Actually, I've recently learned that lane conditions change pretty dramatically from day to day and probably even from frame to frame. All bowling lanes are oiled using a particular oil pattern. If you look at the PBA website, for example, you'll see that there are 5 or 6 specific oil patterns (each named, hilariously, after an animal) that must be used at all PBA events. They also keep separate stats on each bowler's performance on each oil pattern, since some patterns are better suited to specific play styles than others. The most consistently good bowlers are the ones who can adapt their style to these constantly changing conditions. My company recently made a bowling game (see URL), so I've been doing a bunch of research on this stuff.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kleenex @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
Actually, I've recently learned that lane conditions change pretty dramatically from day to day and probably even from frame to frame. All bowling lanes are oiled using a particular oil pattern. If you look at the PBA website, for example, you'll see that there are 5 or 6 specific oil patterns (each named, hilariously, after an animal) that must be used at all PBA events. They also keep separate stats on each bowler's performance on each oil pattern, since some patterns are better suited to specific play styles than others. The most consistently good bowlers are the ones who can adapt their style to these constantly changing conditions. My company recently made a bowling game (see URL), so I've been doing a bunch of research on this stuff.