| Elf Bowling | |
|---|---|
 A screencap of the game, with elf pins and a Christmas-themed frog hopping on the icy lane. | |
| Developer(s) | NStorm Ignition Entertainment (Elf Bowling 1 & 2) |
| Publisher(s) | NStorm Ignition Entertainment (Elf Bowling 1 & 2) |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows Game Boy Advance (as Elf Bowling 1 & 2) Nintendo DS (as Elf Bowling 1 & 2) |
| Release | Microsoft Windows 1998 Game Boy Advance November 28, 2005[1] Nintendo DS December 1, 2005[1] |
| Genre(s) | Sports |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Elf Bowling is a bowling video game developed by NStorm and released in 1998 for Windows Computers. In the game the player, as Santa Claus, attempts to knock down elves who are arranged like bowling pins.[2] A later release of the game, by Ignition Entertainment, was released on the Nintendo handheld consoles Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance, and received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics.[3][4][5] In Elf Bowling, the elves of Santa's Workshop are on strike due to overwork from the huge demand for Christmas toys, so Santa Claus has decided to whip them into shape by using them as bowling pins.
During the game, the elves say phrases such as "Is that all the balls you got, Santa?" when the player misses their first spare opportunity or "Gutter ball!" in a silly-sounding voice when a ball is rolled into the gutter. Other potential distractions for the user are a Reindeer that walks up along the bowling lane that can be "hit" with the bowling ball if the arrow is positioned to the far left, and a frog wearing a Santa hat hopping back and forth across the player's field of vision (resembling Kalvin Kroaker from Frogapult, also made by NStorm). If the player hits the frog with the bowling ball, its body is hauled away from the screen by a bird from Frogapult. A white rabbit also jumps and defecates across the bowling lane. Unlike the reindeer and the frog, it is not possible to hit the rabbit. The elves moon Santa (asking "who's your daddy" as they do it). Both during the game and after a game finishes, the elves do a dance, shouting "Elf elf, baby!" in reference to Vanilla Ice's song "Ice Ice Baby". The elves can also randomly move out of the way of the ball, and one elf can be decapitated by the pinsetter.
- ^ a b "Elf Bowling 1 &2 (ds) reviews at Metacritic.com". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2010-07-10. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
- ^ Elf Bowling Archived 2005-08-26 at the Wayback Machine NStorm.com
- ^ "Elf Bowling 1 & 2". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
- ^ "Elf Bowling 1 & 2 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
- ^ Elf Bowling 1 & 2 - IGN, 15 December 2005, retrieved 2020-08-20