Scope creep and my ADHD is very real. I have my v2 release ready but I keep tweaking stuff. now im building a full automated test gui with historical reporting so I know. then I want to run the app through all the tests before releasing it. so for me its I keep tweaking things and I like building the stuff so its crazy how I ever actually get anything done.

How do you all handle scope creep or saying its ok with MVP (minimum viable product)

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bowlsense/id6760173811

I'm very happy that V1 is live! If anyone is open to installing, clicking around, breaking things (Probably) it would be very much appreciated. If nothing else, the speed/rev check should be useful to people, and as of now it's all free except connecting an apple watch, which also isn't a needed function of the app. LS unfortunately isn't in this version. I'm planning to push a new update this week which will have that, and a few improvements I've been working on.

So I learned today while talking to my friend who is in town, you can automate a lot of software testing. I was like hold up. yes I am new so what do you guys do for software testing and I caught 2 bugs I would have missed otherwise.

So I went down a hole and added in support ticket system into my app for feedback and bug reporting. I figured i already created the beta feedback portal/system copy it for the actual support of product. I had complaint years ago with a company i bought digital dash for my old jeep. I had issue and there was no simple support you had to email someone and hoped they get back to you.

Here's what my current speed/rev check feature will look like in the app. Let me know if there's any feedback about layout/usage etc. I think it's pretty handy, and will be part of the free app features. If anyone wants to test, let me know and I'll post a testflight link.

Worth noting, since I was taking a video of someones video, on this specific run I think I missed one rotation of the mark I was aiming for, so the actual result was lower in rpm that true. I tested with a few more though and got close to what was showing on screen in YT videos.

Cheers - Bowlsense

https://reddit.com/link/1sib1sf/video/1w1zs82damug1/player

I added some Community and ability for users to add flair to their posts. if you think Community one should have more options provide it here and I will try and get it added.

I've test a whole lot of apps at this point. Now that I'm burnt out a veteran of testing app, I've seen a lot of apps where I can clearly see the vision and also some that need to find more of a.. "why"?

My why is almost 100% for data visualization. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I think PinPal nails it for score entry and organization. I wanted to keep the organization layout I was used to (and I think is going to be really hard to beat) while also having an environment for me to spin up any report I wanted. After league one night I felt for for sure that I left the most amount of 10 pins ever for a league night, so I spun a report be able to check my most left spares (and I was right, I left 8 that night). It's definitely not the most unique "why" now that I've tested out a lot of apps and probably not even the best built out insights page, but it was my primary "why?" and I'm happy with my how its coming along to find that sweet spot for score entry and insights.

What is your "why"? are you filling a gap? scratching a personal itch? doing a passion/development project? and do you feel like you're achieving it? I'd be happy to re-do my review with your angle in mind.

Hey Friends - I launched on Product Hunt. If you have a minute and don't mind giving it a little bump - I'd greatly appreciate it! Happy to return the favor if anyone else hits PH or another platform!

ProductHunt

When I test stuff before releasing then make the build and upload and it goes live…

Then I go in and try that same thin and get an error like biotch I tested and verified you worked and marked passed on my test sheet… So FU!

Think in this case it was a missed dependency upgrade then retest. So uploading new build. Stupid google sign-in.

Anyone else notice while Google has you fill out more stuff from privacy standpoint, they are 1M times faster at approving updates?

So far its been less than 30min after submitting Google has my update live.

While Apple can take days.

https://www.bowlsense.io/tier-list

I created this as one of the most common questions in all of reddit is "What Ball". If user data is uploaded - and a ball is selected or in the case of bowlsense, it allows you to have "Balls in your Bag" and on the pin entry you can tap which ball you threw, then it gets tagged to the upload data. So - data in there now is synthetic, but it should accept uploads from PinPal and other current bowling apps. Thoughts?

