10 Pins | Mini-Bowling & More in Franklin


We are venturing out and about a bit more and recently had a much needed mommy-daughter date in Franklin. We hit up 10 Pins for mini-bowling for the first time and had so much fun! I can’t wait to go back and take the whole family next time.

What is Mini-Bowling?

If you are not familiar with mini bowling, it is a bit of a mash-up between duckpin bowling and regular bowling. It is similar to duckpin with smaller pins, shorter lanes, smaller and lighter balls, plus no finger holes in the bowling balls. The size and weight made them a great option for my girl’s smaller hands! (A little too great, maybe? The balls are so much lighter than we are used to, my little love quickly found out what the term “lofting” means. Whoops.)

How Does Mini-Bowling Work?

Mini-bowling is similar to regular bowling, with two rolls per bowler’s turn, automatic scoring with fun animations, and bumpers that can be set to pop up and go down automatically for kids who need them. The pin reset is a string pinsetter, meaning all the pins are connected to strings that pull up the pins after every roll. Think of a bowling pin marionette. This was a big hit and kept my girl entertained the whole time. Also, you don’t need to remember spare socks, because bowling shoes are not required to play. Your street shoes will work just fine! (Closed-toed are recommended, though, to avoid any hurt toes if a ball gets dropped.)

There are six mini-bowling lanes available, and eight seats for every two lanes. The seats themselves are a neat feature and have a bit of history. They were originally theater seats at Bob Jones University in South Carolina in the 1940’s and have traveled to other locations before coming to have a home at 10 Pins.

Plan Your Visit to 10 Pins Bowling

In order to bowl, 10 Pins highly recommends and prefers reservations at this time. They will attempt to accommodate walk-ins, when possible. Your best bet is to call ahead, no matter what. When you call to make a reservation, you will need to pre-pay for your group, and secure your spot with a credit card. There is a maximum of six people per lane. Lanes can be rented for a full hour for $25 with 1-2 bowlers or $40 for 3-6 bowlers. They also offer half hour rates, upon request. Half hour rates are $15 for 1-2 bowlers and $25 for 3-6 bowlers.

We went for the full hour, and were able to play two full games in our allotted time. This was with the two of us doing much exploring, taking pictures, and dancing to the juke box the whole time. Two games in one hour is apparently not the norm. Staff at 10 Pins said the average is three games played in an hour for up to four people while still allowing time for socializing. (We managed to have the whole alley to ourselves during our reservation slot, so we may have taken advantage of exploring the space more than we would have, had it been busier. We definitely could have been a bit more frugal with our time, but we are a bit more relaxed on our mommy dates.) We had a great time, though, and thought it was still a more than fair price with just two games!

In addition to bowling, there is an arcade and table game area, bar, juke box, and large screen televisions. The games include foosball, basketball, darts, Big Buck hunting, Jenga, and Golden Tee. Games are typically $1 each, with the exception of Golden Tee. Jenga is available for free.

Food at 10 Pins

You can also order from Greeks Pizzeria’s full menu at the Ipad ordering station and have it delivered to your lane. Lighter snack foods, such as hot dogs, brats, chips, or nachos are available from the bar. There is a shared table space between the two lanes or tables with bar stools off to the side of the lanes for a spot to eat. The bar has eight beers on tap, ciders, seltzers, canned and bottled beers, as well soda, juice, and bottle water for beverage options. The restrooms are located in the back, by the arcade and table games, and both sets of restrooms have changing tables available.

Covid-19 Measures

I was very impressed with cleanliness all-around, and additional measures have been taken to support cleanliness and safety during this time. Balls and chairs are sanitized in-between groups, and partitions have been put up in-between every two lanes. There are also two ball color types, so each lane has their own easily identifiable color. There are also pump hand sanitizers at every lane table.

If you are looking for more to do during your visit to Franklin, check out the Wild Geese Bookshop, Hoosier Cupboard Candy Store, or Toodleydoo Toys! We went big and added them to our date. The girl was over the moon!

Address
27 Monroe St.
Franklin
IN
46131

Visit 10 Pins | Mini-Bowling & More in Franklin

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