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Bowling Trivia

What is the bowling score that has been bowled the fewest times?

Possible answers

• (submitted by Evan Looney)
  "I believe the answer is 297, because it is really hard for a good bowler to leave the three pins on the last shot, where he would normally have left a split or just the ten pin (for right hander) or the 7 pin (left hander)"

• (submitted by Kyle)
  "I believe... although a 297 is difficult to shoot... that a 292 has been bowled the fewest times... having to chop off the 6 and 10 or 4 and 7 is extremely difficult to do."

• (submitted by Carl)
  "What about a Zero? How many people have rolled the ball into a gutter 20 consecutive times?"
  site reply: I would think it would be harder to get a single pin than to just bowl it down the gutter each time, so maybe a score somewhere less than 10 but greater than 0 is the right answer?

• (Submitted by Travis)
  "The score of the game that has been bowled the fewest times is 299 1/2. It has only been bowled once. It happened back in the early 1900's and one of the pins broke in half on his last ball and one half of the pin was still standing."

• (Submitted by Feelinfrosty247)
  "299 1/2 what a joke - I believe its 292/271"

• (Submitted by Matt)
  "I think that 291 has been bowled the fewest times because who bowls 11 in a row and then hits a clean 7 or 10 pin with the last ball they are throwing?"

• (Submitted by Ryan)
  "I Shot 291 just last week. I happened to get stuck on the approach and drop the ball. I cleanly took out the 7 pin."

• (Submitted by Sean)
  "I don't believe 292, 1 or 0 has ever been bowled in ABC league play"

• (Submitted by Bob)
  "I am about 95% sure it is 291. 299 and 290 are some of the most common, bowlers leaving the 10 or loosing it and dumping in the gutter."

• (Submitted by Bobby J)
  "292! ever try to get a 2 count? 292 it is...290 is a spare and 11 in a row and 7 counts are common."

• (Submitted by Brian)
  "271!!!!! To either get 1 miss and throw the next 11 or get a double(or any up to 9 in a row) then 1 spare and strike out, it is the only score that HAS NEVER been bowled. Therefore my guess is 271."

• (Submitted by Raymond)
  "I do know of a sanctioned 294 game where Rob Harding from Sheffield, England took out the 6,7,8,10 on his last shot!! 292 could also probably be achieved through taking out the 6-9 (right handed) or 4-8 (left handed) clean on your last shot and I have almost seen it accomplished deliberately in practice!! But unfortunately the 10pin decided to fall!! A score either very high or very low is what your looking for, as anything else has too many possibilities of being achieved! Something like 271, 292, between 1 and 10 but then again, I would literally laugh myself to death if I saw someone have or had myself a 299 1/2!!!! HAHA! I would guess at it being something like 283 or something like that!

• (Submitted by Matt)
  "The answer has to be 292.  271 is uncommon, but there are other ways to do it besides the 1-miss/strikeout or the 1-spare in the middle of a game. As is the case with any game under 287. There is only one possible way to get a 292 and a 2-count is the hardest to throw on the first ball. Therefore it has to be the least common game thrown."

• (Submitted by Lou) 
  "I believe the score bowled the fewest times besides the 2991/2 is 292."

• (Submitted by anonymous)
  "I know that the score of 290 and 291 has been done because I have done it while I was in league. The only score the history of bowling that has never been bowled is a 292."

• "The most difficult bowling score to get is absolutely 292, which can only be scored with 11 consecutive strikes and then a two on the last ball...With ten standing, two is absolutely the toughest pin count to get with one ball."

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