• 18 games
  • Checked October 2026

PE Games With Bowling Pins

Guarding games, knock-down targets and reset relays, each with the pins and balls a class of 24 needs.

PE Games With Bowling Pins

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  1. Sink the Ship: Four Pins on Every Mat1. One way to play a guarding game with ships to sink. Lay four mats around the gym, well apart, and stand four pins on each: the ships. A crew of five or six guards each ship from the floor around it. Nobody steps on a mat.2. Share out eight foam balls. Crews roll them along the floor at the pins on the other ships and block rolls at their own.3. A ship with every pin down is sunk. Its crew hands one pin to the teacher, stands the rest up and sails on. A ship never drops below one pin.4. The ship with the most pins at the whistle wins.Ages: 9 to 18. Players: 16 to 32. You need: four mats, plastic pins and foam balls. For a class of 24: 16 pins and 8 balls.
  2. Castle Corners: Four Teams, Three Pins Each1. A guarding game for four teams. Lay a hoop a few steps out from each corner of the gym and stand three pins inside it: a castle. Each team guards one.2. Share out eight foam balls. Players roll them along the floor at any other castle and block rolls at their own with feet or hands. Nobody steps inside a hoop.3. A fallen pin stays down, whoever knocked it. When a castle has no pin standing, its team jogs one lap of the gym together, stands all three up and plays on.4. Each lap is a point against that team. The fewest points after six minutes wins.Ages: 8 to 14. Players: 12 to 32. You need: plastic pins, foam balls and four hoops. For a class of 24: 12 pins and 8 balls.
  3. Switch Sides: When Your Pin Falls, You Change Teams1. A guarding game in which the teams keep changing. Two teams face each other across a center line. Every player stands a pin of their own on the team's back line.2. Share out eight foam balls. Players stay in their own half and roll them at the pins on the far line. Block with feet or hands, a step or more in front of the pins.3. When your pin falls, walk it around the side of the court, stand it on the other back line and play for that team.4. The game ends when one line holds every pin. After six minutes with no winner, the longer line wins.Ages: 8 to 18. Players: 10 to 30. You need: a plastic pin each and foam balls. For a class of 24: 24 pins and 8 balls.

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Guard-your-pin games 7

  • Castle Corners: Four Teams, Three Pins Each 1. A guarding game for four teams. Lay a hoop a few steps out from each corner of the gym and stand three pins inside it: a castle. Each team guards one. 2. Share out eight foam balls. Players roll them along the floor at any other castle and block rolls at their own with feet or hands. Nobody steps inside a hoop. 3. A fallen pin stays down, whoever knocked it. When a castle has no pin standing, its team jogs one lap of the gym together, stands all three up and plays on. 4. Each lap is a point against that team. The fewest points after six minutes wins. Ages: 8 to 14. Players: 12 to 32. You need: plastic pins, foam balls and four hoops. For a class of 24: 12 pins and 8 balls.
  • King Pin: Five Pins and One That Ends the Round 1. A guarding game with one pin that matters most. Each team stands five pins along its back line and a sixth with a band of tape around it in the middle of the row: the king. 2. Share out eight foam balls. Players roll them from their own half, and a fallen pin stays down. 3. Knocking down the king wins the round at once, but only after three of the other five are down. A king that falls sooner is stood back up. 4. Reset, swap ends and play the best of five rounds. Ages: 9 to 18. Players: 10 to 30. You need: plastic pins, tape and foam balls. For a class of 24: 12 pins and 8 balls.
  • One Pin Each: Knock Any Pin but Your Own 1. A guarding game with no teams. Every player stands a pin on a floor spot of their own, scattered over the gym. 2. Put one foam ball in play for every three players. Roll a ball at anyone's pin, and block rolls at yours with your feet. Stay a step away from your own pin: nobody stands over one. 3. When your pin falls, even if you bumped it yourself, carry it to an empty spot, stand it up and play on. 4. Count how many times you had to move. After five minutes, the players who never moved take a bow. Ages: 8 to 14. Players: 8 to 30. You need: a plastic pin and a floor spot each, and foam balls. For a class of 24: 24 pins and 8 balls.
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Guard-your-pin games, continued

