Not every date has to cost a fortune and not every date has to involve a three course meal and a bottle of wine. Especially if you're looking for an activity date - something fun and casual - bowling may be your answer. Bowling provides an opportunity to get know your date - from everything to does he or she have holes in their socks or smelly feet, to is he or she competitive.

Most games are only a few bucks, depending on where you live. In Colliersville, Tennessee, FunQuest offers multiple forms of entertainment from Roller Skating and Laser Tag to an Arcade and of course, Bowling.  On Valentine's Day this year, they encouraged couples to "do something different"; for only $22.49 plus tax, between the hours of 4 pm and 8 pm, couples could enjoy 1.5 hours of bowling, 2 pairs of rental shoes, 1 large pizza and 1 pitcher of beer/soda; they'd even throw in a rose for the gal.  Who could beat that?!

Of course, for a more upscale bowling experience, there is the classic Bowlmor Lanes in New York City, Miami, Florida and other locations, where the menu may include items like spinach and artichoke dip, a grilled Portobello sandwich and mini spring rolls, as well as traditional favorites like Buffalo wings and pizza. 

Irrespective of the price of bowling, most of the facilities today have state of the art electronic recording of your scores and animation to enhance the excitement of getting a strike. You can type your names in and watch the points add up.

If you're planning the date well, you'll be sure to find out if you need a reservation. Sometimes there are bowling leagues that may be taking up large sections of the venue, so you want to make sure you go on an evening when you can get a lane. 

Each game takes anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes depending on how fast you're bowling and whether you're getting a lot of strikes are having to use both opportunities to put the pins down. So you can plan to bowl perhaps 3 games. If you're tied after 2 games, then best 2 out of 3 is the "winner" of the evening. If one of you has won 2 games already, consider an "all or nothing" third game. Of course, between the second and third game, if it's not too crowded, and others aren't waiting for the lane, maybe you can stop to have your pizza then, and just enjoy watching some of the other bowlers. Otherwise, wrap things up in the lane, and go to another area to enjoy your refreshments.

If you still feel like you need something more, you might consider playing a video game or pinball, as most of the bowling alleys have other games to offer. 

Go late - 8 or 9 - and stay until 10 or 11, so you feel like you had a full night out. And after all is said and done, if you've been keeping it casual with burgers or pizza and beer, your whole evening for 2 in most towns across the U.S. will probably not cost more than $30.00 - a good, but "cheap" date.