The 2008 Classic Arcade Gaming (dot com) Tournament   March 2008, Bloomington, Illinois

     The third annual edition of The 2008 Classic Arcade Gaming (dot com) Tournament will be held at a new location this year - Pro Putt Family Fun Center, located in Bloomington, Illinois.  The three-day event will take place from Friday, March 28th through Sunday, March 30th, and, like the first two editions of the event, it is being co-organized by myself (Mark Alpiger, administrator of this CAGDC web site), and my location partner, which is the arcade's owner, Mary Lou Nelson.  Now, even with the change in venue, there's no change with all of the great features of previous years, which are being carried over again for this event.  More details on those features appear later on this page.

    Gamers who are already signed up for the event are: the incredible defending champion, Donald Hayes (cag multi-wr holder); Pat Laffaye (Frogger master); Mark Boolman (Star Wars and MARP master) and son; Jason Spindler (Turbo Sub wr holder); plus Geoff Przekop (major skills on Crystal Castles and The Glob).  Other classic gamers who are likely attendees for the tournament are: Bryan Wagner (Burgertime wr holder) and newcomer Andre Glanton and friends (3 or so).  No doubt, there's many more to come, so, be sure to sign up, and you can be part of this elite group of top gamers, and meet co-stars of The King of Kong movie (specifically, Pat and Donald, plus organizer Mark Alpiger).

    Now, for newcomers, what makes this a 'must-attend' gaming event ?  Well, Pro Putt FFC is one of the biggest cag arcades in the nation, as far as number of games - there are more than 50 classics (!), and you can check out the list of 75+ total titles, along with full info on the location, here.  Out of all of these great classic games, I have picked out a selection that includes popular titles that are specifically designed for gamers that have attended various events in recent years.  Also, while organizing this tournament (and past ones), I consulted with quite a few classic gaming aficionados to find out what they most wanted in a contest, and what they would like to see addressed or perhaps improved upon (whether in regards to last year's CAGDC event, or other events they've attended in the past).  So, based on that, contestants at this tournament can rely on the following things to be in place:

    .  the contest games will be working properly

    .  the tourney results will be updated one, or more, times daily over the three-day event

    .  there will be a time limit (per my CAGDC contest rules) of one hour of play, maximum, to avoid titles being tied up for
       extended time periods; fortunately, most titles in the contest can only be played for a period of less than an hour

    .  a whiteboard will be prominently displayed, with pertinent tourney info and updates that all contestants need to know,
       or be aware of

    .  there will be four prize levels, three of which are monetary; in addition, the money purse is unlimited, in that, the more
       contestants there are (past 13), then the bigger it will be, with no upper limit (!!)

    .  transportation to and from motels, and airports, will be coordinated with other players, so that we can best combine our
       resources

    .  and last, but far from least, there will be incredible choice as far as which games each player can play, along with there
       being popular, well-known titles, in the pool of contest games

    Now, what exactly is meant by a 'pool' of games ?  Well, in a historic precedent that was first implemented by this event in 2006, this tournament will actually let the players pick the games that they will play !  Each gamer can pick 6 titles to contest, from a pool of 13 contest games (potential titles are shown in a list below, in the first table), plus one more 'mystery' title, revealed the first day of the event.  Now, contestants can actually choose to play more than six of the tourney games (including all 14, if they wish); naturally, only their best 6 results will count.  In this case, the best six results will be determined by their highest six percentages, as determined by the tourney calculation and comparison system (see below).  Because each player will likely have a different set of six games that will comprise their tournament games (tho it does not matter if this is the case or not), instead of playing against all other players on all contest titles (which is the method for all past gaming contests), you will actually only be playing against other players (for the best result, as determined by the contest calculation system) on the specific titles that you pick.  This ingenious method allows players to have optimal flexibility, and choice.  Oh, and just to make it clear, as one player asked about this; you may (of course) play each title as many times as you wish during the contest hours, so that you will have the best possible results.  One final note: since the pool of games is so large, there must be a contingency in place, for the unforeseeable situation where one or more games becomes non-functional, or unavailable, at contest time.  This is unlikely, and will be avoided at all costs, but it can happen, and there will be a reserved set of substitute titles in place, in case any are needed (the substitute titles will be Airwolf, Discs of Tron, Gyruss, and Mercs).  In any case, up-to-the-day information can always be found on this page, and likely also on the CAGDC forums, in this thread.

    As mentioned earlier, another welcome situation is that there will be well-known, and popular, titles in the contest (see the official game listing in the first table below).  One reason that some events may have avoided putting in major titles is that there's the chance of one or two players 'clocking' the field (like Don Hayes, Dwayne Richard, and others), since they are so good at so many common classic titles.  The ability to choose your own game titles to play in this tourney is a big help in avoiding this from being much of an issue (yet, it is still fair to the elite video athletes).  In addition, I'll likely be employing a scoring method (suggested by Donald Hayes and used last year with great results) which uses logarithmic math to lend more accuracy to the deserved finishing places of all (qualifying) contestants than any other method I've seen.  After dropping non-qualifying player's scores (meaning, they turned in less than 6 scores) from any and all qualifying player calculations, each qualifying player's best six results (as determined by the six highest percentages for each, when comparing all of their best submitted scores for each game against the entire qualifying field's entire number of submitted scores) will be averaged to show their average percentile for the event.  Then, the ranking (from highest to lowest) will, of course, show the results of the tourney for the entire qualifying field.  OK - it sounds complex, but really isn't when it comes to calculating it on a computer !

