What a fun place !!! Good old fashioned bowling, not traditional 10 pin so be aware. We had kids with us and it was perfect for them. They had a ramp to help guide the ball and bumpers for the lanes. Little arcade area and pin ball machines. Plus a bar area !! The staff were super helpful and friendly. read more

I mean...we had a good time, bowled up to five games a piece and ordered a fresh made pizza, for less than half the price of the Bowling Place we went last week. We showed up on a Friday evening for "Rock and Bowl" which was five games a person and shoes fro 12.99 each. For an additional $30 we got some draft beers and a fresh mushroom and hamburg pizza. Three stars for not really being able to hear the music part of "Rock and Bowl", for our lane having a bunch of problems resetting and for the loss of glass brick in the restrooms as they were when we first moved to Maine. Otherwise, check this place out! read more

Big 20 Bowling Center - Bowling Near Me - Scarborough, Maine

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It's exactly what you need on a Friday night. It's laid back and easy to go and have a good time. Bar, food, bowling. No complaints.

My first experience with candlestick bowling and it was very fun. So different from my normal bowling experience, and though I was skeptical I had a blast. Great beers, good pizza, and fun. read more

A two week trip to Maine with two active kids who have grown up out West means lots of candlepin bowling and this place did not disappoint! We were there on a Tuesday afternoon and bowled 3 strings. The folks working were super nice and helpful and we talked all things candlepin. Affordable, fun, and a New England staple if you're visiting! read more

Super friendly people, great beer, and clean bowling fun! Went while visiting Maine on a rainy night and were welcomed right in. Manual score keeping so when your competitor isn't looking... ;) Needless to say I won! read more

Big 20 Bowling Center - Killer bowling shoes! - Bowling Near Me - Scarborough, Maine

This is my first time candlepin bowling ever and this is right down the street from my house. Will definitely be coming back to do this more often hopefully this place doesn't close down. read more

Big 20 Bowling Center - Bowling Near Me - Scarborough, Maine

Love the feeling of going back in time. Old school candlepin bowl. Affordable price. Very clean. Super helpful and friendly staff. Can't wait to make many memories over the years with the family. read more

Big 20 Bowling Center - Doin' my best at that candlepin life - Bowling Near Me - Scarborough, Maine

I went here with some friends a couple of times, It was a lot of fun. You can bring your own shoes or rent ones there. Like any bowling alley. You have to punch in your scores but the machine will Talley them for you. You can program the machine for how many balls per turn which is always a plus. They have a good variety of snacks and Ales to drink. (No food or drinks on the lanes) Candle pins balls obviously, You can bring your own if you like. The staff is friendly and happy to help when and if needed. The prices are fair for what you get for food and per game. They do get very busy so you may have to wait or come back if they are packed. You can order balls there along with other bowling goodies. There are a few other games to play there also, Although I have not done any of them. It is located on a busy road that can be a bit of a pain to get out of depending on which way you are going. On the flip side, it is very easy to find being located where it is If you like candlepin bowling or have never been and want to try it. I say dive on in you will not be disappointed. read more

While planning my autumn foliage vacation, I knew we had some downtime and wanted to experience life in New England. I found this idea of candlepin bowling on Yelp and it definitely earned a 5 star rating! Apparently, the history of candlepin bowling can only be traced to the northern states of the US and Canada. There was no chance I was going to miss this opportunity to truly feel like a New Englander. This sport is closer to bowling with a touch of skeeball. There are 10 pins slimmer to the traditional bowling pins and you throw with a skeeball sized ball with 3 chances to knock as many pins possible. Throwing the ball with greater force does not necessarily mean more fallen pins. In fact, my kids did better than us! Fortunately, they had an electronic scoring machine which kept an accurate count of our pins. There were bragging rights on the line! We arrived on a Saturday night which was coincidentally Rock and Bowl night. With the disco ball flashing and the music blasting, we managed to squeeze in two games. It was only $20/hour and $2 for shoe rental. Rick, the owner was extremely kind and made us feel welcomed. So if you have the pleasure of coming to Portland, Maine please make time to try candlepin bowling at Big 20 so you can take home this special memory! read more

