Go Oscar Bowling, Bowl the Perfect Oscar Score — Academy Awards Betting Game

Are you sick of those ordinary Oscar office pools? Tired of only guessing the top 6 or 8 categories for the Academy Awards? Let your inner-movie geek shine with Bowl the Perfect Oscar Score (aka Oscar Bowling).

Try to nail 300 points on the 2013 Academy Awards.

This is a confidence list.

There are 24 categories.

How to play

Pick your winners in all 24 categories. Then, give each winner a confidence score. Your most confident pick gets 24 points, second most confident gets 23 points, third most confident gets 22 points, and eventually your least confident pick gets 1 point.

This is perfect for Oscar parties, because the lead keeps changing. The winner is the one with the most points at the end. A perfect score is 300. If there is a tie (there never is a tie), then the winner is the one with the most points in these three categories combined (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress).

You’ll eventually be able to say things like … “Once, in 2015, I got a 297 Oscar score.” Or, “I know a guy who once hit 300 back in 2016.” Yeah, you’ll be saying these things. Trust me.

If you don’t fully understand the rules, here is an example of my score sheet from last year.

Jeff Bayer’s Oscar Picks from 2012 (I scored 256 out of a Possible Score of 300)

I will be back later this week with my 2013 ballot.

24 – Original Song – Man or Muppet
23 – Supporting Actor – Christopher Plummer – Beginners
22 – Original Score – The Artist
21 – Animated Feature Film – Rango
20 – Achievement in Sound Editing – Hugo
19 – Achievement in Sound Mixing – Hugo
18 – Foreign Language Film – A Separation
17 – Achievement in Makeup – The Iron Lady
16 – Best Picture – The Artist
15 – Adapted Screenplay – The Descendants
14 – Supporting Actress – Octavia Spencer
13 – Achievement in Film Editing – The Artist
12 – Best Director – Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
11 – Best Lead Actress – Viola Davis – The Help
10 – Achievement in Costume Design – The Artist
09 – Achievement in Art Direction – Hugo
08 – Achievement in Visual Effects – Rise of the Planet of the Apes
07 – Original Screenplay – Midnight in Paris
06 – Achievement in Cinematography – The Artist
05 – Best Actor – George Clooney – The Descendants
04 – Documentary Feature – Undefeated
03 – Animated Short Film – The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
02 – Documentary Short – Saving Face
01 – Live Action Short Film – Raju

Here are the nominations for the 2013 Academy Awards.

Best Picture
Nominees:

Amour (2012): To Be Determined

Argo (2012): Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012): Dan Janvey, Josh Penn, Michael Gottwald

Django Unchained (2012): Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin, Pilar Savone

Les Misérables (2012): Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh

Life of Pi (2012): Gil Netter, Ang Lee, David Womark

Lincoln (2012): Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy

Silver Linings Playbook (2012): Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen, Jonathan Gordon

Zero Dark Thirty (2012): Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, Megan Ellison

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees:

Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln (2012)

Hugh Jackman for Les Misérables (2012)

Joaquin Phoenix for The Master (2012)

Denzel Washington for Flight (2012/I)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees:

Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Emmanuelle Riva for Amour (2012)

Quvenzhané Wallis for Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

Naomi Watts for The Impossible (2012)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees:

Alan Arkin for Argo (2012)

Robert De Niro for Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Master (2012)

Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln (2012)

Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained (2012)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees:

Amy Adams for The Master (2012)

Sally Field for Lincoln (2012)

Anne Hathaway for Les Misérables (2012)

Helen Hunt for The Sessions (2012)

Jacki Weaver for Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Best Achievement in Directing
Nominees:

Michael Haneke for Amour (2012)

Ang Lee for Life of Pi (2012)

David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Steven Spielberg for Lincoln (2012)

Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Nominees:

Amour (2012): Michael Haneke

Django Unchained (2012): Quentin Tarantino

Flight (2012/I): John Gatins

Moonrise Kingdom (2012): Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola

Zero Dark Thirty (2012): Mark Boal

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Nominees:

Argo (2012): Chris Terrio

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012): Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin

Life of Pi (2012): David Magee

Lincoln (2012): Tony Kushner

Silver Linings Playbook (2012): David O. Russell

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Nominees:

Brave (2012): Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman

Frankenweenie (2012): Tim Burton

ParaNorman (2012): Sam Fell, Chris Butler

The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012): Peter Lord

Wreck-It Ralph (2012): Rich Moore

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Nominees:

