11 plus the number of pins in 10 rows.
This keeps on going. Each round divides the problem into an integer and a problem that is smaller by one. Eventually you reach the end:
number of pins in 12 rows = 12 + number of pins in 11 rows number of pins in 11 rows = 11 + number of pins in 10 rows . . . number of pins in 3 rows = 3 + number of pins in 2 rows number of pins in 2 rows = 2 + number of pins in 1 row = 2 + 1
The number of pins in 1 row is called a base case. A base case is a problem that can solved immediately. In this example, the number of pins in 1 row is 1.