The 2007 Funspot International Classic
Video & Pinball Tournament
 
May / June 2007, Weirs Beach, New Hampshire



 

Introduction    (click here to skip to menu)

     The ninth annual Funspot tournament occurred the long weekend (Thursday May 31st thru Sunday June 3rd) after Memorial Day, as it has for some years.   This year marked a noticeable change in the event, from the standpoint of both categories of competition, and game selection.  The Ladies Tournament and the Monochrome Tourney were both eliminated, and a new manufacturer-themed tourney filled in their places - the All Atari Competition, which (as the name suggests) featured a large selection of Atari-produced games.  The standard Pinball and Video Challenges remained intact, and all the categories benefited from a vast (17 games) rollout of 'new' (to Funspot) titles, including Laserdisc games, and rarities such as Destroyer and Pulsar.  In addition, famed home console game inventor Ralph Baer made an appearance.

 



Features on this page
 
Picture galleries Tournament results Other scores of note
Media coverage Commentary / attendee writeups Miscellaneous

 



Picture galleries    (click here to go to top menu)

    by:  Mark Alpiger  -  covering Wednesday, May 30th thru Monday, June 4th

    by:  Blaine Locklair  -  covering Saturday, June 2nd and Sunday, June 3rd

 



Mark Alpiger's pictures


    Here is my regular pictorial coverage of the Funspot event.  For now, captions only appear on this page, but will eventually appear on the individual pages that come up when you click on a thumbnail below.  Enjoy the 246 pictures worth of coverage, which begins the day before the event (Wednesday, May 30th), and continues on to the day after (Monday, June 4th).

 

 

It's the day before the tourney
begins, and the banner announcing
it is up, and filled with all the details.

 

Tom Votava has a go on 1943.

 

Nick Ortakales has a seat, as
he takes on Twin Cobra.

 

Looks like this is the corner where a bunch of the tourney games will go.

 

Donald Hayes shows
off his newfound skills
on Crystal Castles.

 

Jason Cram also decides to sit while playing - in this case, Pleiades.

 

Mike Sao Pedro chooses Robotron as the game he wants to pose beside, as it's one of his favorite titles.

 

Todd Rogers (in yellow) has
arrived, and draws a crowd with
his superb Super Pac-Man skills.

 

Jenn Moore shows she can game with the best of 'em, on Kick-Man.

 

Todd now decides to practice up
on his 'claim-to-fame' title - Gorf.

 

David Cruz has made it in, and puts his signature bottle of Snapple on
top of the Donkey Kong machine.

 

It's the end of the day, and I catch Brian Kuh on his way home.  He'll
be resting up for his wr attempts that will take place on day 1 of the event.

 

Martin Bedard is hers, and gets started with his usual quiet, but effective, run of world records.

 

David's son Kevin looks on as his dad has a go with Circus Charlie.

 

Eric Ahlers plays Mouse Trap.

 

Darren Harris has arrived, via
bus, and sidles up to one of his
mainstay games - Ms. Pac-Man.

 

Day 1 officially starts, and Brian
Kuh begins his quest for a wr
number of world records - 17 !

 

Here's a screenshot of my so-so Crystal Castles top score.  I had
to put Donald in his place, didn't I ?

 

Just a few hours from the tournament start, Gary gets going at bringing
in all of the titles for the event.

 

Here's a look at Gary's 'kick-ass' arcade game dolly, with extra wheels.

 

The players stand clear of the onslaught of contest games being wheeled in, including Dave
Nelson (left) and Donald.

 

Mike Stulir cracks open
Centipede, in order to install Don Haye's unique 3-minute timed board.

 

A few of the Atari tourney titles take their place, including Quantum, which is new on the floor.

 

Here's a series of photos of a few
of the 'Wall of Fame' world record pictures, starting with Dave.

 

More from the wall -  Fred
Pastore (left) and David Cruz.

 

Todd is shown at left, with Galaxian master Gary Whelan at right.

 

Two past tourney winners are featured here: Jason Cram
(left), and Dave, yet again.

 

Brian Kuh gets a large chunk of the wall here, in 11 (out of his 16) wr shots from the 2006 tourney.

 

Speaking of Brian, here he is, continuing his quest to top last year's output, and get 17 wr marks in 2007.

 

This screenshot shows Brian's possible wr on 1943.  It came into question as the ROM set may or
may not be previously unknown.