Big 20 Bowling Center - Bowling Near Me - Scarborough, Maine

Maintained a very nostalgic look. The owner is a very kind fellow who really just wants to make a special experience for the community. He stayed open slightly later than usual for us to finish our string and we were the only people left so that was pretty impressive. Clean and sleek building. Very good prices. Comfy shoes. Well lubed lanes for sliding up to the line. read more

Old school candlepin bowling alley. Went on Friday night with a group of 9 people for Rock & Glow bowling. Great music and lots of fun in a nostalgic atmosphere. Would definitely return. read more

If you haven't tried candlepin bowling before, it's definitely something you should try at least once in your life! If I had to sum it up... this is awesomely glorified skeeball. The bowling balls have no holes, but they're small enough to hold firmly in the palm of your hand. The pins are straight and narrow so it has quite a different feel from normal 10-pin bowling (don't worry, there are still 10 pins :P). My only disappointment was that we had to manually enter the number of pins that fell on every single frame. Considering how thin these pins are, it's hard to see some of the ones in the back! If you're not crazy competitive and just want to experience the old-school charm of this place, come by and give it a spin! The bar in the back also serves alcoholic ice cream for those of you that are 21+. read more

Fun little place to go. We had never been candlepin bowling before and we enjoyed it and like giving our money to local businesses.

Very fun afternoon with my wife and two of our friends. I hadn't bowled since 1978. Super clean. Family owned and operated. We didn't eat there but the food served looked good.+++ read more

This place opened in 1950 and hasn't changed since. I love this place so much that I would totally take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant. It's dark. It's a little loud, maybe? It's very friendly. It's the kind of place that Jeff Lebowski would have fully embraced, if only it sold white russians and let patrons smoke (beer and wine only, no cancer sticks, please). (My companion told me it's old school. I dunno, I bowled in the 1980's - writing down scores on paper seems normal to me. But on the other hand, so does Oingoboingo and jelly bracelets. And movies where it was "all over as soon as we ride up in Troy's bucket.") The gentleman who proffered my (velcro! awesome!) shoes was nothing but pleasant. The walls were lined with video games and use-the-rigged-claw-to-pick-up-a-cheap-stuffed-animal-machines. The best part was that it's three bucks a game, and $1.90 per shoe rental. Cheaper than a movie and a box of Rasinettes, if you ask me. Lastly, know that it's candlepin only. Which is like, the only way to play, at least in Massachusetts. I don't know what you people do with your heavy-ass balls and finger holes in "regular bowling." It sounds like a yearly checkup, if you ask me. Candlepin FTW. You can go for the kitch factor, sure. But I honestly think you should visit because it's good, friendly fun. Just tell them that the redhead that bowled an impressive 68 last Saturday sent ya. read more

I'd never heard of "candlepin bowling" till I went to this place. In NYC, we do the tenpin bowling with the pins that are fat on the bottom and knob-like on the top. But this isn't this kind of bowling. It's candlepin bowling, and I'm a convert. Basically, the pins are cylindrical without a fat bottom. The ball is about the size and shape of a bocce ball, or a large grapefruit if you prefer. It doesn't have holes in it. And you can get lanes without gutters -- they have bumpers instead. Let me tell you, the narrow pins, smaller (but still heavy) balls, and bumpers on the side add a whole new level of strategy. Best of all, kids love it. I went here on vacation with my 5-year-old son and he begged to go back! I took him back, and he begged to go back again! This is a really old, and old-school place, as others have mentioned. You'll feel as if, when you exit, you may find that your car has turned into a '55 Thunderbird with an AM radio blasting the Big Bopper. But to me, bowling is an old-school activity and is best practiced in a non-self-consciously-hip location. There's good beer and fried food, cheap enough, and awesome old-school 8-bit score boards with cheesy animations to celebrate strikes. If you have any interest in bowling of any kind, you'd be a fool to miss out on this place. If you're on vacation here, it's bound to rain some day. Guess what? You just found your rainy-day activity. read more