  • Pin Soccer: Feet Only, Ball on the Floor 1. A guarding game played with the feet. Each team stands six pins along its own end line, well spread, and tapes a line three steps in front of them that no player crosses. 2. Play with three soft indoor soccer balls at once and no goalkeepers. Pass and shoot along the floor with the inside of the foot. A ball that rises above the knee goes to the other team. 3. A pin knocked down by a ball stays down. 4. The round ends when one team has no pin standing. Stand them all up, swap ends and play again. Ages: 9 to 18. Players: 8 to 24. You need: plastic pins, three soft indoor soccer balls and tape. For a class of 24: 12 pins and 3 balls.
  • Sink the Ship: Four Pins on Every Mat 1. One way to play a guarding game with ships to sink. Lay four mats around the gym, well apart, and stand four pins on each: the ships. A crew of five or six guards each ship from the floor around it. Nobody steps on a mat. 2. Share out eight foam balls. Crews roll them along the floor at the pins on the other ships and block rolls at their own. 3. A ship with every pin down is sunk. Its crew hands one pin to the teacher, stands the rest up and sails on. A ship never drops below one pin. 4. The ship with the most pins at the whistle wins. Ages: 9 to 18. Players: 16 to 32. You need: four mats, plastic pins and foam balls. For a class of 24: 16 pins and 8 balls.
  • Switch Sides: When Your Pin Falls, You Change Teams 1. A guarding game in which the teams keep changing. Two teams face each other across a center line. Every player stands a pin of their own on the team's back line. 2. Share out eight foam balls. Players stay in their own half and roll them at the pins on the far line. Block with feet or hands, a step or more in front of the pins. 3. When your pin falls, walk it around the side of the court, stand it on the other back line and play for that team. 4. The game ends when one line holds every pin. After six minutes with no winner, the longer line wins. Ages: 8 to 18. Players: 10 to 30. You need: a plastic pin each and foam balls. For a class of 24: 24 pins and 8 balls.
  • Two Against Two: A Roller and a Guard 1. A guarding game small enough that nobody stands still. Two pairs face each other at the ends of a lane ten steps long. Each pair stands two pins on its own end line, three steps apart. 2. One partner is the roller and the other the guard. The roller rolls from behind the end line. The guard blocks with the feet only, a step in front of the pins. 3. A pin down is a point, and it goes straight back up. Either pair may roll a ball that comes to it. 4. Partners swap jobs after every point. Play to seven. Ages: 8 to 14. Players: 4 to 32. You need: two plastic pins for each pair and a foam ball for each lane. For a class of 24: 24 pins and 6 balls.

Knock-down target games 6

  • Bank Shot Bowling: Off the Wall First 1. Bowling around a corner, in groups of four. Stand three pins in a row one step out from a side wall. The bowler stands eight steps down the wall and two steps out from it. 2. A roll has to touch the wall before it touches a pin. Two rolls a turn. 3. A pin that falls after the bank scores a point. A straight hit scores nothing, and those pins go back up. 4. Rotate bowler, setter and line after every turn. After three turns each, move the bowling spot one step farther from the wall, and the angle changes. Ages: 8 to 18. Players: 4 to 24. You need: three plastic pins and one ball for each lane, and a wall or a bench turned on its side. For a class of 24: 18 pins and 6 balls.
  • Leave the Middle One Standing 1. A target game about missing on purpose, in groups of four. Stand three pins in a row, one step apart, and put a band of tape around the middle one. 2. The bowler has two rolls with a small ball from six steps: one for each outside pin. 3. Score one point for each outside pin that falls and a bonus point for both. If the middle pin falls, the turn scores nothing. 4. Rotate bowler, setter and line. First to ten. Ages: 7 to 14. Players: 4 to 32. You need: three plastic pins, tape and a small ball for each lane. For a class of 24: 18 pins and 6 balls.
  • Middle Row: The Whole Class Clears Twelve Pins 1. A rolling game for the whole class against the clock. Stand twelve pins in a row along the center line, well spread. Half the class stands on a line eight steps to one side of the row and half on a line eight steps to the other. 2. On the whistle everyone rolls. A ball that passes through is stopped by the far side and rolled back. Nobody steps over their line. 3. The teacher stops the clock when the last pin falls. 4. Stand the row up and try to beat the time, rolling with the other hand. Ages: 6 to 12. Players: 10 to 32. You need: twelve plastic pins and a ball for every two players. For a class of 24: 12 pins and 12 balls.
  • Partner Lanes: Bowl From Both Ends 1. Bowling for two, with no waiting. Partners face each other at the ends of a lane ten steps long. Each stands one pin a step in front of their own feet. 2. One partner rolls at the far pin. The other stops the ball, stands the pin up if it fell and rolls back. 3. Score a point each time you knock your partner's pin down. 4. Play to seven. Then play a second game with the other hand. Ages: 6 to 12. Players: 2 to 30. You need: a plastic pin each and one ball for each pair. For a class of 24: 24 pins and 12 balls.
  • Soccer Bowling: Call Left, Middle or Right 1. Bowling with a kicked ball, in groups of four. Stand three pins in a row across the end of a lane, one step apart. 2. The kicker calls left, middle or right, then passes a soccer ball along the floor with the inside of the foot from eight steps away. 3. The called pin scores two points if it is the first to fall. Any other pin scores one. 4. The setter stands the pins up and sends the ball back. Rotate after every kick: kicker to setter, setter to the back of the line. First to ten. Ages: 7 to 14. Players: 4 to 32. You need: three plastic pins and a soccer ball for each lane. For a class of 24: 18 pins and 6 balls.
  • Through the Gate First: Two Cones Halfway Down the Lane 1. Bowling with a gate to thread, in groups of four. Stand three pins in a triangle at the end of a lane ten steps long. Halfway down, set two cones a step apart: the gate. 2. A roll counts only if it passes between the cones without touching one. Two rolls a turn. 3. Score a point for each pin down after a clean gate. 4. Rotate bowler, setter and line. When everyone has scored, move the cones a hand closer together. Ages: 6 to 14. Players: 4 to 32. You need: three plastic pins, two cones and one ball for each lane. For a class of 24: 18 pins and 6 balls.

