Lawn Bowling Practice Game: Jacks Wild

 The Covid-19 Inspiration

Covid-19 restrictions have led lawn bowling clubs to organize play only on alternate rinks. This means there is essentially no interference with those on an adjacent rink when playing to off-center jacks. This in turn has made it possible to enjoy a new modified lawn bowls game which I have christened “Jacks Wild.” 

The Game

The game is designed to practice lawn bowling skills that are not given adequate attention during more common practice regimes. At the same time, it provides exciting competition between the participant players.

“Jacks Wild” is played using two jacks and eight bowls from two sets. It can be played as solitary practice in which a single player provides two sets of preferably matched bowls. When two people play together they use their own sets and deliver their bowls alternately. The object of the game, as in regular bowls, is to score points by delivering your bowls close to one of the jacks. Bowls that finish outside the rink are removed. Other rules analogous to regular bowls apply.

Each player delivers the jacks in alternate ends hence each player delivers jacks in only one direction on the rink. The player who starts the game places the mat centered and covering the T and delivers one after the other the two jacks. Each jack must finish within the designated rink space but one must be to the left of the center line and the other to the right. Each jack can finish anywhere on the rink that would be acceptable for a regular bowls game so long as each is on its designated side of the rink. In this game/exercise, however, neither jack gets centered. The jacks are played to at the spots where they finish. This means that jacks may even be close to the boundary lines or closer than two meters to the end ditch. This is why it is a good thing that Covid-19 is forcing us to have an empty rink between those that are being used! Otherwise, playing to jacks close to the boundaries could inconvenience other bowlers on adjacent rinks.

The player who has delivered both the jacks then delivers the first bowl trying to get as close as possible to whichever jack (s)he announces that (s)he will play towards. Then the second player uses a first bowl attempting to get close to the other jack. The two players then each get a second chance to deliver a second bowl towards their same targets. This simulates the normal bowls game in that each player gets a second bowl to correct on a first delivery.

The player who started the end delivering the jacks then delivers a bowl towards the other target not previously bowled at and the second bowler follows playing towards his/her new target. Each player then gets a chance to correct their deliveries towards each one’s second target. 

Bowls that finish closer to the jack that was not the intended target of that bowl are removed from play immediately; otherwise, confusion may arise in the scoring.

If, during play, one of the jacks is displaced bringing one or more of the bowls intended for the other jack closer to it, the bowls so changed, become part of this different head. 

To further avoid confusion, if a jack upon delivery finishes less than 2 meters distance from the other, the player who did not deliver these jacks can separate them by two meters by moving either one away from the other along the straight line that would run through the two of them.

 A tally is determined for each head and the net result is scored as the result of the end.

This is all repeated coming back on the green but this time the player who delivered the jacks and played the first bowl plays second.

The game is played to a predetermined number of ends.

Benefits of the Game

This game is much more difficult than the regular lawn bowls game.  Because the jacks are not placed on the center line, the aim lines change in every end. Furthermore, there is a forehand line and a backhand line that needs to be discovered for each of the two jacks. Because each participant only gets two bowls to deliver towards any one jack position, the pressure to get the proper correction for that second bowl is intense. In this respect, this is good practice for what is demanded in a regular game of fours.

Because the conditions change so quickly, the importance of having a rigid pre-delivery routine is multiplied. There are no extra chances. Full concentration is required for every delivery.

Because the game is so demanding the mat positions are fixed over the Ts. To make the game, even more, demanding the person delivering the jacks can be allowed to move the mat as in a regular game!