Bowling is a 1979 bowlingvideo game developed and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600.[a] It was programmed by Larry Kaplan, who left Atari to co-found Activision the same year. The game is an interpretation of 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.
Development
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 based around the sport of Bowling 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]
Release and reception
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] In his book The Complete Guide to Electronic Games (1981), Howard J. Blumenthal said the games control was a little awkward and that it lacked the "real feel" of the sport, while concluding that "despite all flaws, it's fun to play, over and over again."[12]
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.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
