[a] It was programmed by Larry Kaplan who left Atari to co-found Activision the same year.

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.

[5] It was included in portable gaming compilations such as the Atari Greatest Hits for Nintendo DS and iOS-based devices.

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.