How many bowlers do we need to avoid a forfeit, and what if the other team doesn't show?

Legal lineup (USBC default; a league can set its own number, as low as one, or require a set number of rostered players):

• Substitutes count toward a legal lineup; absentee and vacancy scores don't.
• You have until the end of the first frame (or another frame set by league rule) to field it. A league can't require it at the start of the game.
• No legal lineup and no postponement requested means the game is forfeited, unless the board decides an emergency existed. The forfeiting team has 15 days (72 hours in the final two weeks) to protest in writing.
• A team that refuses to bowl short-handed forfeits the games it declines to bowl.

Bowling against a known forfeit (for example, the opponents lack a legal lineup): you must still earn the points. Unless the league sets another number:

• each bowler must bowl at least their average minus 10 to win an individual point
• the team must bowl at least team average minus 10 per player to win team points

Points not earned are recorded as "unearned." The forfeiting team gets no points. If the reason the other team didn't show is unknown, your team still bowls for the points.