Pin relays and reset races 5

  • Bowl, Run, Set: Every Bowler Sets the Pins for the Next 1. A bowling relay with no spare setter. Teams of four share a lane with four pins in a diamond at the far end and one ball. One player starts behind the pins as the setter. 2. The bowler rolls once, then runs down the side of the lane to be the next setter. 3. The old setter calls out how many pins fell, stands them up, carries the ball back and joins the line. 4. The team adds up its pins for three minutes. In the second round every team tries to beat its own total. Ages: 7 to 14. Players: 4 to 32. You need: four plastic pins and one ball for each lane. For a class of 24: 24 pins and 6 balls.
  • Copy the Card: Rebuild the Pattern From Memory 1. A memory relay. The teacher draws a pattern of six pins on a card for each team: a line, a V, a ring, two rows of three. The card stays face up at the start line, and six pins wait in a crate beside it. Teams of six. 2. Each runner studies the card, carries one pin to a build zone ten steps away and stands it where it belongs. 3. A runner may spend a trip moving a pin that stands in the wrong place, and carries nothing that time. 4. When the team thinks the pattern is right, it calls the teacher to check it against the card. Then teams swap cards. Ages: 8 to 14. Players: 12 to 30. You need: six plastic pins, a crate and a pattern card for each team. For a class of 24: 24 pins and no balls.
  • Move the Triangle: Six Pins, One Trip Each 1. A carrying relay with a shape to rebuild. Tape six marks in a triangle, three, two and one, at each end of a lane fifteen steps long. Six pins stand on the near triangle. Teams of six. 2. Each runner carries one pin to the far triangle, stands it on a mark and runs back. 3. A runner who knocks a standing pin over fixes it before leaving. 4. The team sits when the triangle stands at the far end. For a second race, bring it home two pins a trip. Ages: 6 to 12. Players: 12 to 30. You need: six plastic pins for each team and tape. For a class of 24: 24 pins and no balls.
  • Pin Swap Shuttle: Trade at Every Spot 1. A relay with three trades in it. Each team of four has three floor spots in a line down the gym, five steps apart, with a pin standing on each. The first runner holds a fourth pin. 2. Run to the first spot, stand your pin on it and take the one that was there. Trade again at the second spot and at the third. 3. Run back and hand the pin to the next runner. A pin left lying has to be fixed by the runner who left it. 4. The team sits when everyone has run twice. Ages: 7 to 12. Players: 8 to 32. You need: four plastic pins and three floor spots for each team. For a class of 24: 24 pins and no balls.
  • Up and Down Relay: Stand Them Up, Lay Them Flat 1. A relay in which every runner undoes the last one's work. Teams of four line up behind a line. Four pins lie on four floor spots in a row ahead of each team, two steps between spots. 2. The first runner stands all four pins up and runs back to touch the next runner's hand. The second lays each pin flat on its spot. So it goes, up and down. 3. A pin that topples or rolls off its spot is fixed by the runner who left it, before the next one goes. 4. The team sits when every runner has gone twice. Ages: 6 to 12. Players: 8 to 32. You need: four plastic pins and four floor spots for each team. For a class of 24: 24 pins and no balls.

How this list was compiled: Our list for a gym class with a set of plastic bowling pins, sorted by kind of game. The wording, the ages, the player counts and the pins and balls for a class of 24 are ours. Balls are rolled or kicked along the floor, nothing is thrown, and nobody is put out. Checked on 12 October 2026: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_stage), for the ages of the United States high school grades. Licence: own work

How it works

These bowling pin games for PE use plastic pins and balls that stay on the floor. The page opens on the guarding games, where every team or player defends pins of its own.

Read the full guide

Before the first roll

Balls are rolled along the floor, or kicked along it in Pin Soccer and Soccer Bowling. Nothing is thrown. A guard blocks a step in front of the pins and never stands over them.

With one set of pins

Castle Corners, Pin Soccer, King Pin and Middle Row each run on twelve pins for a class of 24. Empty plastic bottles with a little sand in them fill out a set.

  • A band of tape around a pin marks a king or a middle pin, so one set of pins plays every game.

Questions and answers

What are good high school PE games using bowling pins?

Sink the Ship, Switch Sides, King Pin, Pin Soccer and Bank Shot Bowling are written up to age 18. King Pin asks for the most planning, because the king counts only after three other pins are down.

Which bowling games for PE class leave nobody waiting?

Partner Lanes puts every player at a pin, with no line. Bowl, Run, Set keeps a team of four busy on one lane, because each bowler becomes the next setter. Middle Row has the whole class rolling at one row.

How do you play the PE game soccer bowling?

Stand three pins across the end of a lane. The kicker calls left, middle or right, then passes a soccer ball along the floor from eight steps. The called pin scores two if it falls first. Pin Soccer is the team version.

Is there a bowling pin game for PE with no teams?

One Pin Each. Every player guards a pin of their own and rolls at anyone else's. A player whose pin falls carries it to a new spot and plays on, so nobody is out.

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