Bowling game apparatus allowing children to get strikes and spares for a high score. Two guides (10) are provided longitudinally along lane (3); two first retainers (15) are arranged outside the end of lane (3) near approach (2) for retaining first ends of the guides (10); two second retainers (20) for retaining the second ends of the guides (10) are provided over lane (3) between first retainers (15) and pins (5), and allow, as driven by a second-retainer drive unit, the guide second-end retaining portions of the second retainers (20) to shift between a guide position and a retract position apart from the guide position. The guides (10) diagonally intersect the longitudinal direction of the lane (3), where they come into contact with the height-wise center of a ball rolling down the lane (3) ball when the second-end retaining portions of the second retainers (20) are in the guide position.