Lawn Bowling (also known as crown green bowls or bowls) is a precision sport similar to bocce. The goal is to roll bowls (radial asymmetric balls) closest to the white ball (often referred to as the "jack").

Often thought of as an English version of bocce, lawn bowling is a game where players deliver oddly weighted balls, called bowls, towards a smaller, target ball. The weight bias on the bowls causes them to take a curved path when delivered, making the game more challenging. Points are scored by landing bowls closer to the target than the opponent. The highest amount of points win the end, and the winner of the most ends wins the game.

Score points by delivering bowls closer to the jack than the opponent.

Play starts with one player rolling the jack to the opposite end of the green to set as a target. Once stopped, the jack is moved to the center of the rink and players begin bowling. Players are allowed to curve the bowl outside the rink's boundary, so long as it comes to rest within the boundary. Once all players have delivered their bowls (four in singles and pairs, three in threesomes and two in foursomes), the bowls closest to the jack are determined. Shots are awarded for each bowl that a competitor delivers closer to the jack the opponent's nearest. Once determined, the jack is picked up and a new end begins. Games typically consist of twenty-one ends.

Lawn bowling can trace its roots to 13th century England, where it was played by peasants and nobility alike. As the game grew in popularity in the 15th century, it was banned out of fear it might jeopardize military training. Though largely ignored as time passed, the ban was officially lifted in 1845. The "Manual of Bowls Playing," which established rules of the modern game was published in Scotland, in 1849. The first official group, the Scottish Bowling Association, was found in 1892. Today lawn bowling is played in more than 40 different countries, and is most popular in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Bowls
Jack

Players should always wear proper footwear when bowls are active on the bowling green.

Mild cardio and weight training can prepare a person for outdoor activity, while experience in bocce or horseshoes is beneficial.

Bowl - an oblate spheroid designed to travel a curved path because of a weight bias

Bowling Green - precisely leveled and manicured grass or synthetic surface

End - round of game play; games usually consist of twenty-one

Jack - small ball, which is thrown first and then used as a target

Rink - parallel playing strips which divide the bowling green

Shots - points awarded for delivering a bowl closer to the jack than the opponent's

http://clearwaterlawnbowlingclub.com/sport.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowls