Skull Bowl
Play Skull Bowl free online. Swipe to roll a skull down a crypt lane, curve it into ten tombstone pins and chase strikes and spares across ten full frames.
How to Play Skull Bowl
Deep under the chapel there is a bowling lane that nobody living remembers building. The ball is a skull, the pins are ten little tombstones, and the scoring is exactly the same as real ten-pin bowling.
To roll, put your finger down where you want the skull to start and swipe up toward the pins. The faster the swipe, the harder it rolls, and the angle of your swipe sets its direction. While it rolls you can hold the left or right side of the lane to curve it. The orange bar under the lane shows how much curve you have left.
Each of the ten frames gives you two rolls to knock down all ten pins. All ten with the first roll is a strike, and the next two rolls are added to that frame as a bonus. All ten using both rolls is a spare, and the next roll is added as its bonus. A skull that drops into a gutter rolls straight past the pins.
In the tenth frame, a strike or spare earns extra balls with a fresh rack, so a perfect game is twelve strikes in a row for 300 points. The scoreboard at the top keeps track of every frame for you.
Controls
Touch
- Swipe up from where you want the skull to start. While it rolls, hold the left or right half of the lane to curve it.
Mouse
- Press, drag upward and release to roll. Hold the button on one side of the lane to curve it.
Keyboard
- Left and Right move the skull, Up and Down tilt the aim. Hold Space or Enter to fill the power bar and let go to roll. While rolling, hold Left or Right to curve. P pauses, M mutes.
Tips and Tricks
- Aim for the pocket, the gap just beside the front pin, not the front pin itself. Hitting it dead on often leaves pins standing at the back corners.
- A medium-fast swipe is often better than your fastest one. Too much speed can send the skull straight through without scattering the pins.
- Use the curve late. Holding a side near the pins bends the skull into the pocket more than holding it at the start.
- For a single pin left on one side, start from the opposite side of the lane and roll across.
- Watch the arrows painted on the lane. Rolling over the same arrow each time makes your throws repeatable.
About the Game
Skull Bowl is a full game of bowling squeezed into a couple of minutes. The pins bounce off each other, off the side boards and into the pit, so no two strikes look quite the same. A game is ten frames long, and your total is your score.
It is drawn from above: a long lane of old dark boards, red aiming arrows and a skull that spins as it rolls. It plays best on a phone held upright or with a mouse. Your best game is saved in this browser, and every finished game can go on the Top 10 board.
Skull Bowl FAQ
Is the scoring the same as real bowling?
Yes. Strikes add your next two rolls, spares add your next roll, and the tenth frame gives bonus balls. The highest possible score is 300.
How do I curve the skull?
After you let go, hold the left or right half of the lane, or the Left or Right key. The orange bar shows how much curve is left for that roll.
What happens in the gutter?
The skull drops into the channel at the side and rolls past the pins without touching them. That roll scores zero.
Why did a pin fall that I never touched?
Pins knock each other over, and pins bouncing off the side boards can take others down too, just like real bowling.
How long is one game of Skull Bowl?
Ten frames, usually about two minutes.