 

The arcade's ambiance shows in this non-flash photo; L-R: Jason and
Don try out a new on the floor
title - Major Havoc.

 

Let's throw a little light on the
situation - same shot, with flash.

 

Here's a view of the pinball dolly that Funspot uses to avoid backaches.

 

Here we go - most of the Atari tourney video titles are set up,
and ready to play.

 

Brian has moved on to the cocktail game row, in his wr quest.

 

Here's Brian's wr result on LSA Squad.  Tim McIlroy got the
title back, a few days later.

 

Brian's mark on Stratovox.

 

Brian has a go at Super
Mario Bros. 3.

 

Brian's Sprint 2 wr is shown here.

 

Greg Erway tries out a Pinball Tourney game as buddy Tim
McIlroy watches.

 

Here's half of the lineup of
Video Tournament (VT) games.

 

The second half of the Video
Tourney games is shown here.

 

Anna Cram (in red) and Jenn Moore ready the entry form table for duty.

 

Brian continues on his wr pursuits.

 

Here are the two pinball titles
that are a part of the All Atari
Tournament (or AAT for short).

 

A close-in view of three of the
eight videos in the AAT.

 

The next three vids in the lineup
for the AAT are shown here.

 

Now, to the Pinball Tourney;
here's three of the six titles.

 

The final three titles in the
Pinball Tournament (PT).

 

Martin and Greg (kneeling) fill out the contestant entry forms for the event.

 

Brian's next wr achievement
was Starship 1.

 

Brian got tops on Lethal Enforcers.

 

Accomplished at many of
Funspot's driving games,
Brian takes the wr on Turbo.

 

Here's a rare feature in an early color game (Lunar Rescue) - the ability to enter a full name, which Brian does
in his next wr in a row.

 

The wr's keep falling, as Brian
scores a superb 848,910 points
on Indiana Jones ATTOD,
medium difficulty, 3 lives.

 

VS. Super Mario Bros. is
Brian's next target, and next wr.

 

Another view of the SMB score.

 

Final Lap is another racing
title that falls to Brian.

 

Brian takes a respite, and
shows Darren his list of wr accomplishments thus far.

 

More of Brian's wr string - here's
the score on Rampage.

 

Darren is, as typical the last couple
of years, hanging out on Indy.

 

Kevin Cruz tries for second place
on Tron.  He didn't quite make
it, but gets a big 'A' for effort.

 

Here are the last two games in the Video Tourney - VS. Duck Hunt and VS. Hogan's Alley.

 

The kind-hearted Tina Gebhard sits at the ready, to notate player scores.

 

Tina wears glasses for this shot.

 

Looks like Don is trying to decide what to play next, as Derek Litton (right) has arrived on the scene.

 

A rare view of Darren playing something other than Indy,
Ms. Pac,
or  Star Trek.

 

One of the final games (and new for Funspot) in the AAT is Destroyer.

 

Pat Laffaye gives Frogger a go,
tho he didn't end up having enough time to seriously contest it.

 

Brian Kuh is done with his solo wr game attempts, and moves on to 'doubles' action - here, he's combined with Todd Rogers on Xenophobe.

 

A mini-pow-wow takes place between Tina, Gary Vincent,
and Anna Cram.

 

Here's another 'natural-light' shot, showing players on the Pinball Tourney titles.

 

Back to flash mode.  L-R: Greg
Mott, Phillip Eaton, and Mike.

 

A famed set of players (L-R,
Don, Dave, Scootie Ahlers, and Martin) group up in the VT area.

 

Another group gathers on some of the AAT games, including Dwayne Richard, complete with dreds.

 

A wrap-up of Brian Kuh's scoring triumphs reveals a wr on Mercs.

 

Finally, here's Brian's
Steel Talons wr mark.

 

Brian takes a well-deserved break
for lunch at the Funspot restaurant called the Braggin' Dragon.

 

Scoretaker Peter M. (left) is on
duty to write down player marks.

 

David takes on Gravitar.

 

Dave (left) and Jason play VT games.

 

Uh-oh - Alien Syndrome had to
be pulled from the VT due to a malfunction; Star Castle is
chosen to take its place.

 

Don and Shawn Cram (right) work their scoring magic on two VT titles.

 

Tim decides to shoot it out
on VS. Duck Hunt.

 

Finally - the last tournament title
is in place - Canyon Bomber,
which is part of the AAT.

 

Contestants continue to work
on tournament row titles.

