Edinburgh Overnight

You meet the guide at a fixed point and move through a run of bars across the evening, usually four or five, finishing at a club. The guide knows the doors, so you skip the queue and the group is not turned away for being too large. Most crawls include a welcome drink or a shot at each stop, and entry to the final venue. The rest is on you. Groups from several bookings are often merged, which some stags like and some do not, so ask whether yours is private. Dress code is the club's, not the guide's. No trainers and no sportswear at the last venue, and matching shirts get refused at some doors.

You book a set number of lanes or oches for an hour or two and play through a scored league or a knockout. Scoring is automatic, shoes are handed over at the desk and the staff will set up a group format if you ask. It is low effort, indoors and cheap to add drinks to, which is why it survives on almost every weekend. Nobody needs to be good at it and nobody gets hurt. Socks are needed for bowling. Beyond that, wear what you like.