Bionicle

If the Piraka get their hands on the Mask of Life, then an ancient evil could be awakened... However, there is a considerable professional competition dominated by younger men and women. The Toa Nuva arrive and quickly join up with a small group of Matoran that are opposing the Piraka. Because of its relaxed pace and comparatively light physical demands, it is a popular participant sport, particularly for the elderly. Their goal is the powerful Mask of Life that is supposedly somewhere on the island. Bowls is popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and parts of the United States. Meanwhile, rogue Dark Hunters called Piraka have come to the island of Voya Nui, pretending to be Toa. Teams "holding shot" with the closest bowl will often make their subsequent shots not with the goal of placing the bowl near the jack, but in positions to make it difficult for opponents to get their bowls into the head, or to places where the jack might be deflected to if the opponent attempts to disturb the head.

The Toa Nuva stay there briefly before they are sent on a new quest to keep the Great Spirit Mata Nui from dying. Particularly in team competition there can be a large number of bowls on the green towards the conclusion of the end, and this gives rise to complex tactics. The Matoran, Turaga, and Toa Takanuva all return to Metru Nui and repopulate the city under Turaga Dume. The challenge in all these shots is to be able to adjust line and length accordingly, the faster the delivery, the narrower the line or "grass". Here is what we know so far:. An "upshot" or "yard on" shot involves delivering the bowl with an extra degree of weight, enough to displace the jack or disturb other bowls in the head without killing the end. So far, only bits and pieces of information about the Voya Nui storyline have emerged. A "drive" involves bowling with considerable force with the aim of knocking either the jack or a specific bowl out of play - and with the drive's speed, there is virtually no noticeable curve on the shot.

For a detailed synopsis, see BIONICLE Book 3: Legends. In both cases, the bowl is rolled as close to the jack as possible, unless tactics demand otherwise. before it becomes permanent. The same bowler can deliver a "backhand draw" by turning the bowl over in his hand and curving it the opposite way, from left to right. Now the Toa have to rescue the Matoran and find a cure for their mutation.. For a right-handed bowler, "forehand draw" is initially aimed to the right of the jack, and curves in to the left. They return to find the city conquered by hordes of Visorak spiders, who are able to capture them and turn them into monstrous half-beast Toa Hordika. "Draw" shots are those where the bowl is rolled to a specific location without causing too much disturbance of bowls already in the head.

Web of Shadows: The Matoran have been captured and the Toa Metru have been forced to flee Metru Nui. When bowling there are several types of delivery. Now the Toa are on the run, and they discover something that will change Metru Nui forever. They have unique symbol markings to identify competitors' bowls, and by regulation have a diameter of about 15 centimetres. But Dume declares them imposters and calls for their arrest. Usually coloured black, bowls are now available in a variety of colours including a range of fluorescent colours. Legends of Metru Nui: The Morbuzakh is no more, and the Toa Metru go to present themselves to the city's leader, Turaga Dume. They were originally made from lignum vitae, a dense wood giving rise to the term "woods" for bowls, but are now more typically made of a hard plastic composite material.

It's up to six brand-new Toa Metru to save the city, if the Vahki order enforcement squads don't stop them first... Regulations determine minimum and maximum curvature characteristics allowed, but within these rules bowlers can and do choose bowls to suit their own preference. A number of Matoran have disappeared, and so has the city's protector, Toa Lhikan. A bowler can recognise the bias direction of the bowl in his hand by a dimple or symbol on one side. Stop the Morbuzakh: Metru Nui has been under attack by a plant creature called the Morbuzakh. This is no longer permitted by the rules and bias is now produced entirely by the shape of the bowl. And when the Turaga were mere Matoran, chosen to save their people - as Toa... Bowls are designed to travel a curved path, referred to as bias, and was originally produced by inserting weights to one side of the bowl.

When Makuta cast Mata Nui into eternal slumber.. The team captain or "skipper" always plays last and is instrumental in directing his team's shots and tactics. The Turaga begin to tell the tales of a thousand years ago, when the Matoran lived in the great city of Metru Nui.. In these, teams take turns to bowl, with each player within a team bowling all their bowls, then handing over to the next player. For a detailed synopsis, see BIONICLE Book 2: Adventures and see BIONICLE Book 2.5: Adventures. As well as singles competition, there can be pairs, triples and four-player teams. If the mask's destined wearer, the Toa of Light, is not found soon, then Makuta's reign may never end. Some competitions use a "set" scoring system, with the first to seven points awarded a set in a best-of-five set match.

Makuta immediately unleashes his most destructive weapons, the Rahkshi, in an attempt to retrieve the mask before it can be used against him. Scoring systems vary from competition to competition, with some being the first to a specified number of points, say 21, or the highest scorer after say, 21 ends. Search for the Seventh Toa: The island of Mata Nui is enjoying a time of unparalleled peace when a powerful Kanohi Mask is discovered. The exercise is then repeated for the next end. And with the Kal stripping the Toa Nuva of their elemental powers, the Toa may not be able to stop the swarms a second time... For instance, if a competitor has bowled two bowls closer to the jack than their competitor's nearest, they are awarded two points. But the threat of the Bohrok is not over: six elite Bohrok called Bohrok-Kal are seeking to free the Bahrag from their prison and unleash the swarms once again. After each competitor has delivered all of their bowls (four each in singles), the distance of the closest bowls to the jack is determined (the jack may have been displaced) and points are awarded for each bowl which a competitor has closer than the opponent's nearest to the jack.

Coming of the Kal: In the aftermath of the battle with the Bahrag, the Toa have been transformed into Toa Nuva, more powerful than ever. Similarly if the jack is knocked into the ditch it is still alive unless it is out of bounds to the side resulting in a "dead" end which is replayed. The Toa will have to discover the secret of the swarms if they are to save their people from destruction. "Touchers" are marked with chalk and remain alive in play even though they are in the ditch. Directed by the Bahrag, Cahdok and Gahdok, the swarms have the mission of reducing the island to bare rock. Bowls reaching the ditch are dead and removed from play, except in the event when one has "touched" the jack on its way. Beware the Swarms: Makuta has been stopped, but a new threat has arisen: swarms of creatures called Bohrok are rampaging across the island's surface. Once it has come to rest, the players take turns to roll their bowls from the mat towards the jack and thereby build up the "head".

With the help of the village elders, the Turaga, the Toa must now face their destiny in defeating Makuta and awakening the sleeping Great Spirit. In the simplest competition, singles, one of the two opponents begins a segment of the competition (in bowling parlance, an "end"), by placing the mat and rolling the jack to the other end of the green as a target. For a thousand years, the island has been in the dark grip of Makuta, who has been controlling the Rahi wildlife in order to intimidate the native Matoran. The game is usually played on a large, rectangular, precisely levelled and manicured grass or synthetic surface known as a bowling green, but an indoor variation on carpet is also played. Six Heroes, One Destiny: The story begins with the six Toa arriving on the tropical island of Mata Nui, named after the Great Spirit. . For a detailed synopsis, see BIONICLE Book 1: Chronicles. This game is most popular in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and in other UK territories.

1, #2. It is related to bocce and pétanque. --the Turaga, Bionicle comic series vol. Bowls (also known as Lawn Bowls or Lawn Bowling) is a precision sport where the goal is to roll slightly radially asymmetrical balls (called bowls) closer to a smaller white ball (the "jack" or "kitty") than one's opponent is able to do. Six heroes with one destiny: to defeat Makuta and save our world.". The Great Beings sent six mighty heroes - the Toa - to Mata Nui.