Duckpin Bowling's Big Moment: Impressive Revenue From a Small Footprint
BCM magazine explores the duckpin boom—big revenue from a small footprint—featuring Brunswick's Sync-integrated Duckpin solutions and their strong per-square-foot returns.
Duckpin Social: A New Way to Bowl
Cruise Ship Interiors Design Expo Americas featured Brunswick's Duckpin Social in a May 2024 blog post by Eloise Boyd. Here's a look at the story.
Cruise lines are introducing groundbreaking new attractions to entertain guests on board, and the rise in multigenerational family travel has widened passenger demographics—meaning entertainment options must appeal to a wide range of ages while keeping up with the latest trends.
Competitive socialization brings traditional activities like tenpin bowling, crazy golf, and darts together with novel offerings such as racing car simulators and social cricket in an immersive environment, often paired with extensive food and beverage. The trend has swept the globe, with participation in competitive socializing activities increasing 13% to 71% between 2019 and 2023.
For the piece, CSI Design Expo spoke with Brandon Meigs, Brunswick Bowling's Vice President of Product Solutions, about Duckpin Social. Key takeaways:
- Low barriers to entry. "The main premise is to provide various easily understood forms of entertainment with low barriers of use," Meigs says, pointing to attractions like beer pong, axe throwing, and pickleball that combine with bowling to draw a wide audience.
- Everyone can play. Duckpin Social features lower-weight, smaller balls. "The smaller bowling balls mitigate intimidation of large, heavy tenpin bowls, so all guests can participate," Meigs explains. "Virtually everyone knows how to bowl and has some experience bowling. Overwhelmingly, these experiences are good memories for most people."
- A faster game for faster lifestyles. The duckpin game is quicker than traditional tenpin, letting guests get a real bowling experience in less time while enjoying food, cocktails, and friendly competition in a social setting.
- A space-saving solution. Using just a third of the space required for standard bowling, Duckpin Social opens bowling up to venues where space is at a premium—including cruise ships. "The biggest barrier to entry with traditional bowling is the space required," Meigs says. "As the cost of space continues to increase, operators continue to look for ways to maximize revenue per square foot, while providing the right mix of product."
As Meigs sums it up: "Bowling is the ultimate form of social recreation and entertainment, and Duckpin Social allows access to the product of bowling in many more types of facilities compared to traditional full-length bowling."
Read the full article from Cruise Ship Interiors Design Expo Americas here.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Duckpin Social is Brunswick's compact bowling attraction, featuring shorter lanes and lower-weight, smaller balls. It's designed as an accessible, social-first take on bowling for venues that can't accommodate traditional full-length lanes.
-
It uses just a third of the space required for standard bowling. As Meigs notes, the biggest barrier to entry with traditional bowling is the space required. So Duckpin Social lets more facilities offer bowling, especially when they can't add new square footage.
-
The smaller balls mitigate the intimidation of large, heavy tenpin bowls so that all guests can participate. The game is also quicker than traditional tenpin, fitting fast-paced lifestyles and pairing naturally with food, cocktails, and group competition.
-
It blends traditional activities like bowling and darts with newer offerings like simulators and social cricket in an immersive environment, usually alongside strong food and beverage offerings. Participation in these activities rose by 13 percentage points to 71% between 2019 and 2023.
Related Posts
Modern Moves That Matter Now: How Olympia Lanes Modernized for Today
IBI magazine features Indiana's Olympia Lanes, where Sync and Sync Pay streamlined operations, raised average ticket size, and made ordering easier for guests.
A Smart Food and Beverage Strategy: Inside Andy B's Oklahoma City
BCM magazine tours Andy B's Bowl Social in Oklahoma City—featuring Brunswick's Sync, string pins, Spark, and Duckpin Social, plus a smart limited-menu launch strategy.