Johnson Bowling Academy

Bowled here since I was a kid! Awesome staff great for kids (my kids love it) glow in the dark bowling is so much fun. Great for a night out!

are there posted prices? i didnt see any. she told us what it would cost when we got there but it seemed high, like maybe they just make it up as they go along? $ 23/​hr? does that sound right? I dunno… i always thought bowling was a less expensive entertainment option but a movie is $ 9 for 2 hours.
Anyways, its not regular bowling as the name implies it is duckpin. small balls. small pins. returns are exposed, not secret hidden tunnels like on the newer modern alleys. score keeping isnt on a screen, its on paper so you gotta know how to score.
fun place, i just feel like i way way overpaid.

I came here with my wife one evening when we had some time to kill in the neighborhood.
I’m used to 10 pin bowling, and have done some 5 pin bowling before, but never duckpin.
The first thing you see are the signs informing you that, in no circumstances will any outside food or beverage be allowed. We descending the stairs and were greeted by the woman behind the counter. She asked if we had ever been duckpin bowling before, and told us the rules when we said we hadn’t. Then she gave us our shoes and score sheet and pointed us to a lane.
It was a lot of fun. There’s no computer to keep score, just paper and a pencil. Also, it was pretty cheap for an hour of fun.
My one complaint would be that the balls in our lane had some pretty big chips out of them. Having not been duckpin bowling before, I’m not sure if it really had any impact, but I had trouble putting any spin on the balls, and I’d like to think I would have done better with better balls. :)

I love duckpin bowling; it’s so much fun. This duckpin bowling alley is in the plaza with Panera and Ashley’s Ice Cream on Dixwell Avenue in Hamden. It’s in the far left-​hand corner of the lot, so don’t miss it.
The staff here is friendly, the place is always clean, and whenever I’ve been there I’ve had a blast. Their hours are a teeny bit wonky, so make sure you call before you go to be sure they’ll be open, but if you want to go on a weekend day you’re sure to find them open, maybe just not as late as you’d like.
This is a great thing to bring kids to do, and a great alternative to regular bowling if you want to try something different. They do specials, and it’s a great space for parties! Check it out!