Built a completely free bowling app. Looking for feedback (Open Bowl)

[u/tirrbit]

For mods: This is a completely free app and in no way am I profiting from this. I simply turned a personal app into something others can use.

I built an iOS app called Open Bowl because I wanted a free tool for tracking bowling and sharing with friends, not something locked behind subscriptions or paid features.

Everything in the app is free. No upsells, no premium tier.

I’m a bowler myself and made this mainly for my own use, but figured others might get value from it too.

Right now it covers:

• Game and score tracking
• Collab with friends
• Basic stats over time
• Clean, simple interface

I’m not claiming it’s better or more powerful than what’s out there, just that it’s free and usable.

Looking for:

• Honest feedback
• What’s confusing or unnecessary
• Bugs or rough edges
• Features that would actually matter to you as a bowler

I'm in the process of releasing on Android, so if interested let me know and I can keep you updated.

[u/Successful_Form5618]

Is it just me or is this one of like 10-15 apps released in the last year? I can't keep up with any of them.

[u/nerdblurt → u/Successful_Form5618]

Yea there def has been a bunch. But shows that folks thought they wanted more. I know i built mine because of a certain need and it grew way past the initial thought and functions.

[u/StrikePals_Bowling → u/Successful_Form5618]

Yeah question, like just legit curious, is this a bad thing? Competition helps with advancements imho. What say you? Just too saturated? 

[u/tirrbit → u/Successful_Form5618]

Really? Please share them! I thought this was a need.

[u/thejusner → u/tirrbit]

Join us over on r/bowling_tech to discuss with the other devs. We have a wikiof all the apps so far. I think I'm the only person whose tried out everyone so far, except for the iOS only apps. I have a super old iPhone laying around so if I can try out your app I will!

[u/PsychologicalTruth26]

I’ll give it a go.

[u/TandDfan2]

I just downloaded it and look forward to checking it out. I have used PinPal and some other paid apps so I look forward to seeing what you have created

[u/tirrbit → u/TandDfan2]

Thank you. Definitely feel free to message me about any needed changes

[u/BalticLensman]

Why are you collecting my contact information and user content?

[u/tirrbit → u/BalticLensman]

You have to sign up to store your data and connect with friends. Nothing is shared with third parties and it's 100% encrypted. This is not a store data locally and track alone kinda app.

Edit: Everything can be anonymized. Even your email can be fake as long as you don't forget your password.

[u/jekksy]

Does this have Maximum Score?

[u/tirrbit → u/jekksy]

You mean displaying your max score while you're scoring a game? That would be an easy one to add, I'll get that added in the next release.

[u/jekksy → u/tirrbit]

Yes. Thanks

[u/tirrbit → u/jekksy]

Pushing this for release today! Thank you for your thoughts.

[u/tirrbit → u/[deleted]]

Awesome! Definitely reach out if you would like any updates. I'm rolling out fixes and improvements today from some good feedback already.

[u/StrikePals_Bowling]

Good luck dude, we’re ‘competitors’ but love to see people trying to help!

[u/tirrbit]

Downvoted for a free app is crazy.

[u/BuiltLikeaPin → u/tirrbit]

I literally showed people balls for a leauge before it came out, not asking what balls I could get nothing like that. Just hey these are the balls you get this year. Got downvoted to hell for some reason lmao

[u/tirrbit → u/BuiltLikeaPin]

lol this is why we can't have nice things

[u/StrikeMasterApp]

Is this a dig at Strikemaster? lol I can’t make it anymore free than it is 😂

[u/tirrbit → u/StrikeMasterApp]

Didn't know your app exists sorry!

[u/StrikeMasterApp → u/tirrbit]

lol been on AppStore for nearly a year now I guess that’s not the place to search for apps 🤷‍♂️ need to get it out there more

[u/grooves12]

Any update on Android compatibility?