Nessaid Bowling

Nessaid Bowling is ten pins at the end of a maple lane. Nothing is aimed for you: one swipe up the lane is the whole throw, and what the ball does after that is what a real ball would do.

ONE SWIPE IS THE THROW

Where your finger comes down is where the ball starts. The way the swipe slants is where the ball is aimed. How far and how fast you swipe is the power. Bend the end of the swipe and the ball hooks that way once it grips the lane - as much as a real ball can, never more. Swipe across the lane and the gutter is yours too.

SEE HOW IT WORKS

How to swipe shows ten swipes on a maple board, one after another: straight, slanted, hooked, soft and hard. Each is drawn in chalk and then bowled, so you can see what every kind of swipe does before you try it.

CHALK IT

Turn on the chalk and every throw leaves two marks: your swipe where your finger went, and the ball's path down the lane.

PRACTICE ON YOUR OWN LANE

Alone, on a lane you can change: its turn factor, from no hook at all to twice the hook, and its length, from 10 to 25 metres.

TEN FRAMES, SCORED PROPERLY

A strike is ten and your next two balls; a spare is ten and your next one. Touch the scores and the whole sheet opens, every ball marked the way a scoresheet marks it.

TWO VIEWS

Down the lane from behind the ball, or straight down from above - the one to use when a split needs reading.

ALONE, WITH BOTS, OR WITH FRIENDS NEARBY

Play by yourself, or against bots you name; a bot's skill is how close to its line it rolls. Or play with nearby phones, up to six bowlers: one hosts a game over Wi-Fi, a hotspot, Bluetooth or Nearby, and the others join with a code. No internet and no account, ever. If a phone drops out, the game waits for it.

MORE

• Bumpers, take-backs and five difficulties

• Eight balls to choose from

• Everything is drawn: no photographs, and the same roll knocks the same pins on every phone

• 33 languages

The game is free and shows ads.