CLASSIC BOWLING is the traditional 10-frame bowling format where each frame represents one turn for the bowler, and in each turn the player is allowed to roll the ball twice. If the bowler knocks down all the pins in the first roll it's considered a strike. If any pins remain, the bowler attempts to knock them down with a second roll. If they succeed, it's called a spare; any pins remaining denote an open frame. If the frame is left open, the bowler receives a score equivalent to the number of pins knocked down. If a spare is made, a slash mark is recorded in the right-hand corner of the frame and no score is recorded until the first ball is rolled in the next frame. After it's rolled, the bowler receives credit for the number of pins knocked down, plus 10. If a bowler gets a strike, an X is recorded in the box and the player receives a score of 10 plus the total pins knocked down in the next two rolls. There are a total of 120 pins a bowler can knock down in one game, making a maximum score of 300.

VEGAS BOWLING is unique to Silver Strike Bowling and is the most popular game choice. Using the exact set of rules as CLASSIC BOWLING, VEGAS BOWLING adds a second level of competition by giving bowlers playing cards every time a mark (spare or strike) is made.

After the players view the score sheet, a second sheet appears showing who currently has the best 5-card poker hand!

THROWDOWN bracket play is new to Silver Strike 2009 Bowler's Club and adds a whole new level of competition to bowling. Designed for 4 to 16 players, THROWDOWN makes single-elimination leagues and player run contests simple and easy to set up. Players enter their names prior to a game and then face off in a head-to-head style competition. Each bowler will roll one game. The bowler with the higher single game score will advance.

SSB SURVIVOR is new to Silver Strike 2009 Bowler's Club and pits players in an eliminator-type competition against one another to see who can keep their streak of strikes the longest. Designed for up to 16 players, bowlers face off head-to-head. Each bowler is given a predetermined number of "lives." Bowler 1 will roll the ball in an attempt to bowl a strike. If the bowler is successful, they roll again. If the bowler does not bowl a strike they are penalized a "life" and they then roll again. Bowler 1 continues to bowl until all their lives are gone. It will then be Bowler 2's turn to try to accumulate more strikes than Bowler 1 before they run out of lives. The bowler with the most total strikes wins the head-to-head- match.

After the last bowler is finished, a leaderboard will appears showing how everyone did. If any of the bowlers did good enough, their scores will be shown in the Attract Mode leaderboard.