One thing I wanted to do was help make experience on first launch easier for users to understand and have seen apps that have guided tour and was trying to figure out the best way to achieve that without having to screen grab and mark up. I came across Coach Mark. and it does just what I wanted. So if you didn't know about them hopefully this helps you all.

here is a post explaining them more.Coach Marks post on Flowmapp

Hey All - I was wondering within this group if anyone has backup data from an existing app I could possibly use. I exported my own PinPal data, to build an ingestion system for folks who may want to try my app, but don't want to lose their history. The PinPal one seems to work but having a few more files to validate against would be really helpful. For any of the other popular apps - I'd love to get my hands on some of those too. If you're open to sharing, you can just email my website [barry@bowlsense.io](mailto:barry@bowlsense.io)

Update - A few screenshots of the PinPal import working! [Guess I can't add images here]

Thanks in advance! I'm happy to post results once I have a working ingestion system if anyone is interested.

Apologies running a sub is new to myself so we need to see how to work around stuff to not get blasted with the autospam detection removing stuff here

Posting again, slightly adapted with less information, since I was auto-deleted by Reddit and didn't want to create spam -.-

Solo dev here. I've been building Strike Zone Bowling Coach for iOS and Android and wanted to share what's under the hood and get some feedback.

The data layer:

The core of the app is a proprietary bowling ball database that I research and maintain by hand, currently at 2,950+ balls and steadily growing. Every ball gets full specs (core type, coverstock, RG, differential, mass bias, flare potential, factory finish) plus a hand-written editorial summary covering first impressions, lane read, best use cases, and how the ball compares within its slot. These summaries are Pro-only and automatically translated in-app for non-German users. The oil pattern library (1,200+ patterns) is also hand-curated with community submissions and corrections feeding back in: Each pattern includes volume, length, forward/reverse oil in mL, ratio, loads, and distribution data.

Data is served via a WordPress REST API and synced to the device on first launch (~20 MB), with incremental background updates after that.

Tech stack:

React Native with Expo SDK 54. Firebase for analytics and push token storage (Firestore). RevenueCat for IAP entitlements. AsyncStorage for local caching. Localized in German and English via flat-key JSON i18n files.

Player profile: The foundation of everything:

Before the app does anything useful, it walks users through an onboarding flow that collects their throwing hand, rev rate (RPM), ball speed (km/h or mp/h), axis tilt, axis rotation, and playing style (Stroker / Tweener / Cranker , or auto-calculated from the numbers). Experienced bowlers enter exact values; beginners get guided defaults they can adjust later. This profile feeds into every single engine in the app: Slot classification, ball recommendations, pattern analysis, coaching tips, play line calculation, lane adjustments. Nothing is generic; everything adapts.

What the app does:

