Bowling (1979 video game)

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Bowling
Developer(s)	Atari, Inc.
Publisher(s)	Atari, Inc.
Designer(s)	Larry Kaplan
Platform(s)	Atari 2600
Release	January 26, 1979
Genre(s)	Sports
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Bowling is a sports video game published in 1979 by Atari, Inc. for the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS).^[a] It was programmed by Larry Kaplan who left Atari to co-found Activision the same year. The game is an interpretation of the sport bowling, playable by one or two players.

In all six variations, games last for 10 frames, or turns. At the start of each frame, the current player is given two chances to roll a bowling ball down an alley in an attempt to knock down as many of the ten bowling pins as possible. The bowler (on the left side of the screen) may move up and down his end of the alley to aim before releasing the ball. In four of the game's six variations, the ball can be steered before it hits the pins. Knocking down every pin on the first shot is a strike, while knocking every pin down in both shots is a spare. The player's score is determined by the number of pins knocked down in all 10 frames, as well as the number of strikes and spares acquired.

Odd-numbered variants are one player games, while two players alternate on frames in even-numbered games.

• Games 1/2: The bowling ball can be moved in one direction after being thrown.
• Games 3/4: The bowling ball can be moved up and down after being thrown.
• Games 5/6: The ball moves straight and cannot be moved.

Bowling was designed by Larry Kaplan. It was his final game for Atari, Inc. before leaving the company.^[2]

Prior to the release of Bowling other games around the sport were released for home consoles such as Bowling (1978) for Fairchild Channel F (1978), Bowling/Basketball (1978) for Magnavox Odyssey 2 and APF's Bowling (1978). While the Fairchild Channel F game allowed the players to curve the ball, Kaplan's game allowed the players to not just influence the trajectory of the ball, but also position and control the on-screen figure of a bowler who swung their arm and launched the ball down the lane.^[3]

Bowling was released on January 26, 1979 for the Atari VCS.^[4] It was re-released in various compilation formats, such as the Atari 80 in One for Windows in 2003 and the Atari Anthology for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2004.^[5] It was included in portable gaming compilations such as the Atari Greatest Hits for Nintendo DS and iOS-based devices.^[6][7] Bowling was added to the Atari 50 (2022) compilation release in 2023.^[8]

Bowling was reviewed by Video magazine in its "Arcade Alley" column where it was praised as "an enjoyable version of a sport that is perfectly suited to the video arcade format". The reviewers singled out the graphics (including the automatic frame-by-frame scoring and "deft" character animation) as "one of the game's best points".^[9][10] In Creative Computing, David H. Ahl complimented Bowling saying the sound effects made it a lively game.^[11]

• List of Atari 2600 games
• List of Atari, Inc. games (1972–1984)

• "Atari's Greatest Hits". Code Mystics. Archived from the original on September 2, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
• Digital Eclipse (December 5, 2023). Atari 50 (Nintendo Switch). Atari. Bowling: A fan favorite from 1979 [...] [Bowling] was Larry Kaplan's last VCS game for Atari before leaving the company to co-found Activision.
• "Bowling (Registration Number PA0000174632)". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
• Aaron, Sean (August 31, 2010). "Atari's Greatest Hits Hitting the DS in November". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
• Ahl, David H. (October 1979). "Atari Video Cartridges". Creative Computing. Vol. 5, no. 10. United States: Creative Computing. ISSN 0097-8140.
• Bonthuys, Darryn (December 5, 2023). "Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration Gets a Few More Forgotten Classics Today". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
• Harris, Craig (November 30, 2004). "Atari Anthology". IGN. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
• Kunkel, Bill; Laney, Frank (April 1980). "Arcade Alley: Faster Than A Bullet - Atari's Super Game". Video. Reese Communications. ISSN 0147-8907.
• Montfort, Nick (December 2006). "Combat in Context". Game Studies. 6 (1). ISSN 1604-7982. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
• Saucier, Jeremy (March 17, 2023). "Pins and Pixels: A Brief History of Home Video Game Bowling". The Strong. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2024.

• Bowling at Atari Mania