While there may be some possible variations, this is how I've always seen 30-pt. systems in league bowling set up in a 5-person-per-team format:

This is for only for two teams competing against each other (not for 3 or more):

Bowlers in corresponding positions match up against each other every game for one point apiece, i.e., the leadoff bowlers on each team oppose each other each game, No. 2 on one team goes up against No. 2 on the other team, all the way down to No. 5 vs. No. 5.

That gives you five points per game. The team total for each game is worth four points, so each game is worth a total of nine points, a total of 27 so far in the match. The final three points come up from the team total at the end of the three games, making it 30 points total.

This system can be used for scratch AND handicap leagues. Scratch is pretty obvious, just match scores against each other; with handicap, you have to use a system that assigns an individual handicap to each bowler. That is different from many leagues that only have team points and don't use individual handicaps. Instead, those leagues add the averages of the members on each team for a team total, take the difference between the two teams, then take a percentage of that (in today's world, that seems most often to be 90 percent).

In this system, if Team Mediocre's leadoff bowler has a handicap of 50 pins per game, and Team Pro Wannabees' leadoff has a handicap of 12, it means that the Wannabee's bowler has to beat Mediocre's leadoff by 38 pins to achieve a tie (which would credit each team with 1/2 point). If Wannabee's leadoff shoots 220 and the Mediocre's shoots 185, the difference is 35, meaning the Mediocres earn that point.

All five handicaps are added together to all five scratch games on each team to come up with the team total that game and those four points. Of course, a tie there means two points
for each team.

While differing rules can be applied for absent bowlers, the straightforward way is to let the captain of the team with the absent bowler assign the vacancy in any position he or she wants. A particular average is used based on league rules, most commonly either a predetermined average specified in the rules or the use of the average of one of the bowlers missing from the team. Usually, a penalty is assessed for an absent bowler, meaning the score for each game is 10 pins less (or 15 or even more pins less) than the average. For example, your league might say the absent average to use is the average of the bowler on your roster not present that night who has the most games bowled this season. Let's say a check of the league standings sheet shows it's a bowler with a 178 average and 37 handicap. The league's rule then says the score to be used each game is 10 pins less than the average, which would be 168 -- with the 37 handicap added in, that would be 205. If you place the absent score in the leadoff position, then the other team's leadoff bowler has to bowl 205 (with handicap included) to tie and get a 1/2 point each.

In addition, if both teams have an absent bowler, then the vacant spots are lined up against each other, but NO INDIVIDUAL POINTS are awarded there. Instead, the individual point is wrapped up into the team points, so on this particular night, each team game is actually worth five points instead of the usual four. And if both teams are missing two bowlers, then BOTH those vacant spots are lined up against each other with two individual points being placed into the team points. That means the team matchup is six points per game instead of four.

You can still use the league rule to determine what the vacancy average is; I personally recommend a set score for everyone in the league, otherwise higher average teams earn a bit of an advantage in this area. And they already have an advantage, why give them that much more?

AN ADVANCED APPLICATION OF INDIVIDUAL POINTS:

I've only seen this done on three-person teams, though I don't see why it couldn't be applied to other numbers of bowlers:

You bowl against a different person each game from the other team. This again works for both scratch and handicap systems.

For example, in game one, the corresponding bowlers compete against each other -- leadoff vs. leadoff, No. 2 vs. No. 2 and anchor vs. anchor. In game two, the left-side team's leadoff bowls against the other team's No. 2 bowler, the left-side No. 2 vs. the other team's anchor, and the left-side anchor vs. the other team's leadoff. In the final game, the remaining matchups are used -- left-side's leadoff vs. other team's anchor, left-side No. 2 vs. other team's leadoff, and the left-side's anchor vs. the other team's No. 2. This way, you're bowling against each member of the other team one time apiece.

It helps to have a special league sheet set up as a "road map" so you're not trying to figure out who goes against who each game -- it's already mapped out for you.

When I participated in a league like this, it was set up with 21 points possible each night -- one for each individual game, three for each team game (1+1+1+3=6 pts. each game) and three more for the grand total, which is 6+6+6+3=21 pts.

I think a doubles league would be interesting to have leadoff vs. leadoff in the first and third games, then each leadoff vs. each anchor in the middle game. Or how about this: each team member matches their score against each player on the other team ... There would be four individual points each game (leadoff vs. leadoff, left leadoff vs. right anchor, left anchor vs. right leadoff, and anchor vs. anchor). Add in 3 pts. for the team game for 7 pts. each game (1+1+1+1+3=7), plus 3 or 4 pts. for the grand total to have 24 or 25 pts. possible for the night.

I've thought about the idea of having individual series match up against each other for points, but unless you have automatic scorers that would calculate this, I wouldn't want to have to figure out each bowler's handicap series for the night (it would mean adding the scratch series to three times the individual handicap for EACH BOWLER!)

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