    For information on the regular, and the contest (for contestants only) arcade hours, see the second table below.  For any questions on arcade-related matters, you may contact Mary Lou Nelson via phone; the number at the arcade is 309-828-2000, and the best time to try is Monday through Friday, from about 10 AM to 2 PM CT.  To contact me (Mark Alpiger) about contest matters, go to the e-mail link in the next-to-last paragraph below.

    Now, lets get to an important issue to most contestants (especially those traveling into the Bloomington area) - the local amenities.  The arcade is located in a shopping strip, and a number of fast-food restaurants are within 2 blocks of it, which really makes things convenient for mealtime !  In addition, there are a number of hotels within a short drive of the mall, with one popular (with gaming travelers) chain, Super 8, being about a ten-minute drive away.  That location is the one that I am definitely recommending for travelers coming in from out of town.  I've gotten a pricing rate quote (for the expected group) from them that's less than anywhere else in the area, especially for the weekend nights (less than $60, and weekdays are under $50 !).  All rooms have wireless Internet access, and most have a fridge and microwave.  Also, I recommend that you stay there for the purpose of everyone being in one spot, thus making rides easy for those who do not wish to rent a car (in other words, you'll need to stay there if you want a free ride to and from the event each day !).  You can directly call the motel anytime (24 hours), at 309-663-2388, to make the reservations.  Mention that you are coming for the Pro Putt arcade contest in order for them to put you in the block of rooms set aside for contestants.  I'll likely have more details, and specific listings of 'eateries', on a 'traveler info' page that I will probably put up in the coming weeks.

    As far as airports go, this is where this year's location really shines.  The Bloomington airport (code: BMI) is located less than 5 miles from the arcade, and one local contestant has volunteered to be a 'cheap taxi' for flyers, at just $5 to pick you up during contest hours (and possibly outside those hours too), and bring you to the arcade (or possibly your hotel; but, you can likely get a free ride at the end of the contest day from myself, or someone else, so you are strongly encouraged to wait to check in until then).  The volunteer's name is Mark Boolman, and his phone number (for when you arrive) is 309-824-6263.  For even more info, you can check the traveler info page link above (when it is ready), which has more information for players who are traveling to the event (tho note that most of this info is already available on this page).  In addition, so that contestants may coordinate with each other, for cost savings, and / or convenience, simply fill out , which is also linked at the bottom of the 'traveler' page, if you can offer a ride to or from the airport, or if you're willing to share a room, and I'll post this info.  That way, all out-of-town contestants can benefit.  Note that I will be giving free rides each day to those staying at the Super 8 motel, both when I leave in the morning for the arcade, and when I leave the arcade to go back to the motel at the end of each day.  No doubt others will be able to offer rides too.  Of course, these rides are first-come, first-served each day, as allowed by room in the car, and only one trip will likely be made each way.

    Now, back to the 'nuts and bolts' of the event, and, specifically, the money matters.  The monetary prizes for the winners are as follows; first place will receive $150, second earns $75, and third garners $25.  The fourth place winner will receive an autographed King of Kong poster, signed by a co-star in the film - yours truly (Mark Alpiger).  Now, as great as all those prizes are, where things get much more exciting is the fact that the money purse is essentially unlimited.  If we get more than 13 contest entrants (a very possible scenario), then for every one of those past 13, we will increase the base amount of the money purse ($250, as shown above) by $25 !  So, just having a total of 23 contestants allows for the first through third place prizes to actually double in amount !

    Well, now that the prizes are known, what is the entry fee ?  The good news is that it includes both arcade admission (normally $5 a day), and free play on all of the games !  That's right - play as much as you want, with no quarters or tokens needed !!  All of this is just $40, which is the 'adult' fee; children under 13 years of age have an entry fee of just $30.  These entry fees (other than those paying 'at the door', which is discouraged) must be sent via PayPal (credit cards are accepted if you don't have a PayPal account), with the final deadline for receipt being March 27th.  The entry fee cannot be paid at the arcade, unless you pay during the event (meaning, Friday, March 28th through Sunday, March 30th); again this is discouraged, and you should pay beforehand, if at all possible.  Payments made at the arcade location, during the tournament, must be in cash.

    Well, that sums up the contest parameters, and should address most questions or issues regarding the event.  If you feel there is something that I haven't covered on this page, then you may with your question, or even send a suggestion, or request (as in a game title you may wish to bring in to play for a record).

    The date of this page's last update was March 3rd, 2008.  Keep checking back for further updates, and, most of all, come out and support both the event, and classic arcade gaming !

Thanks for visiting the 2008 CAGDCT page.  You are visitor number !

 
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