Close-up on a lawn bowling game

© Graham Turner/Alam

Let’s have a ball

You know a game must be fun if it’s stuck around for eight centuries–and that’s how long folks have been playing lawn bowling (in some form or another). It was the invention of the lawn mower in 1830, allowing for smooth, freshly cut playing fields, that really popularized the sport. Our homepage features balls called ‘woods,’ or ‘bowls’, that competitors use during game play. The objective is to roll the grapefruit-sized balls toward a smaller ball called a ‘jack,’ and points are awarded to the players that are closest. Fancy a game?