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, PBA Bowling isn't necessarily 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, twelve variations have been found.
Manual Sixteen variants have been identified.
Overlays Three different overlay variations are known to exist.
Label To date, six labels have been recorded.
Easter Eggs No Easter Eggs have been found.




A total of twelve 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
PBA Bowling Box (Mattel Electronics 3333-0910) Mattel Electronics 3333-0910 1980 U.S.A. Trayless pocket; no part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. Hawthorne, CA on bottom
PBA Bowling Box (Mattel Electronics 3333-0910) Mattel Electronics 3333-0910 1980 Hong Kong Plastic tray; no part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. Hawthorne, CA on bottom
PBA Bowling Box (Mattel Electronics 3333-0810) Mattel Electronics 3333-0810 1980 Hong Kong Plastic tray; no part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. Hawthorne, CA on bottom - via a purple sticker; note removal of PBA logo from front and spine - likely English-speaking international market version of the box
PBA Bowling Box (Mattel Electronics 3333-0710-G1) 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; slots on back for manual, inside for overlays; plastic tray; no part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. on bottom on bottom; interesting to note that unlike other sports titles, this one retains the PBA logo
Image not available. Mattel Electronics 3333-0410 1980 Hong Kong International Edition; NO SLOTS on back for manual, has inside for overlays; plastic tray; no part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. on bottom on bottom; interesting to note that unlike other sports titles, this one retains the PBA logo; NEED CONFIRMATION of details; reported by Hankster
Image not available. Mattel Electronics 3333-0410 1980 Hong Kong International Edition; slots on back for manual, inside for overlays; plastic tray; no part number on top; © Mattel, Inc. on bottom on Lifestyle Electroncs sticker; versions without stickers likely use same box but for European market; interesting to note that unlike other sports titles, this one retains the PBA logo
PBA Bowling Box (Intellivision Inc. 3333) Intellivision Inc. 3333 1980 U.S.A. Standard Intellivision, Inc. box
Image not available. Intellivision Inc. 3333 1980 U.S.A. Intellivision, Inc. box with UPC barcode on the bottom flap rather than title; reported by BSRSteve
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 sixteen 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, part number lower right
Image not available. Mattel Electronics 3333-0820-G1 1980 Hong Kong International English-speaking markets, part number upper right
PBA Bowling Manual (Mattel Electronics 3333-0121) Mattel Electronics 3333-0121 1980 Hong Kong German edition; submitted by Hankster
PBA Bowling Manual (Mattel Electronics 3333-0121) Mattel Electronics 3333-0121 1980 Hong Kong German edition with brown artwork
Image not available. Mattel Electronics 3333-0141 1980 Hong Kong Spanish edition; brown artwork
Image not available. Mattel Electronics 3333-0131 1980 Hong Kong Italian edition; brown artwork
Image not available. Mattel Electronics 3333-0151 1980   Swedish edition; black and white; title is simply BOWLING; NEED DETAILS
PBA Bowling Manual (Mattel Electronics PC-3333-0720) 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
Image not available. Bandai 3333-0201 None   Japanese version by Bandai; shows stylized game graphics
PBA Bowling Manual (Intellivision Inc. 3333-0920) Intellivision Inc. 3333-0920 None U.S.A. Stapled along top edge
PBA Bowling Manual (Intellivision Inc. 3333-0920) Intellivision Inc. 3333-0920 None   Unfolds like a map; no copyright or other information—not even Intellivision, Inc. listed
PBA Bowling Manual (Sears 3874-0920) Sears 3874-0920 1980 U.S.A.  




A total of four PBA Bowling overlay variants have been documented.

Image Vendor Part Number Year Origin Description
PBA Bowling Overlay (Mattel Electronics 3333-4289) Mattel Electronics 3333-4289 1980 U.S.A.  
PBA Bowling Overlay (Phil Boland 49 75223) Phil Boland 49 75223 1980 U.S.A. Part of the Sears Super Video Arcade Overlay Set (2013)
PBA Bowling Overlay (Intellivision Productions) Intellivision Productions N/A None   Part of the bonus overlays included with the Sam's Club edition of the 2014 Intellivision Flashback; copyright information has been removed
PBA Bowling Overlay (Intellivision Productions) Intellivision Productions N/A 2014 U.S.A. Part of the Supplemental Overlay Pack for Intellivision Flashback




A total of six 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
PBA Bowling Label (Phil Boland) Phil Boland N/A None   Part of the Sears Super Video Arcade Overlay Set (2013)




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!




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