Archive for March, 2008
Wii Bowling and Sports Games Popular with All Ages
Friday, March 14th, 2008
Recent news stories discussing the popularity and benefits of Wii Bowling for seniors indicate that Wii bowling, as well as Tennis may gain more fans in retirement communities around the country.Wii bowling is fast becoming a favorite pastime at retirement homes. Older adults get some exercise and can improve eye hand coordination when playing Wii bowling, or any of the many other great games for the Wii, such as golf or tennis.
Having tried the demo version of Wii Bowling shipped with the Wii console, I am impressed. I immediately thought of someone bowling for many years, even decades and then being unable to continue because of arthritis or other medical problems associated with aging.
Wii systems have been difficult to come by and many have waited until just recently to get their hands on one. While the games that ship with the Wii are fun, the true Wii experience comes through when playing the “real” games.
The Wii bowling games from Brunswick and PBA are much more realistic in appearance, with characters that look like real people with every configurable option imaginable from shoes to hats to colored bowling balls. You can customize your character to your hearts content.
The more advanced bowling games for the Wii also offer a much more ‘tactile” feel, meaning more sensitive controls and somewhat higher learning curve than the Wii bowling demos. If you like the Wii bowling demo at all, then you really should check out the full Wii bowling games.
How to Pick up Spares
Monday, March 3rd, 2008
Bowling, like many other endeavors, is easy to learn but hard to master. This especially true regarding picking up spares. Few of us are so good that we never leave pins behind after the first ball.
It’s important to be concerned at the beginning of each frame with what you are left with as far as spares to pickup. So plan ahead. and, whatever you do, avoid the 7 - 10 split.
Picking up spares takes a lot or practice. It has been said “Pick up the spares and the strikes will come.” That is quite true.
There are around 1,000 different spare combinations. Some people have a special ball to pick up their spares which is drilled differently.
Below is a diagram of the pins and their positions. If you are a beginning bowler, it is
important to familiarize yourself with this pin diagram.
The 7 pin leave and the 10 pin leave are usually picked up by a far right (7) or far left (10) roll of the ball.
Some spares can be picked up by rolling a strike ball, if the 5 pin is part of the leave. Taking out the 5 pin hopefully will pick up the other pins.
The following are some spares and possible solutions for picking them up:
- The 6-9-10 leave would be picked up by the far left starting position and going cross lane.
