History: The origin of bowls has been traced back to 13th century in the United Kingdom and the oldest surviving bowling green is the Southampton Old Bowling Green, which was first used in 1299.
However, it was not until the late 1800s that national bowling associations were established.
The Victorian Bowling Association was formed in Australia in 1880, before the Scottish formed their own in 1892.
Today, the sport is played in more than 40 countries and there are more than 50 national bodies. The home of the modern game is in Edinburgh, Scotland.
What you need: At least two people, a mat, a large, dead-flat rectangular piece of lawn, eight lawn bowls (if playing with two people) and a jack.
How you play: To get started, toss a coin to decide who will start. The lead bowler will place the mat and rolls the jack to the other end of the green as a target.
If playing on a proper bowling green (34-40m long), the jack should be rolled at least 23m. The players then take turn to bowl. Once all bowls have been played, a point is awarded to the player for each of their balls that is closer to the jack than their opponent's.
The direction of play is now reversed, and the first player to 21 points wins.
Bowls can be played in singles, pairs, triples and four-player teams.
Each player has four bowls per end in singles and pairs competitions, three in triples, and two in fours.
Ideal for: Those looking to take up a sport which is relatively easy to pick up, group functions, wedding games.
By Robert van Royen.