RocketBowl

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*Put an all new spin on your bowling with RocketBowl Plus!  At the ’58 Kalamazoo World’s Fair, the lanes are curved, the balls are rocket-powered, and the future of bowling is now! Use special rocket-powered bowling balls to curve, boost, and hop your way over hills, around water traps, across bridges, and through winding chutes, all at a fun and relaxing pace. Win cash, wager on matches against veteran RocketBowlers, play fast-paced Mini-Striker bonus levels, and unlock all the RocketBowl courses!  Plus, this exciting and new version contains 3 all new courses and wacky new characters.  Download RocketBowl and enjoy the leisure sport of the future . . . today!* - RealArcade official description

**RocketBowl** is a sports/arcade game developed by Large Animal Games and released on November 4, 2004. It was available for download until the client shut down in 2013.

## How to Play

Toss the ball and try to knock over as many pins as you can on each frame.  As you play, enter tournaments and win cash to buy new balls and take on challengers.

To aim the ball, click on the center of the screen and hold the button down while moving the mouse left or right. Try to line up your aiming arrow with the arrow hovering above the pins. To throw the ball, click "Set Power" to start the power meter, then click the "Launch" button to release the ball. The "Set Power" and "Launch" buttons will be in the same place, so you don't need to move your mouse when throwing the ball. Try to release the ball when the meter is completely full.

Welcome to the 1958 Kalamazoo World's Fair, where the biggest news is the all new RocketBowl Pavilion! Now you too can play the utopian leisure sport of the future. Bowl over amazing contoured terrains, use new-and-improved rocket-powered bowling balls, and experience 7 futuristic courses . . . today!

Some balls feature powerful ROCKETBOOSTS you can use to steer your ball. To use a RocketBoost, click one of the green boost arrows to send your ball in that direction. The number in between the arrows tells you how many boosts you can use on each throw. The best balls have vertical RocketBoosts that will send your ball flying through the air. To use a vertical RocketBoost, click the arrow pointing up. Use the vertical boosts to get over obstacles.

Some balls can CURVE around obstacles and terrain. To adjust the curve, click the arrow buttons below the power meter. You will see a curve preview appear in your curve indicator. Different types of balls have different types of curves. Some balls have a "hook" curve, while others have a "smooth" curve. Experiment and see which one you like best!

Once you have enough money, you can BUY a more powerful ball. Some of the more powerful balls in RocketBowl feature Curves, Horizontal RocketBoosts, and Vertical RocketBoosts. To buy a new ball, click the Bowling Bag button. Clicking the Bowling Bag button will take you to the RocketBowl Shop. Here you can buy a new ball, sell a ball you already own, and check out the specs on all of the balls in the game.

Want to take on a local pro for cash? Then click the CHALLENGE button from the Course Selection Screen. You can meet your opponent, and find out what he or she has to say. Earn money on the game by wagering cash against your opponent and by hitting Dollar Pins and Cash Power Ups.

TOURNAMENTS are official RocketBowl sanctioned events where the best RocketBowlers in the area compete for a sweet cash prize. Each tournament has an entry fee, and all tournament entrants must first score at least 100 on the course where the tournament takes place. Place first, second or third in a tournament and walk home with cold, hard cash.

SCORING in RocketBowl is exactly like regular bowling, with two exceptions: 1) you get three balls per frame instead of two; and 2) you can throw the ball at other pin sets to get 'Wild Shots'. If you hit pins, that throw won't count towards your three balls on that frame. It's like a free throw!

Generally, you will get one point for every pin you knock down. The exception to this rule is strikes and spares. A strike is scored when you knock down all 10 pins on your first shot. If you score a strike, you earn 10 points plus the number of pins you knock down on your next two shots. A spare is scored when you knock down all 10 pins on your second or third shot. If you score a spare, you earn 10 points plus the number of pins you knock down on your next shot.

## Trivia

* RocketBowl is one of the few games to show up under two different categories.
* RocketBowl is one of the few games on the platform to have gameplay elements that are restricted in demo mode. In this case, only the first three levels can be played and only the first six selection of balls can be purchased.