I have this idea I haven’t been able to get off my mind lately. I want to reinvent the bowling alley to make it fun and social.
Bowling alleys use boring old software which all follow the same format, and are catered to the league players and pros. Same alleys have pool tables, some have bars but overall a high-end social alleys hardly exist, and I want to change that through technology.
I want to build a self-service system of mini games for your lane with a touchscreen, similar to the Jackbox.tv games if you ever played them. You’ll add your players there, take silly self photos and choose a game type to play with friends, or a traditional ten-pin format.
The mini games will be silly and competitive like this:
Round up: each team has to progressively hit 1,2,3,…etc pins each roll until they reach 10. First team to do so wins.
Final strike: each team must roll 5 strikes to win.
Nemesis: each player is matched with a nemesis. You have to knock over certain pins to attack your nemesis. They get 3 lives.
I just made those up, but you get the idea. You can have team shuffling mechanics and player stats to make it mixed and fun.
Once we’ve got the fun scoring software, the rest of the bowling alley will be centered around the same unique theme. Lanes will be booked by the hour and you’ll have a host waiting at the entrance to take your group to your lane and manage lane bookings.
At your lane, you’ll have a comfy rounded booth with the central touchscreen in the middle. You can order cocktails and food from the kitchen using a QR code. There’ll be a large TV above your lane also with scores and prompts.
The venue will have a large bar down the middle and an open kitchen out the back. Lanes could be on either side of the bar.
The target audience is work groups and casual bowlers, groups of friends etc. There won’t be league bowling or professionals.
Tell me it’s a bad idea please.
Research the development cost of the software, then the hardware and location costs, then see if you want make it financially viable
When you think you’ve managed to get the numbers squared. Plan out you “games” on paper and go to your local bowling ally on a Saturday night; offer to buy a round of games for a few groups on the condition they follow your “games” - at the end get their feedback and ask them what they would pay
Next, put up some promotions where ppl can sign up and you can be “game master” doing it manually but this time charging for it, again get feedback… assuming it’s positive then you can go forward with trying to find someone willing to build out the software and, if you’re lucky finding a bowling ally willing to let you calibrate 1 lane a week for your experiment… if successful then you’ll have more options on what to do next
Soundz like a fun idea. Sales would be b2b, so if you’re a software developer, it’s only your time + maybe the price of a few tablets/whatever device interfaces with the lane API. Maybe have a chat with a few local bowling alleys and see if they’d be interested in trying out a new software. Perhaps prototype it first so you have something to show.
It might be difficult to avoid leagues all together. A bowling alley is a huge upfront investment and monthly cost to maintain, so you need to ensure you can cover your overhead.
Ultimately I think the location is going to be key. I’ve been to alleys that are dope, and others that are not with the same amenities. It all comes down to the clientele and who you’re able to attract. If you can build it in a location with lots of young people I’d say you’re in business.
If you ever go down this route seriously, I would visit the bowling alley in Banff. Most fun I’ve had bowling in my life, they do it right there.
Bowling alleys are expensive which is why they cater to leagues to help pay for the equipment. You are looking at $30-40k/lane for the equipment, you need shoes, kitchen equipment, maintenance equipment for the lanes, the building itself so you are probably looking at $3M just to open in a leased space (more if you purchase/build).
I know it is a regional thing, but for the novelty, you might look at Duckpin bowling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duckpin_bowling