Five main variations are found in North America, with ten-pin being the most common but others being practiced in the eastern U.S. and in parts of Canada:[3]

• Ten-pin bowling: largest and heaviest pins, and bowled with a large ball with three finger holes, and the most popular type in North America
• Nine-pin bowling: pins usually attached to strings at the tops, uses a ball without finger holes.
• Candlepin bowling: tallest pins (at 40 cm or 16 in), thin with matching ends, bowled with the smallest and lightest (at 1.1 kg or 2.4 lb) handheld ball of any bowling sport, and the only form with no fallen pins removed during a frame.
• Duckpin bowling: short, squat, and bowled with a handheld ball.
• Five-pin bowling: tall, between duckpins and candlepins in diameter with a rubber girdle, bowled with a handheld ball, mostly found in Canada.