Abstract: A supplemental device for use with an automatic pin setting machine permits a player to practice on any desired spare combinations of fewer than ten pins. A control panel is mounted at the player's end of the alley, and this panel has ten keys arranged in the pattern in which the pins are set on the bowling lane. The player selects his spare combination by pushing the appropriate buttons. A control apparatus operates responsive to the player's selection to block delivery of the pins not selected to the pin-receiving magazine, and to simulate delivery of these non-selected pins to the magazine. The pin setting combination selected by the player is immediately stored in a first memory, and is transferred to a second memory for control of the pin-setting apparatus only after the pin-setting apparatus has completed its current operating cycle.