This is a tad out of the way as it's on RT 1 heading to Scarborough, but it certainly provides candle-pin bowling. The place offers a special based on time and day, tho not when we happened to go. I grew up bowling with my dad at Vacationland (also in Scarborough, near the movies and Funtown) and that's where I tend to prefer to go when bowling in on the schedule. read more

What a great bowling place! Perfect for candlepin bowling!! Went on a rainy weekend and had the whole place to ourselves. Super cheap and they have vending machines and a snack bar to boot! They have shoe rentals and the electronic scorecards, too!! read more

Just what you want from a bowling alley. 20 stands for the number of lanes they have. I had never been candlepin bowling until coming to Maine. It's fun because it's challenging; it's not so easy to get a strike. Everything is clean here (including the bathrooms), which is nice to see from an older place. The staff is friendly and they have a full bar with cheap drinks and cheap food (burgers, hot dogs, nachos, jalapeno poppers, mozzarella sticks, etc.); they even have Sea Dog biscuits! They have 4-5 beers on tap, with them being no more than $4 for an Allagash White or the like. On Friday and Saturday nights from 7-10pm, they have all-you-can-bowl for $10 (including shoes) with lights and music. read more

Had a blast on a very cold Maine winter day while visiting family witht he 2 big kids bowling. So much fun and a good way to get some wiggles out on a day when outside play is not really an option. Has a cool retro feel to it. read more

We got some of the biggest attitude from a staff that I've ever experienced at this place. We came here as a group for the first time for something fun and new to do. This place is obviously popular with leagues and the retirees sec. The place is nostalgic and outdated, but we were having a good time. Then, one of my friends asked for some help with the scoring machine, which is extremely outdated and unintuitive to use. The guy working there basically dressed down my friend for "making a mistake." When my friend asked for some clarification about what he meant, the guy kept asking if my friend could read the directions on the screen. When my friend said yes, the man asked him to read it aloud to him. My friend finally told the guy that he was being very rude, and the man backed off. I was just in utter disbelief about the treatment my friend received. It is some of the most rude and condescending service I have ever experienced. We finished our one game but felt way too uncomfortable to stay. Needless to say, we won't be back. read more

Candle pin bowling is so fun. This place is like stepping back in time and we loved it. A must do when you're in Maine!

We bought a Living Social coupon which gave us 3 hours of candlepin bliss. The bowling alley had the blacklight bowling which was really fun. The music was great and not too loud. The only draw back was the air condition level could be improved but had a fun time regardless. read more

Went here last weekend for the first time since the 1960's. I couldnt believe that it seems to look exactly the same, but also clean and kept up and modernized where necessary (pretty sure the seating is new). I just love the retro original decor. It has the electronic scoreboards, snackbar and full drink bar. Very nice fellow bowlers. Not too noisy at all. Friendly knowledgeable staff. This was the best bowling place ever! We never want to go anywhere else even though its a little far for us! read more

The Big 20 is a time machine.....transporting you back to the 1940s (as I can only imagine...I'm not nearly that old)....It is Candlepin Bowling....which means a shot put sized ball......ten very thin pins...and three shots to knock them down......and believe me, it is HARD! In fact, in the entire recorded history of this style of bowling , the highest score is 245! ..If you break 100, you are really good! Big fun...challenging........and pretty killer hamburgers, hot dogs and booze.....just make sure it's not a league night/day....or else you won't get to bowl. Grew up with Duckpin Bowling in D.C. area.....this is even harder!!!! read more

Great place, OLD SCHOOL but so COOL. I really think all should go at least once. If you like candlepin you will say its great if you like big balls you will think the place is great. I really like it.....Great staff read more