PBA Bowling

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Follow this link for info about the review system. 1 = Terrible, 5 = Awesome!

A much more realistic simulation than Atari's Bowling cart. Not necessarily more fun, though.

PBA BowlingGraphics: 3
Sound: 2
Replay Value: 3
Notes: 1- to 4-player game
Screen Shots

Once again, the Intellivision version of a sport concentrated heavily on truly simulating bowling and less on gameplay, per se. While much more sophisticated than the Atari version of Bowling, it isn't really better. It's OK to play, but not outstanding. The sound is pretty sparse. With some effort, you will get the knack of how to bowl a strike every time. Best Score: 300 [right-handed, 8 lb. ball, slickness 5]




ROM No ROM variants have been identified.
Box So far, eight variations have been found.
Manual Eight variants have been identified.
Overlays No variations have been found.
Label To date, five labels have been recorded.
Easter Eggs No Easter Eggs have been found.




A total of eight PBA Bowling box variants have been documented.

Image Vendor Part Number Year Origin Description
PBA Bowling Box (Mattel Electronics 3333-0910) Mattel Electronics 3333-0910 1980 U.S.A. Plastic tray; no part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. Hawthorne, CA on bottom
Image not available. Mattel Electronics 3333-0910 1980 U.S.A. Trayless pocket; no part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. Hawthorne, CA on bottom
Image not available. Mattel Electronics 3333-0910 1980 Hong Kong Plastic tray; no part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. Hawthorne, CA on bottom
Image not available. Mattel Electronics 3333-0710-G1 1980 U.S.A. Trayless pocket; no part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. Hawthorne, CA on bottom
PBA Bowling Box (Mattel Electronics 3333-0510) Mattel Electronics 3333-0510 1980 Hong Kong French-Canadian; plastic tray; no part number on top; © Mattel Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada on back
PBA Bowling Box (Mattel Electronics 3333-0410) Mattel Electronics 3333-0410 1980 Hong Kong International Edition; slits on back for manual, inside for overlays; plastic tray; no part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. on bottom on Lifestyle Electroncs sticker
PBA Bowling Box (Intellivision Inc. 3333) Intellivision Inc. 3333 1980 U.S.A. Standard Intellivision, Inc. box
PBA Bowling Box (Sears 3874-0910) Sears 3874-0910 1980 U.S.A. Trayless pocket; blue game title on top and back; no part number on top

Hankster has discovered an interesting variation on the international box theme. Buried in the backstock of a surprisingly large chain, a copy of PBA Bowling was uncovered that kept the PBA logo, but had the international box style. The most interesting thing here is the back of the box - it's the text-less style of the international box without the slots cut in it!

'Slotless' International Box Back

"Slot-less" (International?) PBA Bowling Box Back
(image courtesy of Hankster)





A total of eight PBA Bowling manual variants have been documented.

Image Vendor Part Number Year Origin Description
PBA Bowling Manual (Mattel Electronics 3333-0920) Mattel Electronics 3333-0920 1980 U.S.A.  
PBA Bowling Manual (Mattel Electronics 3333-0920) Mattel Electronics 3333-0920 1980 Hong Kong  
Image not available. Mattel Electronics 3333-0720 1980 Hong Kong French-Canadian; brown artwork
PBA Bowling Manual (Mattel Electronics 3333-0720) Mattel Electronics 3333-0720 1980 Hong Kong French-Canadian; blue artwork
PBA Bowling Manual (Mattel Electronics 3333-0820-G1) Mattel Electronics 3333-0820-G1 1980 Hong Kong International English-speaking markets
Image not available. Mattel Electronics PC-3333-0720 1980 U.S.A. PlayCable version; PBA logo removed from cover; part number on back; oddly, uses the French-Canadian part number suffix (0720), unlike other PlayCable manuals
PBA Bowling Manual (Intellivision Inc. 3333-0920) Intellivision Inc. 3333-0920 None U.S.A. Stapled along top edge
PBA Bowling Manual (Sears 3874-0920) Sears 3874-0920 1980 U.S.A.  




Only one version of the overlay has been found for PBA Bowling.

Image Vendor Part Number Year Origin Description
PBA Bowling Overlay (mattel 3333-4289) mattel 3333-4289 1980 U.S.A.  




A total of five PBA Bowling label variants have been documented.

Image Vendor Part Number Year Origin Description
PBA Bowling Label (Mattel Electronics) Mattel Electronics N/A None   No origin
PBA Bowling Label (Mattel Electronics) Mattel Electronics N/A None U.S.A. Origin upper right
PBA Bowling Label (Mattel Electronics) Mattel Electronics N/A None Hong Kong Origin upper right
PBA Bowling Label (Intellivision Inc.) Intellivision Inc. N/A 1982 U.S.A. Origin lower right; © I.I. 1982 to left of origin; ™ small, centered vertically on right edge; smaller label, rounded corners
PBA Bowling Label (Intellivision Inc.) Intellivision Inc. N/A None   No origin, copyright or date info; larger label, square corners




Title Screen Title screen for PBA Bowling.
Ball Delivery The side view of the bowler's approach is quite nicely done, though a little choppy.
Down-the-Lane Pin Action! Just like watching on ESPN!




If you find new, contradictory, or other information you wish to share, please let me know!