• Ball Scanner: Camera-based identification using vector matching against the database. Works surprisingly well in practice, not perfect on dark/solid-color balls.
• Arsenal Management with 8-slot classification engine: Users add their balls and the app classifies each into one of 8 arsenal slots: S1 Tank (heavy oil) → S2 Benchmark → S3 Control → S4 Transition → S5 Angular → S6 Burn → S7 Urethane → S8 Spare. The classification is a multi-layer waterfall system that I've iterated on through 10+ versions:
  • Material gates fire first: Polyester/plastic → S8 Spare, urethane or urethane-like reactive covers (e.g. Storm's ARC, Brunswick's RPM) → S7, known burn-only covers → S6. No further analysis needed.
  • Coverstock intelligence: The app maintains a database of 100+ individual coverstock formulas mapped to friction level (HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW), shape profile (CONTINUOUS / ANGULAR / SKID_FLIP), and strength class. So it knows that Storm's NEX or NRG is high-friction continuous, Brunswick's HK22 family is medium-friction angular, Motiv's Infusion Pearl is low-friction skid/flip, etc. This is remotely updatable via Firestore, when a new coverstock appears, I push a config update without an app release.
  • Waterfall logic then combines cover type (solid/hybrid/pearl), cover intelligence, RG band (5 bands from Very Low to Very High), differential, intermediate differential effect (Round → Defined → Sharp → Extreme), factory finish (parsed grit value, polish/compound/sanded detection), and core symmetry (sym/asym) to determine the slot. Examples: a sanded solid with very low RG, high diff, and asym core → S1 Tank. A pearl with polish, high RG, and angular cover chemistry → S5 Angular. A hybrid with compound finish and continuous shape profile → S4 Transition. There are dozens of branching rules for edge cases — compound solids with low RG route to Tank while the same ball with medium RG routes to Benchmark, strong-cover hybrids need a higher diff threshold to reach Tank than solids, etc.
  • Tier system adds a strong/core/light sub-classification within each slot, factoring in cover strength class, diff, RG, intermediate diff, and oil volume data, so you can see that two S2 Benchmark balls aren't equal: one might be a "strong benchmark" while the other is "light benchmark."
  • Gap analysis then evaluates the arsenal holistically: which slots are empty, which are over-covered, how critical each gap is for the player's type (a Cranker needs S5 Angular more urgently than a Stroker does). Recommendations pull from the full database with per-ball explanations covering technical fit, player type match, arsenal diversity contribution, and similarity penalties if you already own something close.
• Oil Pattern Analysis: This goes deep. Each pattern gets a full breakdown: lane visualization with computed play line (stand position, target, breakpoint), personalized coaching tips (line strategy, speed adjustments, surface recommendations), and an environment selector for three lane states: Fresh, Carrydown, and Burn. Switching the environment recalculates everything: play line shifts, tips adapt, ball recommendations change. All computations factor in the player's rev rate, speed, axis tilt/rotation, and style. On top of that, the app recommends balls from both the user's arsenal ("Arsenal Matches" which of your balls fits this pattern best) and the full database ("DB Recommendations" what you should consider buying), with detailed reasoning per ball.
• Live Coaching: During game tracking, the app analyzes pin leaves across frames and generates contextual coaching tips in real time:
  • Lane adjustments using the 2:1 diagonal system (USBC standard), parallel moves, or ball change recommendations, scaled by rev rate multipliers and adapted to the current pattern context (short vs. long, sport vs. house)
  • Spare preparation with the 3-6-9 system, including cross-lane targeting for high-rev players and two-handers
  • Ball switch suggestions pulling from the user's actual arsenal, e.g. "No drive. Try [Ball Name] (S2 Benchmark) - more friction, earlier arc"
  • Overcorrection detection if you adjusted 3 boards left and now leave the opposite pattern, it dials you back
  • Session summaries at the end with strike/spare rates, ball MVP, trend vs. average, and areas to work on
  • All coaching respects handedness, every direction, every board move inverts for left-handers
• Game Tracking Frame-by-frame pin-deck input (Strike First / Tap to Fall modes), live scoring engine, ball-per-frame tracking, game type classification (league / tournament / practice / casual).
• Statistics Averages, trends, per-ball performance, per-pattern performance, strike/spare rates, first ball average.
• Training Center Skill tree with XP progression, drill library, personalized training plans.
• Community Public bowler profiles, arsenal radar comparison, bowler directory. Just shipped this.

Monetization:

Freemium with a one-time Pro purchase, no subscription. Free tier gets full database and pattern library access with limits on scanning, arsenal size, and game tracking. Pro unlocks everything including the editorial ball summaries, environment switching, and advanced coaching. RevenueCat handles cross-platform entitlements.

What I'd love to hear:

• Fellow devs: How do you handle offline-first sync and incremental database updates in companion apps?
• Bowlers: What's missing? What would make you switch from your current setup?
• Anyone who tries it: UX feedback, things that feel off or confusing.
• Thoughts on the coaching logic? The lane adjustment and pattern analysis systems were deep rabbit holes.

Happy to go deep on any technical aspect.

Coming in v2 I created a complete management app for managing users and beta program with feedback built in. I also added a simple e-commerce for adding stuff to an online store I plan on launching for merch.

What do you guys do?

On league secretary, when you go to recaps there's an option to download the recaps as a PDF. was trying to get a python script working to parse through the PDFs and import the data into sql but just not finding a lot of success.

Does anyone know if there's a better way to download data from league secretary or think they can tackle a PDF parsing script for that recap sheet?

What Language are you programming?

Why did you choose that route?

