Gutterball 3D

*Finally, great bowling action without the crowds or the rental shoes!  Choose your ball and shoot for the big score solo, or with up to three other bowlers at once. You’ll love the great graphics and amazing ball physics.  Even allows you to guide the ball as it hurtles toward the pins.  A great “spin” on one of the worlds most popular sports!* - RealArcade Official Description

**Gutterball 3D** is a sports game developed by Skunk Studios released on July 11, 2002.

## System requirements

Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP

To jump into the action, click the "Play Now" button on the RealArcade game page to launch Gutterball 3D.  Then click the "Start Game" button on the Gutterball 3D main menu, and click the "Bowl" button in the lower-right corner of the Player setup screen to start a game!

There are, however, a few features you might want to take advantage of before you begin. In Gutterball 3D, you are able to setup and customize "players" for which stats will be tracked, and also customize and improve bowling balls to fit your own personal style, skills, and taste.  Customizing your players and balls takes place on the Player Setup screen which is the first screen you see after pressing "Start Game" on the Main Menu.

Press the "Customize" button on the right side of the screen to customize the look and name of your ball as well as weight, speed, and spin. Weight, speed, and spin can only be modified as you gain power. Apply a custom texture to your ball a unique look by specifying the location of the graphic file you wish to use.

A game of Bowling takes place in 10 "frames".  Each frame is two "balls" or "rolls".  At the beginning of each frame, 10 pins are set up and the goal is knock down all 10 pins each frame in the fewest possible rolls. In each frame, the best outcome is to roll a "Strike" - which means you knock down all 10 pins with your first roll of the frame. A strike is indicated on your score card with an "X" in the first roll box in the frame. The 2nd best outcome is to roll a "Spare" - which means you knock down some pins with your first roll and pick up the rest with your 2nd roll. A spare on your score card looks like a number in the first roll box on the frame (the # of pins knocked down with the first roll), and a "/" in the second roll box of the frame.

If you don't get a strike or a spare then you leave the frame "Open" which just means you didn't knock down all 10 pins.  On the score card, this will be a number in both roll box in the frame (the # of pins knocked down with each roll, respectively). The worst outcome of a roll is a "Gutterball" which just means your ball went down one of the Gutters on either side of the alley, and no pins were knocked down at all.

Gutterball 3D tracks all your scores, records, and legends locally by bowler. Everything from your legendary games, to a pin averages broken down by the balls you use, to the number of rolls between gutterballs, to your best and worst games ever. Even better you can also access "Worldwide" stats to see how your performance stacks up against other people around the Internet! Just hit the "Statistics" button on the Main Menu to see your stats.  They'll also be displayed for you after each game you complete.

## Trivia

* A version of Gutterball 3D can be found on archive.org that uses the original RealArcade logo.
* A few screenshots of Gutterball 3D showed a few items that never appeared anywhere in game. This includes a ball named Wacky Purple, and what appears to be a Skunk Studios-themed alley. As well as a ball named Blue Retro (which can be seen on the game's regular artwork).
* Gutterball 3D was tilted 2002 Sports Game of the Year by RealArcade.

## Gallery

The first screenshot depecting an early version of Wacky 1The fourth screenshot, depicting a ball known as Wacky Purple, which never appears in the final game.The fifth screenshot. Neither the ball or the alley appears in the final game.