 

Pat takes a break from Indy and Frogger to check out Todd's prowess on Gorf.

 

Two Brits (buds Phillip and
Greg) try a couple of the
games on 'Williams row'.

 

Tom has a seat, as he goes
on Moon Patrol duty.

 

Pat's still following Todd around,
and gets hooked on watching his Super Pac-Man skills.

 

Pat's still on the prowl, and finds the Erway clique giving Dragon's Lair (another new on the floor title) a go.

 

Anna and Jenn are still awaiting the throngs of contestants yet to come.

 

Chris McClard tries a VT title.

 

Eric shows skill on A.P.B.

 

This is more like it - Pat throws down (and throws papers) on one of his
wr game titles - Paperboy.

 

This sign warns away chair-nappers.

 

This view encompasses
most of the VT games.

 

A look at the (Daphne
powered) Dragon's Lair.

 

Somehow, Mr. Kelly R. Flewin managed to get DL to show
this incorrect score.

 

A final look (for now) at DL.

 

L-R:  Robert Mruczek and Stan
Loo have arrived, and get to work
on two titles in the AAT.

 

Randy Lawton looks at an issue on another new game rollout title - Atari's Middle Earth pinball.

 

Yet another new rollout was Pulsar.

 

Martin winds down the day on a rarely seen sit-down version
of Space Harrier.

 

Day 2 (Friday) begins, and in my 'document everything' mindset, I take a pic of my hotel room at the Naswa.

 

TT (that's Tony Temple to you)
has arrived, along with a British
buddy contingent.

 

Greg and Darren discuss Steve Wiebe's 1.006M Donkey Kong
tape, shown the previous evening.

 

Players (and observers) are positioned all around the
tournament play area.

 

Rob tries Video Pinball while Don plays one of many games on the
timed edition of Centipede.

 

Adam Wood plays a game
that's part of the AAT.

 

Greg Erway poses by his
favorite title - Tapper.

 

Greg Mott tries the newly working Millipede.  Don Hayes brought in
his control panel, to fix the problem.

 

Anna faithfully watches
husband Jason try his best
on one of the VT games.

 

Erway 'gaming gang' members Tim and Fred Pastore (right) at play.

 

Brian finally has time to play in the tourney, and he begins with the ATT.

 

The PT games are in high
demand, with all six in use.

 

Contestants continue to try to improve their marks on ATT games.

 

Donald watches David try for
the Mystery Game (MG) of
the day - Vanguard.

 

Scootie plays one of his
favorite titles - Dig Dug.

 

Another new-on-the-floor (notf) game - Space Ace, which is another Laser title (Daphne emulated).

 

Pat watches the other great Paperboy player at the event - Eric.

 

Donald gets his try on the MG.

 

David Demers tries Space Ace out.

 

Cameron Feltner plays Elevator Action, a title he's world-class
on, as Darren Harris watches.

 

Another scoretaker, Nicole, is ready and waiting to gather anyone's marks.

 

Todd gives a 'Fonz' salute, while he and a group has gathered to see the prowess of Greg Mott on Gorf.

 

David Cruz, and the Brothers
Cram, keep plugging away at the
VT titles, as the evening winds up.

 

Here's the official tournament
game listing, as we see the
start of day 3 (Saturday).

 

Walter Day has now made it in, and is ready to distribute the brand
new TG book of wr (along with
Billy's sauce, of course).

 

Greg can't resist grabbing
hold of his $40 copy.

 

Don takes a break from tourney games, and tries to top his TG
wr mark on TGTS Joust.

 

Eric Geddes, who won yesterday's MG, throws down big on today's
title, which is yet another one notf.

 

L-R: Bob Lawton, Gary Vincent,
and another Lawton employee apparently can't wait to see what's
in the secret plastic suitcase...

 

The TT clique surrounds Robotron, as an interested observer watches.

 

The players clamor to pick up, and check out, the new TG book edition.

 

Gary sets up Super Missile Attack for the wr holder - John Zabel.

 

Where Erway goes, Tim will
follow.  Here, they're at Chiller.

 

Dave must rule on the
monochrome titles, and here
he shores up his score.

 

After some tips from me (Mark Alpiger), Brian attempts to raise his score for the ATT on Food Fight.

 

Ron Mowry, the wr holder for a pinball marathon, poses outside
one of the Funspot entrances.

 

At mid-afternoon Saturday, Ralph Baer (in suit coat) has arrived.
He's the inventor of the
home console game.

