
Answer:
Earl Anthony
Riddle #20
This bowling celebrity starred in movies and on a 1950s TV show bearing his name. Despite Hollywood fame, his passion stayed bowling lanes. He’s still hailed as one of history’s greats in this game. Who is this king of bowling entertainment?
Answer:
Andy Varipapa
Riddle #21
I first gained bowling fame on the PBA tour. Then I became an actor known as “Klinger” in a popular TV war spoof. But I’m still best loved for bowling glory and unmatched pursuit. What TV and bowling double threat am I?
Answer:
Jamie Farr
Tricky Bowling Riddles
Let’s amp up the challenge with trickier bowling brainteasers:
Riddle #22
We’re spheres that share a famous three-letter name. But we’re only distant cousins in a bowling lane. You write with our relatives, go to school and back home. We’d love to meet our pencil-pushing relatives roaming free outside the bowling dome! Who are we?
Answer:
Pens (Pin + Pen)
Riddle #23
I’m a sweet treat that shares half my name with the ball you roll down the alley. But I’d likely make your fingers far too sticky to properly grip and bowl! What circular dessert am I?
Answer:
Doughnut (Dough + Nut)
Riddle #24
Ball and alley sound like fun and games for kids. But ball and alley noodles might make stomachs flip! What odd food shares my name with two bowling words?
Answer:
Bow tie pasta (Bow + Tie)
Funny Bowling Riddles
Let’s lighten things up with funny bowling jokes and puns!
Riddle #25
What did the bowling ball say when the bowler dropped it on his toe?
Nothing – it just rolled away without saying a word!
Riddle #26
Why don’t eggs make good bowlers?
They keep cracking under pressure!
Riddle #27
Where do baby bowling balls come from?
The ball pit!
Bowling Ball Puns
Here are silly puns playing with bowling vocabulary:
Riddle #28
Bowling balls have their finger holes drilled…so when something goes wrong, who can they blame?
The holey driller!
Riddle #29
What did one bowling ball say to the other when they bumped into each other?
Sorry, my fault!
Riddle #30
Before a big match, bowling balls like to warm up by doing stretches…
They don’t want to pull a muscle!
Bowling Pin Puns
Now punny pin jokes:
Riddle #31
Where do bowling pins shop for trousers?
The pin-tailor!
Riddle #32
Why don’t bowling pins ever get headaches?
Because their pain threshold is very high!
Riddle #33
What do you call a bowling pin that escaped from prison?
A pin-fugitive!
Bowling Math Riddles
Let’s combine math and bowling:
Riddle #34
Lisa bowled 5 strikes in a row, then knocked down 8 pins with her next ball. After two more rolls, she knocked them all down. How many total pins did Lisa bowl over in her series?
Answer:
90 pins (5 strikes is 50 pins, 8 pins, then a spare is 10 more so 50+8+10=90)
Riddle #35
Jarrett had scores of 150, 125, 110 in his first 3 games. If he bowled 195 in game 4, what was his average score over the 4 games?
Answer:
145 (Total pins were 150+125+110+195 = 580, divided by 4 games is 145 average)
Riddle #36
Brianna scored strikes in 6 frames as well as spares in 3 frames. She knocked down 7 pins with her first roll in the 10th frame. How many total pins did Brianna knock down if she finished her 10th frame?
Answer:
214 pins (6 strikes is 60+30 pins for spares + 7+10 in last frame)
Tough Riddles for Bowling Experts
Let’s finish with super challenging brainteasers for top bowling fans:
Riddle #37
I have no eyes, ears, mouth or nose, but I swing bats and wear shiny clothes. Rock stars lust for me onstage and bowlers cheer when I come of age. What am I?
Answer:
A strike
Riddle #38
Until bowlers choose to throw me around, I sit atop my tower without making a sound. But once I fly toward pins so erect, crazy spins through the air make me deflect. Bowlers hope that in the end, I will bring a score on which they can depend. What am I?
Answer:
A bowling ball
Riddle #39
Knock all of us down in just one hit, that’s called a strike – you’re such a star! Back again you immediately come, one more strike means you get…(finish this rhyme’s second half and name what 3 consecutive strikes earns).
Answer:
Turkey
Riddle #40
We’re spheres sent rolling toward a final stand. But on that journey we are sliced and curved by bowlers’ hands. In the end we hope we’re centered, straight and true. Smash those pins – there’s nothing else we’d rather do! What are we?
Answer:
Bowler’s balls
Riddle #41
Twelve long rectangular allies stretch from start to end. Their gutters snag my round sides if I dare to bend. Sixty slick feet ahead the pins for which I’m aimed. Knock them down and screams ring out exclaiming I’m well-famed. But miss and silence drops with pins still standing tall…until my bowler sends me crashing toward them all! What curving sphere am I in this bowling game?
Answer:
The bowling ball
Conclusion
How’d you do with these 43 bowling riddles? These brainteasers let you look at bowling from creative angles. They play with bowling equipment, rules, skills, experiences, and more while challenging your puzzle-solving skills.
Bowling’s been enjoyed for centuries and remains a great sport for all ages and abilities today. It brings out friendly competition and camaraderie between teammates. Bowling’s also endlessly fun thanks to the many challenges involved with rolling balls to hit pins. Plus, it never gets old trying for strikes, spares, and hopefully that coveted 300 perfect game!
So grab some friends, lace up bowling shoes, and have fun tackling these 43 riddles next time you hit the lanes!
