Big Strike Bowling offers a light-hearted look at the popular sport of bowling by mixing a wide array of fanciful characters (all customizable) and four venues (classical lanes, tropical beach setting, cosmic atmosphere, and a back-alley alley) with real-world physics. Players make adjustments to the curving arc of the ball prior to delivery, bowler position, speed, and power as they compete in four types of gameplay: Open Game, Team Game, Progressive Play and Tournament. The tournament pits the player's bowler in a bracket consisting of 32 opponents, with a 'sudden death' roll-off provided in case of a tie in the final game.