 

Ralph decides to have a little fun,
and poses for this photo-op, on
a more modern-day game
than he's known for.

 

Walter chats with Ralph.

 

Gary wants in on the conversation.

 

Pat always has time for a little Indy.

 

Brian's still scoring on ATT titles.

 

Greg plays some
Super Missile Attack.

 

L-R: Fred and Tim talk with Rob.

 

Rob can't resist getting in a 'shot' at Roy - here's an All Games Interactive comic parody of Roy's infamous
'Let me finish' phrase.

 

Shawn plays Quantum.

 

Here's a close-up of Shawn's CGEUK shirt, from the
summer of 2005.

 

David and son Kevin are
still working on contest titles.

 

Brian is probably looking for tips, from Canyon Bomber aficionado Fred, as Tim also looks on.

 

Pat tried out quite a few
games of Major Havoc.

 

A group of Super Missile Attack fans gathers to watch the wr holder.

 

Martin is still at it, trying to get a
few wr scores on various games.

 

Time for a pic of me (Mark Alpiger) with Walter.  I'm actually wearing one of his shirts, which is from the 1986 NAVGC event, held in Ottumwa.

 

A Funspot (and TG staff) newbie, Blaine Locklair, gives the rare
Atari title Triple Hunt a shot...

 

Another view of Blaine, and TH.

 

The TH control panel is shown.

 

Contestants continue to
try to raise their scores.

 

Eric tries out Space Ace, as Cameron checks out the action.

 

While Donald Hayes plays, I take a screenshot of Lode Runner.

 

Here's another screenshot.  This
time, I take it during a nice run
by Darren on Indiana Jones.

 

Don continues his quest on VT titles, taking on VS. Hogan's Alley here.

 

The Erway group
pow-wows with Walter.

 

A down-the-barrel pic of Triple Hunt shows off this fine game.

 

Blaine poses beside one of
his favorite modern titles -
Star Wars Trilogy.

 

Blaine continues the posing parade with California Speed, and also holds up the new TG book of wr.

 

Dave Nelson, a definite master of
the monochrome, throws down
big on Star Castle.

 

Dave continues to play in this shot.  He holds the wr, at 25,310 points.

 

Dave's final score almost bests John Zabel, who watched part of his game.

 

Don and the Crams, all of them definite Funspot mainstays,
line up on VT titles.

 

TG ref Christian Cram oversees
an Arkanoid contender at play.

 

Here's Arkanoid screen 33, the
final one, which features Doh,
the end 'boss' in the game.

 

Almost at a million, this Arkanoid master uses all of his remaining Vaus paddles to max out the score.

 

Day 4 (Sunday) has arrived, and
the players are out in force.

 

The PT sees continued action.

 

More views of the tourney area.

 

L-R: Fred and Dave continue to attempt to push up their scores. 

 

Another great notf title -
Q*bert's Qubes.

 

Dave (right), now moved over to
the VT area, is next to Shawn.

 

While Jason turns in a score, David Cruz goes old school, with Space Invaders Deluxe.

 

Brian plays Quantum in the ATT, while another contestant is
on Gravitar.

 

Don tries a game of Millipede,
which is set to TGTS difficulty.

 

The entire Cruz clan is gathered
by the VS. double cabinet.

 

Adam Wood attempts a new
wr on his fave title, Quartet.

 

Walter has a couple of gamers 'captive', so they can sign off
on the posters he's brought.

 

Don shows his skill on
Q*bert's Qubes.

 

Greg shows skillful play on
yet another game title.

 

With less than an hour to go,
the gamers continue to try
to better their scores.

 

Don plays Lunar Rescue.

 

Greg plays Robby Roto!.

 

Gary brings out the last notf
title - Cheeky Mouse.

 

David gives CM a try.

 

Brian gives Quantum one last effort.

 

A shot of Chiller, a notf title
brought out yesterday.

 

Chris McClard has to try to
get his Radical Radial title
back from Brian Kuh.

 

Like Chris, Tim has a try at
getting his former wr title
back on Astro Fighter.

 

Darren Harris has done it again - he's topped his 7 lives hard difficulty path wr score from last year by just a bit.

 

A close-up shot reveals Darren's
mark - a superb 1,471,710 points.

 

Most of the Brits in attendance
get together with Walter
and Gary for this photo.

 

Morningdove decides to try one of Todd's mainstays - Super Pac.

