I don’t know how I feel about discovering that I’m as bad at bowling in Second Life as I am at bowling in real life. I do know how I feel about Splitsville, the bowling alley I found in Second Life: I love it! The design is classic, complete with checkerboard floors, dizzying carpet in the billiards area, and naugahyde banquettes behind each lane.

The site offers three areas for bowling: indoor lanes, rooftop lanes, and the outdoor bowling pavilion south of the building. All the lanes provide a free bowling glove and HUD (Heads Up Display, which is an attachment scripted to help you do things like animate your avatar), and you grab the ball of your choice from the rack near each lane. The HUD provides adjustments for speed and aim along with a “Throw Ball” button. After starting the game, you position your avatar, take aim using the HUD, and click the “Throw Ball” button.

If you’ve positioned yourself well, you might throw a strike. The script runs your avatar through the usual movements of bowling, including the occasional face plant as you slip on the polished floor. The animation seems to return you to your original position; but even if you just threw a strike, there’s no guarantee that you won’t throw a gutter ball if you presume to stay in that spot for the next throw.

The game allows for one or two players per lane, so you can go by yourself and practice or take a date. There’s no need for special shoes—I bowled in my stilettos (hm…maybe that explains all those gutter balls). The only thing I wish the HUD or the lane would provide is a bit more information about how bowling is scored, and an indicator to tell the players whose turn it is. It’s been a long time since I bowled in RL, and the sport has some quirks in those areas that should be explained to the new and the rusty.

In addition to bowling, there are scripted billiards tables, dancing, and a swimming pool shaped like a bowling pin. You can sign up for bowling buddies if you want to bowl with another aficionado, or join the Splitsville Bowling League. The Splitsville Arena offers concerts, and the Pro Shop is a good place to buy bowling shirts and teddy bears.

So if you find yourself wandering the grid in search of an activity, and you’ve had your fill of the usual dance clubs, head over to Splitsville and try your hand at virtual bowling. And be happy that you don’t have to rent special bowling shoes that have housed thousands of other smelly feet.

Linden Labs bills its virtual world, Second Life, as a place built by its residents. The idea is to create a second life, albeit in a digital environment instead of an analog one; but in this case you’re limited almost entirely by your own imagination. If you want to, you can build a house in the sky, made of clouds. You can live inside the head of a hollowed out snowman. There are plenty of fantastical places in SL, rife with psychedelic animated sculptures and structures that defy the laws of physics. There are also places built to emulate places that exist in the real world: the NW 21st Avenue Project, modeled after 21st Avenue in Portland, Oregon, is a well-done example.

The project begins with a single block of NW 21st Avenue, including virtual versions of the movie theater, bars and restaurants, convenience store, and residence that exist on that block in real life. The neighborhood around NW 21st Avenue is not the only key Portland location represented. Visitors can also enjoy a portion of the newly re-developed Pearl District, complete with condos and art galleries; a small version of the Saturday Market, an arts festival running every weekend from March to December; and Pioneer Courthouse Square, commonly called Portland’s “Living Room.” And because I’m always on the lookout for good coffeehouses in SL, I was happy to find a replica of the Haven Coffee Shop. Seating options are important, though; I wouldn’t mind seeing a better selection of sit poses offered at Haven.

Walking around—and sometimes flying, just because I can—I find lots of little details that I recognize from the real Portland. The structures are mostly architecturally accurate, the sky is often overcast, and photos of the places represented provide truth-telling and sometimes an extension for the eye to follow down the street. A giant screen image of Mount Hood looms over the plaza. I do have to quibble with it being placed to the west, though. Mt. Hood is east of the city in reality.

One of my favorite little details is that the builders have placed several replicas of the Benson Bubblers, drinking fountains that were installed throughout Portland between 1912 and 1917 to encourage lumber workers to drink water instead of alcohol. I’d love to see a replica of Seward Johnson’s statue, Allow Me, a bronze man holding an umbrella, which stands in the real Pioneer Courthouse Square, just because it’s iconic.

The founder of the project, Ty Magpie, explains that the build is more than just a model of the city; the intent is to provide a platform to introduce “trademark Portland” sites to visitors from all over the globe, helping promote those neighborhoods and small businesses in the real world. Ultimately the site will be an SL venue offering street parties, live music, movies at the theater, and art festivals. In the meantime, it’s a cool place to explore and hang out, and I bought a wonderful piece of glass art for my SL home at one of the galleries.