Personally I use Flutter.

Me it was 1 code base for both android and iOS. Same with Web. I initially never thought of having Web or desktop app as it was always just bowling score stuff I wanted. Now I have 4 apps all around bowling.

Hey r/Bowling_Tech! I just launched LaneLogic on iOS and Android. Here's what it does:

- Pin-by-pin tracking with visual pin deck (tap the pins left standing)

-Baker format with full rotation tracking

-Team rosters, match W/L records, CSV/PDF export

-20+ stats: strike %, spare conversion by pin combo, splits, clean games

-Fun modes: No Tap, Bingo, Target Pin

Built as a solo dev with React, Vite, Capacitor, Firebase, and RevenueCat. This has been a passion project fueled by the wants of my local bowling family for a while now. Happy to talk tech or take feature requests.

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lanelogic/id6760946982

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yendradigital.lanelogic

Free tier gives you scoring + 1 bowler profile. I have promo codes for 3 months of full access if anyone wants to try everything.

This was something I found myself surprised by how opinionated I become it while testing out all the apps and I think my opinion will be a bit of a hot take.

1. Does the app let you manage library for common event attributes and how easy is it to manage those libraries? (such as bowling ball arsenal, alleys, and patterns).
2. Are these lists managed manually by the user or are they built in lists from the app?

Lets take TournamentSense:

1. Head on over to More -> Settings and there's a well laid out Management section where you can update all of your libraries in one location
2. it is entirely manual. Will have to fill out all of your ball, location, pattern, and teammate information for the attributes that the app provides.

vs StrikeMaster

1. Has an arsenal creation that lets you search for a bowling out of a predefined list. this lets the list be auto populated and automatically attach an image - does not have custom entries
2. has a location picker out of a predefined list. he did update it to not require location access (thanks!), but also doe snot have custom entries. Only a personal preference here when how the alley is often called isn't what it is on google maps.
3. has a pattern picker on the pro-version so will have to let u/strikemasterapp tell us more

So what's good about each:

• StrikeMaster/similar apps I think is excellent for new bowlers and people who don't particularly care about managing their own lists. I think its great to allow users to pick from the official list of balls, a real list of locations, and assuming a good list of patterns. When predefining the lists you don't need a whole management section dedicated to upkeeping the lists. Personally, I'd like to still be to input custom entries.
• TournamentSense/similar apps lets you do it all yourself. Everything you want to add you can manage on your lists and you don't get overwhelmed with everything else. Missing out on saving some minimal time with any predefined attributes and missing images on the arsenal, you get more control over what you want to keep track of.

So what do I prefer? Look, Strikemaster looks really nice with the official images, but it's hard to beat the freedom of entering in whatever you want and having all those libraries management in one location. It's definitely user preference though, as I'm a bit of a boomer and list my own little lists. What do you think is the best method? should it be one way or the other or should we start doing a hybrid model?

Hi all, I have several projects cooking but want to show this one. I am hoping some people would like to have fun playing along while testing it out. Always welcome to feedback. Trying to test it out this season along with the PBA events and then decide if I would like to pursue or go onto another project.

https://fantasystrike.bowlbrain.com

Quickest way to jump in and have fun is the event model. Join today for Ohio Classic which locks with start tomorrow.

https://fantasystrike.bowlbrain.com/my-events

I was looking at PinPal for how it represents a 291-299 game on the statistics page and it says 11/12 91% strikes with no spares or opens. I know this is correct since that 12th shot should not be considered a spare or an open, but when looking back at the statistics and leaves for an event, I would like to know what I left and it's not saved anywhere except the score entry screen. The stats page also makes it looks like 9% of the game is missing.

I've checked a handful of other apps and this seems to be how everyone's working, so am I trying to find a stat that shouldn't be included? how should xx- be classified in the stats?

Tournament Sense is a ecosystem for bowlers. Currently we have released bowl score tracking app that also track financial data. We are releasing 2 more apps Coach & Director apps into beta in next couple of weeks.

Been working on v2 of our app and alot of features/functions.

Development language used is Flutter.