 

Walter gets ready for the awards ceremony, soon to be held.

 

Just a bit before the awards
ceremony will start, the players congregate upstairs.

 

I finally catch Tina playing a game !  Note all of the tokens lined up on
the control panel, ready to go...

 

Brian is awarded a set of TG
posters commemorating his
incredible 16 wr's set on one
day, at Funspot 8 last year.

 

The entire Cram crew poses, during
a commemoration of their being Classic Arcade Gaming's (the hobby)
'first family', as proclaimed by TG.

 

After the ceremonies are over,
the players chat, sign TG
books, and disperse.

 

Martin Bedard managed a super score on Twin Cobra - a 3.5M+ wr.

 

Here's a screenshot of the entire Twin Cobra scoreboard, complete with wr.

 

The day winds up with Rob getting
in just one more game (of pinball).

 

The tourney is over, but 'day 5'
(Monday) has me meeting up with Brian Kuh in order to photograph
him with his odyssey of wr games.

 

Here Brian is at the LSA Squad cocktail.  The previous photo
showed him with Stratovox.

 

Turbo is Brian's next wr game.

 

Another shot with Turbo.

 

Indiana Jones ATTOD is up next.

 

Super Sprint is shown here.

 

Brian stands proud next to The
Real Ghostbusters
, where he got
a doubles score with Todd Rogers.

 

Another Atari race title
is up now - Sprint 2.

 

Rampage is featured
in this vertical view.

 

The final Atari racer in Brian's seventeen set is Final Lap.

 

Starship 1 is next up.

 

Brian stands next to another
doubles title that Todd
played on - Xenophobe.

 

Brian made tops on one of the
VT titles - Lunar Rescue.

 

Next up for Brian are a couple
of Nintendo titles - first is
Super Mario Bros.

 

Now we come to
Super Mario Bros. 3.

 

The classics area titles are complete; now for more modern-day games.  Here's a view of Mercs.

 

Brian made the wr on yet another Atari title here - Steel Talons.

 

Another view of Steel Talons.

 

The final game in Brian's 17 is the
gun game Lethal Enforcers.

 

For some reason, the Marble Madness machine was working very well, compared to the past, so I just had to throw down a (so-so) score.

 

Now for coverage of most of the announced 17 notf titles.  First up
is a VT game - Robby Roto!.

 

Another VT title that's notf is Pulsar.

 

Eagle is yet another VT title.

 

Now for a PT title that's
notf - Old Chicago.

 

This new Funspot title, Major Havoc, is a conversion of Tempest.

 

Space Ace was one of three new Laserdisc titles (Dragon's Lair, and Astron Belt were the other two).

 

Jr. Pac-Man is our next new title.

 

Middle Earth pinball was one of the AAT titles, and one of the new 17.

 

Here's the first of five notf
titles that also appeared in
the AAT - Quantum.

 

Next up is Cloak and Dagger.

 

A rarity is shown
here - Video Pinball.

 

How's this for unusual -
Destroyer appears in this shot.

 

The final notf AAT game
is Canyon Bomber.

 

Now for the final notf game at Funspot, and the final picture of my coverage - Cheeky Mouse.

 

 

subsection menu     top menu



Blaine Locklair's pictures


    The following coverage is courtesy of Blaine Locklair, who let me mirror it from his web site.  I've filled in captions as best I can (and only on this page; linked pages will eventually have them added); since I wasn't the photographer, I may not be 100% accurate.  In any case, there's 60 pictures in this set, which begins on Saturday afternoon (June 2nd), and continues on to the next day (Sunday, June 3rd).

    Here's Blaine's comments about these photos:  "This is my photo collection from my visit to Funspot in NH for the 9th Annual International Classic Video Game Tournament.  The tourney was held from May 31, 2007 through June 3, 2007.  I was fortunate enough to bear witness to many new world records, including some of my own !  Check out these photos, it's the largest arcade in the world with over 500 games !"

 

 

Ralph Baer, inventor of the
home console game, decides to
have a little fun, on a more modern-day game than he's known for.

 

A view of the arcade floor, taken from behind the main stairway.

 

John Zabel looks over the row of games that contains his main faves - Missile Command / Attack.

 

Another view of the same row.

 

Here's a look at 'Nintendo' row.

 

The walls of the arcade contain a
lot of rare and interesting arcade memorabilia from the 80's.

 

Darren Harris, at Ms. Pac yet again.

 

Walter Day chats with Ralph Baer.

