How to Play Long Bowls

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Long Bowls is an outdoor lawn game for two to eight players in which competitors take turns rolling large balls towards a small target ball, known as the jack. The aim is simple: get your ball closer to the jack than your opponent's. That simplicity is exactly why it works so well at family gatherings, school sports days, and garden parties of every kind.

The game requires no special surface and very little physical strength, which makes it genuinely accessible to children and older adults alike. Play is social, competitive, and surprisingly tactical once you start thinking about blocking lines and disturbing your opponent's best balls.

A little history

Lawn bowling games of broadly similar character have been played in Britain for several centuries, and bowling greens are documented in England from at least the thirteenth century. Long Bowls as a distinct garden-game format, designed to be played informally on a domestic lawn rather than on a manicured bowling green, developed as part of the wider growth of packaged outdoor games during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Its precise origins as a named product category are unclear, though the core mechanics are firmly rooted in the long tradition of target-bowling games found across Europe.

Setting up

1. Clear a level playing area of at least 10 to 15 metres in length and roughly 2 to 3 metres wide. Mark the bowling end with a mat or line.
2. Divide players into two teams or agree on individual play. Distribute bowls equally between sides: in a two-player game each player takes four bowls; in team play divide the total set evenly.
3. Decide who bowls first, either by agreement or by a coin toss.
4. The first player bowls the jack from the mat to the far end of the playing area. The jack must travel at least 6 metres (or the agreed minimum distance) to be in play. If it falls short or goes out of bounds, the opposing side bowls the jack instead.
5. Once the jack has come to rest, play begins.

How to play

1. The player or team that bowled the jack bowls first. Stand with at least one foot on or behind the mat and roll your bowl underarm towards the jack.
2. Players alternate bowls one at a time, each side delivering one bowl per turn, until all bowls have been played.
3. In a team game with more than two players, teammates bowl in a fixed order agreed before the end begins. You may not change the order mid-end.
4. A bowl must reach the jack end of the playing area to count. Any bowl that stops short of a minimum distance marker (if one is in use) is a dead bowl and is removed.
5. Any bowl that comes to rest outside the agreed side boundaries is also dead and removed from play immediately.
6. Bowls that strike the jack and move it are entirely valid. The jack's new position is where it comes to rest, and all measurements are taken from that new position.
7. If the jack is knocked out of the playing area, the end is declared dead and is replayed. Neither side scores for a dead end.
8. Once all bowls have been delivered, the end is complete. Players walk to the jack to determine the score.
9. The side with the bowl closest to the jack scores one point for each of their bowls that is closer to the jack than the nearest bowl of the opposing side. Only one side scores per end.
10. The scored side then takes the mat for the next end and bowls the jack to begin again. If no bowl from either side is definitively closer (an exact tie), no points are awarded and the same side re-bowls the jack.
11. Continue playing ends until one side reaches the agreed winning total or until the agreed number of ends has been completed.

Winning and scoring

The most common winning target is 21 points, reached across as many ends as required. Alternatively, players can agree a fixed number of ends (typically 10 or 12) and the side with the highest score at the finish wins. In the event of a tie on points after the final end, one additional sudden-death end is played: the side scoring on that end wins. If that end also ties, keep playing sudden-death ends until one side scores.

The fine points

Measuring is the most frequent source of dispute. Always measure to the nearest surface of each bowl from the nearest surface of the jack: centre-to-centre measurement is incorrect and will produce a different result on larger bowls. Use a piece of string, a dedicated measure, or a straight stick rather than eyeballing from a distance. If two bowls appear genuinely equidistant after careful measuring, the end scores nothing for either side and the jack is re-bowled by the same side that bowled it that end.

A bowl that is leaning against the jack (a 'toucher' in formal bowls terminology) is still in play and is measured in the normal way. If a player accidentally kicks or disturbs any bowl or the jack while walking up to measure, the opposing side may choose to leave the disturbed ball in its new position or ask for it to be replaced as accurately as possible in its original position. Agreement between captains is the standard resolution; if no agreement is reached, replace the bowl as best as both sides can reconstruct.

How to win more often

• Draw first, block second: always try to place your first bowl right beside the jack rather than using early bowls as blockers. A bowl touching the jack is very hard to dislodge cleanly.
• Watch the land. Even a domestic lawn has subtle slopes. Bowl a trial line mentally, and if your first bowl drifts, adjust your angle rather than simply trying harder on the same line.
• When you are holding shot (your bowl is closest), use later bowls to place guards in front of the jack. A guard forces opponents to bowl around or over it, making a precise strike much harder.
• When trailing, consider a firm drive at a cluster of opposing bowls near the jack. A controlled drive can scatter several scoring bowls at once and shift the jack to a more favourable position for you.
• Count the bowls still to come before deciding your shot. If you are holding two shots and your opponents have only one bowl left, a safe draw to reinforce your position is almost always better than a risky drive.

Variations

Singles (Head-to-Head)

Two players each take all four bowls of one colour and play a full 21-point game alone. This is the fastest format and the best way to learn the game quickly, as every bowl decision is yours alone and the consequences are immediate.

Pairs

Two teams of two players, with each player bowling two bowls per end. Partners decide between themselves which player leads (bowls first) and which skips (bowls last and directs tactics). The skip's final bowl is often the most tactically important of the end.

Triples

Two teams of three, with each player delivering two bowls per end (using a six-bowl set) or three bowls per end with a larger set. Roles are lead, second, and skip. This format suits six-player groups well and keeps everyone active throughout.

Target Bowls

A scoring variant in which concentric circles are drawn or marked on the ground around the jack's starting position. Bowls score points according to which ring they rest in at the end of each round, regardless of opponents' bowls. This version removes the head-to-head element and works well for mixed-ability groups or as a party game where elimination is not desirable.

Long Bowls: frequently asked questions