We found out that our hometown of two years has a candlepin alley hidden above some abandoned storefronts, and naturally we had to check it out. If you have never spent any time in New England, this is what we call bowling.
Candlepin (and it's weird, Rhode Island cousin, duckpin) is the precursor to modern "big ball" bowling. The pins are narrower and the balls are much smaller, about the size of a softball, so knocking over pins is much harder. As a consolation, you get three balls per frame (they're called "boxes" in candlepin) instead of the usual two. Even so, scores are much lower. There has never been a perfect game, 300 score in candlepin. From my own personal experience, I regularly bowl around 120-140 in big ball with a high in the 180s. In candlepin I'm around 60-70, with a high of (if I remember correctly) 84.
Everything about candlepin feels antiquated. This alley, for instance, had you reset the pins manually with a button instead of having a computer for it. You also entered the scores manually, although it was into a computer instead of pen and paper. Those still exist, by the way. The one time I played duckpin, the scoring was all pen and paper.
I love the ball return, too. The balls just roll back on a rail between the lanes, and there's a little chicane they go through to slow them down before the players grab them.
Candlepin bowling furmeets used to be pretty common around here. There were at least three that I can think of in Eastern Massachusetts, and they all allowed fursuit bowling, which was so cool. The balls are small enough that you can pretty well handle it with two furry paws, or one if you have silicone pawpads. Sadly, they all shut down at the start of covid and none of them have come back.
Anyway, it seemed like a cool place. I hope we go back lots of times!