 

Gary Vincent, Funspot manager, wants in on the conversation.

 

Walter congratulates Lori Baker,
after she made a new wr mark on Tetris DX for the Gameboy.

 

A shot of Lori's wr score.

 

Now we're talkin' - Lori poses by
the 'real' Tetris - the arcade version !

 

It's around midnight, and the arcade
is eerily empty, or nearly so...

 

A lone gamer plays a pin title in
one of the middle level arcade areas.

 

The middle level tour continues.

 

Another 'midnight gamer' winds
up a fun day of arcading.

 

Arcade titles mix in with
redemption games in this corner.

 

The clock reveals the late hour.

 

Now, back up to the main arcade.

 

A look at Blaine Locklair's world-record score on Triple Hunt.

 

Here's the Triple Hunt game.

 

A full-view of the two-piece cabinet for the rare Triple Hunt title.

 

Even after midnight, players continue their pursuit of contest title scores.

 

A look at the other section of
contest title games, and players.

 

A look at the games just beyond the top of the main stairs in the arcade.

 

Another view of the arcade.

 

Darren is still playing, in this shot.

 

A look down pinball row.

 

Devil's Dare is a popular
and well-liked pinball title.

 

This area of the main arcade leads
to a side offshoot, which holds
race games and cocktail tables.

 

A bright sign (above the area in the previous shot) extols the virtues
of the $500,000 Golf Center.

 

The arcade has a glass case that features some great memorabilia
from the 'heyday' of classic arcades.

 

Now, on with the game tour.  Here's the cocktail table row, at the end
of the main arcade floor.

 

Heading back to the main arcade,
we see a plentiful amount of titles.

 

Now we're back at Triple Hunt.  The cabinet artwork is shown.

 

A view of the other piece of cabinetry, complete with a
smaller artwork version.

 

Blaine has made it back downstairs, and continues on to the lowest
level at Funspot.

 

A look down the wide staircase reveals yet more arcade goodies.

 

A favorite of mine (and quite a few gamers) is shown here - air hockey.

 

Back to a view of the lower floor, including sets of connected games, shown on the left side of the shot.

 

Two classic steering
games are shown here.

 

A Virtual Racing dual-seat game
is tucked among all the token / redemption titles on the lower floor.

 

Looks like the Braggin' Dragon
is closed, after a long week of
serving up fast food goodies.

 

A row of sports games is shown.

 

This area on the middle floor is tucked away, but has a nice
mix of (mostly) 90's titles.

 

Three arcade titles (at far left) vie
for attention in the pseudo-gambling game area of the middle level.

 

Back to the top floor, via the back staircase.  Here's cocktail row, along with the Funspot 'wall of fame'.

 

Donald Hayes, the most prolific member of the 'Wall of Fame',
is shown here, for Tron.

 

Don appears again, for Frogger.

 

A final wall shot of Don, showing
his making this spot for a
wr on Super Zaxxon.

 

Back to Triple Hunt.

 

It's late Sunday morning, and here
are some outside shots of Funspot.  The impressive sign is shown here.

 

The main front entrance is
captured in this photo.

 

A sign near the road in front
of the complex points the
way to gaming nirvana.

 

Walter poses with famed player Don Hayes, as I (Mark Alpiger) busily
sign posters in the background.

 

Next up for a WD pose is
the provider of this photo
set - Blaine Locklair.

 

Brian Kuh is awarded a set of
TG posters commemorating his
incredible 16 wr's set on one
day, at Funspot 8 last year.

 

The entire Cram crew poses, during
a commemoration of their being Classic Arcade Gaming's (the hobby)
'first family', as proclaimed by TG.

 

Blaine can't resist posing next to Triple Hunt, his new fave game.

 

An appropriate final shot - Blaine, holding TG book #2, stands in front of California Speed, one of his favorite modern arcade titles.

