Abstract: An automatic bowling alley has a bowling lane with two ends. The bowling alley further includes a pin setup frame provided at one end of the bowling lane for handling a plurality of bowling pins. The pin setup frame includes a pin magazine for retaining a number of the pins therebelow. A pin support plate is located below the pin magazine. A device is provided for vertically moving the pin support plate in and out of an initial position and toward and away from the pin magazine to receive the pins from the pin magazine. A device is provided for tilting the pin support plate during the vertical movement into an intermediate tilting position to clear any pins therefrom. A sorting device is located beneath the pin support plate for separating and arranging the pins received therein into an aligned position. A pin conveyor is provided for transporting, in a predetermined position, the pins from the sorting device to the pin magazine.