The game consists in knocking down the greatest number of pins, out of a total of 10, with a ball of variable weight with three holes in which the thumb and only the last joint of the middle and ring fingers must be inserted.
The pins are arranged at the bottom of the track according to a very precise pattern. The correct throwing technique requires that the shot is made by placing the ball on the palm of the hand facing upwards, the elbow tilted 90 ° at the height of the side and keeping the forearm straight and the wrist straight.
The starting position is with legs together. The game takes place on a specially constructed track in wood or synthetic material and bounded by two “gutters”, no less than 8.89 cm deep; it must be used with special shoes soles (leather) that help to slide up to the edge of the launch area of the track, where the ball is thrown and along its trajectory to the pins.
The track is duly oiled with a particular lubricant which, in addition to protecting the track itself, allows the ball to slide. The maximum achievable score is 300, total given by the sum of 12 consecutive strikes (1 strike in each turn for the first 9 turns, called frames, 3 strikes for the last frame). When at the end of the tenth round a spare is obtained, one is entitled to a further single additional roll; in the event that, again in the final round, the result of the shot is a strike, the additional shots become two.