[ ASCII BOWLING ]

A first-person, 3D-lit ten-pin lane drawn entirely in ASCII. Up to four bowlers per lobby, with a chat room for your lobby. Slide side to side, turn to line up your throw, then time the power meter. When it's someone else's turn you watch from beside the lane. Highest score wins.

Want to practise? Create a private room and press START GAME on your own.

Choose Quick match, or create a room and share its code or invite link.

You bowl in first person. Keys: ◄ ► (or A / D) slide side to side, ▲ ▼ (or W / S, or E / Q) turn the ball left or right (the cyan dots show the straight line it will take), Space starts the power meter and releases the ball. You can also drag across the lane: sideways to move, up and down to turn. Throwing is two timing steps: stop the power bar inside its small ^ sweet zone, then stop the O inside the | aim target. Both targets slide back and forth while the bars run, the zone shrinks as your score climbs, and the aim bar sweeps faster at high power. Read the lane: slick oil slows your ball's sideways travel, dry patches pull it, tilted lanes push it, and later frames bring wide, tight or staggered racks, gold pins (+5 each, harder to topple) and sliding pins. Strikes (and some spares) earn a power-up, up to two: CURVE BALL bends your throw, HEAVY BALL smashes pins at the cost of speed, BUMPERS keep you out of the gutter. Pick one before you throw. If you stall for 45 seconds your ball is rolled for you, and a lost connection removes you after 30 seconds.

Guests can play. Logged-in players have finished games saved to the records above; the Daily Challenge gives everyone the same lane and racks for the day.