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9-pin no-tap, explained

9-pin no-tap is regular tenpin bowling with one change: nine or more pins on your first ball count as a strike. Spares, the tenth frame and a perfect 300 work as usual. Try it below: the calculator is set to 9-pin no-tap.

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Best still possible300

Frame 1, ball 1: 10 pins standing.

The rule

In 9-pin no-tap, a first ball at a full rack that knocks down 9 or more pins is a strike, worth 10 plus your next two balls, exactly like a normal strike. In 8-pin no-tap, 8 pins is enough.

What does not change

Only a first ball at a full rack counts. Your second ball still needs every remaining pin for a spare, so nine on your second ball is simply nine. In the tenth frame the rule applies to every ball thrown at a full rack, fill balls included.

A scoring example

You open with nine pins, then nine again, then 7 and 2. In regular bowling the first two frames would wait for a second ball. In 9-pin no-tap both are strikes: frame one is 10 + 10 + 7 = 27, frame two is 10 + 7 + 2 = 19, and frame three adds 9. After three frames you have 55.

The tenth frame in no-tap

A nine on the first ball of the tenth is a strike, so you get two more balls. Each of those that goes at a full rack counts as a strike with nine as well. Nine, nine and eight is X X 8 on the sheet: 28 pins in the tenth.

A full game: no-tap against regular scoring

First balls of 9, 9, 8, 10, 9, 7, 9, 8 and 9, a 1 after the 8 in frame three, the 7 and the 8 picked up as spares, and 9, 9, 8 in the tenth. In 9-pin no-tap that is 221: every nine on a first ball is a strike, seven of them in this game.

The same first balls under regular rules, with every single pin picked up for a spare and a 9 as the fill ball, make 177. The no-tap game is 44 pins higher, and that bowler did not miss a single spare.

Why leagues and tournaments play no-tap

Scores go up, strikes come more often and a frame with a nine-count ends after one ball, so games move faster. That makes no-tap a favourite for fun leagues, fundraisers and one-day tournaments, and it gives newer bowlers more strikes to celebrate.

No-tap and your average

No-tap scores run higher than regular scores and there is no official way to convert one into the other, so keep them apart from your regular average. In Pinfall you set no-tap per league, and those games stay out of your regular average and records.

Score calculatorThe perfect game

Questions

What does 9-pin no-tap mean?

It means nine pins are enough for a strike. Knock down nine or ten with your first ball at a full rack and you score a strike, with no need to tap the last pin.

Can you still get a spare in no-tap?

Yes. If your first ball leaves two or more pins, knock them all down with your second ball for a spare, scored the normal way.

How does the tenth frame work in 9-pin no-tap?

A nine on the first ball is a strike and earns two more balls. Any of those thrown at a full rack is a strike with nine as well.

Is 9 pins a strike in no-tap?

Yes, with a first ball at a full rack. Nine with your second ball is just nine pins.

What is a perfect game in 9-pin no-tap?

Still 300: twelve strikes in a row, where every first ball of nine or more counts as a strike.

Does no-tap count for my league average?

That depends on your league's rules. Pinfall keeps no-tap games out of your regular average and records, so they never inflate it.

What is the difference between 9-pin no-tap and 9-pin bowling?

9-pin no-tap is regular tenpin bowling with ten pins on the lane, where nine down on the first ball counts as a strike. Ninepin bowling is a different game, played with nine pins set in a diamond.

How much higher are no-tap scores?

It depends on how often you leave a single pin. Every nine-count on a first ball becomes a strike, so a bowler who leaves a lot of single pins gains the most.