Amour (2012)(Austria)

War Witch (2012)(Canada)

No (2012/I)(Chile)

A Royal Affair (2012)(Denmark)

Kon-Tiki (2012)(Norway)

Best Achievement in Cinematography
Nominees:

Anna Karenina (2012/I): Seamus McGarvey

Django Unchained (2012): Robert Richardson

Life of Pi (2012): Claudio Miranda

Lincoln (2012): Janusz Kaminski

Skyfall (2012): Roger Deakins

Best Achievement in Editing
Nominees:

Argo (2012): William Goldenberg

Life of Pi (2012): Tim Squyres

Lincoln (2012): Michael Kahn

Silver Linings Playbook (2012): Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers

Zero Dark Thirty (2012): William Goldenberg, Dylan Tichenor

Best Achievement in Production Design
Nominees:

Anna Karenina (2012/I): Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012): Dan Hennah, Ra Vincent, Simon Bright

Les Misérables (2012): Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson

Life of Pi (2012): David Gropman, Anna Pinnock

Lincoln (2012): Rick Carter, Jim Erickson

Best Achievement in Costume Design
Nominees:

Anna Karenina (2012/I): Jacqueline Durran

Les Misérables (2012): Paco Delgado

Lincoln (2012): Joanna Johnston

Mirror Mirror (2012/I): Eiko Ishioka

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012): Colleen Atwood

Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling
Nominees:

Hitchcock (2012): Howard Berger, Peter Montagna, Martin Samuel

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012): Peter King, Rick Findlater, Tami Lane

Les Misérables (2012): Lisa Westcott, Julie Dartnell

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Nominees:

Anna Karenina (2012/I): Dario Marianelli

Argo (2012): Alexandre Desplat

Life of Pi (2012): Mychael Danna

Lincoln (2012): John Williams

Skyfall (2012): Thomas Newman

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Nominees:

Chasing Ice (2012): J. Ralph(“Before My Time”)

Les Misérables (2012): Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer(“Suddenly”)

Life of Pi (2012): Mychael Danna, Bombay Jayshree(“Pi’s Lullaby”)

Skyfall (2012): Adele, Paul Epworth(“Skyfall”)

Ted (2012): Walter Murphy, Seth MacFarlane(“Everybody Needs a Best Friend”)

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
Nominees:

Argo (2012): John T. Reitz, Gregg Rudloff, José Antonio García

Les Misérables (2012): Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Simon Hayes

Life of Pi (2012): Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill, Drew Kunin

Lincoln (2012): Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom, Ron Judkins

Skyfall (2012): Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell, Stuart Wilson

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Nominees:

Argo (2012): Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn

Django Unchained (2012): Wylie Stateman

Life of Pi (2012): Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton

Skyfall (2012): Per Hallberg, Karen M. Baker

Zero Dark Thirty (2012): Paul N.J. Ottosson

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Nominees:

The Avengers (2012): Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams, Daniel Sudick

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012): Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White

Life of Pi (2012): Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik De Boer, Donald Elliott

Prometheus (2012/I): Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley, Martin Hill

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012): Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Phil Brennan, Neil Corbould, Michael Dawson

Best Documentary, Features
Nominees:

5 Broken Cameras (2011): Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi

The Gatekeepers (2012): To Be Determined

How to Survive a Plague (2012): To Be Determined

The Invisible War (2012): To Be Determined

Searching for Sugar Man (2012): To Be Determined

Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Nominees:

Inocente (2012): Sean Fine, Andrea Nix

Kings Point (2012): Sari Gilman, Jedd Wider

Mondays at Racine (2012): Cynthia Wade, Robin Honan

Open Heart (2013): Kief Davidson, Cori Shepherd Stern

Redemption (2012/V): Jon Alpert, Matthew O’Neill

Best Short Film, Animated
Nominees:

Adam and Dog (2011): Minkyu Lee

Fresh Guacamole (2012): PES

Head Over Heels (2012): Timothy Reckart, Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly

Paperman (2012): John Kahrs

The Simpsons: The Longest Daycare (2012): David Silverman

Best Short Film, Live Action
Nominees:

Asad (2012): Bryan Buckley, Mino Jarjoura

Buzkashi Boys (2012): Sam French, Ariel Nasr

Curfew (2012/I): Shawn Christensen

Death of a Shadow (2012): Tom Van Avermaet, Ellen De Waele

Henry (2011/III): Yan England