Hay bowling is a homemade game you'll see at harvest festivals, pumpkin patches, school fall fairs and farm weddings. Rectangular hay bales mark out a lane, and players roll a ball at a set of pins (or pumpkins, or plastic bottles) at the end. It has nothing to do with ten-pin equipment, which is exactly the point: it's cheap, outdoorsy and works for kids and adults.
Two common versions
- Hay bale lane: two rows of bales laid end to end form the gutters. The bales keep the ball moving toward the pins and double as seating.
- Pumpkin bowling: a small, round pumpkin is the ball, and the targets are plastic pins, gourds or bottles. Bales at the end stop anything that rolls through.
Setting it up
- Pick flat ground. Short grass, a barn floor or a packed dirt path all work. Long grass stops the ball.
- Lay the bales. Leave a lane about two to three feet wide and 15 to 25 feet long. Shorter for small children.
- Set the pins in the standard triangle, four rows, so the game feels like real bowling. A plastic outdoor bowling set is the easiest option.
- Put a backstop of bales behind the pins so the ball doesn't roll into the next activity.
- Mark a throwing line with tape, chalk or a strip of hay.
Scoring and running it at an event
For a festival, keep it simple: two rolls per turn, count the pins and hand out a small prize for a strike. If a group wants to play a full game, use proper ten-frame scoring. The score calculator on a phone takes care of the arithmetic.
- Have a volunteer reset pins so the line keeps moving.
- Let young children roll from halfway down the lane.
- Bring a spare ball. Pumpkins split.
Safety
Hay is dusty and can bother people with allergies or asthma, so set up in the open air. Use light balls rather than real bowling balls, and keep spectators behind the bales, not at the pin end. Straw (the stalks left after grain is harvested) works just as well as hay for walls and is often cleaner and cheaper.
Looking for more outdoor versions of the game? See outdoor bowling rules and silly bowling games.