 

 

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Tournament results    (click here to go to top menu)

    Video Game Tournament results

    All Atari Challenge results

    Pinball Tournament results

    Player ranking results, by category

    Pinball Tournament non-results

    Mystery Game Tournament results

    Tournament game world record results

 




Video Game Tournament results

 

 
 Game name
 

 Player name 

 Player score

 APB

 
 
Brian Kuh 
 David Nelson 
 Jason Cram 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Eric Geddes 
 Eric Ahlers 
 Adam Wood 
 Steve Gumtow 
 David Cruz 
 Shawn Cram 
 Scootie Ahlers 
 Cliff Grimm 
 Derek Litton 
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin 
 Donald Hayes
 Greg Erway 
 Vince Coccoli 
 

 
 79,630
 72,153
 69,269
 69,227
 29,494
 19,115
 15,460
   9,992
   8,675
   7,490
   7,445
   3,788
   3,775
   2,790
   1,815
   1,666
   1,290 
 

 Eagle

 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Eric Geddes 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Jason Cram 
 Bob Cusolito 
 David Nelson 
 Derek Litton 
 Donald Hayes 
 David Cruz 
 Greg Erway 
 Chris Burnell 
 Adam Wood 
 Robert T Mruczek 
 Cliff Grimm 
 

 
 87,360
 81,120
 78,760
 33,540
 33,220
 32,220
 28,870
 24,500
 23,380
 15,530
 14,520
 10,740
 10,590
 10,140
 

 Lode Runner

 
 Donald Hayes 
 David Cruz 
 David Nelson 
 Jason Cram 
 Eric Geddes 
 Adam Wood 
 Derek Litton 
 Stanley Loo 
 Greg Erway 
 Derek Fonda 
 Bob Cusolito 
 Shawn Cram 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Steve Gumtow 
 

 
 999,999
 303,000
 294,120
 282,460
 206,580
 177,290
 152,090
 144,070
 143,400
 122,960
   99,920
   43,010
   42,070
   38,350
 

 Lunar Rescue

 
 Brian Kuh 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Eric Geddes 
 David Nelson 
 Donald Hayes 
 Jason Cram 
 Chris McClard 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Adam Wood 
 Robert T Mruczek 
 Derek Litton 
 David Cruz 
 Cliff Grimm 
 Greg Erway 
 

 
 20,910
 20,440
 19,810
 15,910
 15,750
 14,990
 13,650
 10,800
   9,540
   8,880
   7,460
   6,390
   5,350
   4,340
 

 Paperboy

 
 Eric Ahlers 
 Eric Geddes 
 David Nelson 
 Jason Cram 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Bob Cusolito 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Adam Wood 
 Barry Rosenbaum 
 Derek Litton 
 Greg Erway 
 Donald Hayes 
 David Cruz 
 Cliff Grimm 
 

 
 133,024
   85,708
   70,942
   48,589
   37,002
   36,395
   28,766
   22,038
   20,077
   14,953
   13,571
   12,478
     7,106
     7,058
 

 Pulsar

 
 Jason Cram 
 Donald Hayes 
 David Nelson 
 Eric Geddes 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Greg Erway 
 Chris McClard 
 Derek Fonda 
 Shawn Cram 
 Adam Wood 
 David Cruz 
 Bob Cusolito 
 Derek Litton 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Cliff Grimm 
 Chris Burnell 
 Scootie Ahlers 
 David Finamore 
 Vince Coccoli 
 

 
 85,500
 70,650
 67,000
 44,200
 41,950
 26,450
 24,800
 20,900
 20,350
 18,900
 17,100
 16,800
 16,500
 13,500
 11,100
   7,900
   7,600
   5,550
   2,800
 

 Robby Roto!

 
 Jason Cram 
 Derek Litton 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Donald Hayes 
 David Cruz 
 David Nelson 
 Eric Geddes 
 Corey Sawyer 
 Chris McClard 
 Nicholas Lombardo 
 Chris Burnell 
 Adam Wood 
 Shawn Cram 
 Greg Erway 
 Cliff Grimm 
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin 
 Steve Gumtow 
 

 
 459,416
 173,513
 147,244
 146,716
 143,082
 125,970
 117,728
 107,866
   83,728
   82,453
   76,234
   63,581
   54,133
   53,514
   40,793
   15,212
     8,410
 

 Space Invaders Deluxe

 
 David Nelson 
 Eric Geddes 
 David Cruz 
 Greg Erway 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Donald Hayes 
 Martin Bedard 
 Adam Wood 
 Jason Cram 
 Derek Litton 
 Kevin Cruz 
 Robert T Mruczek 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Scootie Ahlers 
 Shawn Cram 
 Cliff Grimm 
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin 
 Stanley Loo 
 Vince Coccoli 
 

 
 8,250
 5,830
 5,150
 5,090
 4,840
 4,610
 4,400
 4,080
 3,890
 3,750
 3,630
 3,450
 3,310
 2,910
 2,670
 2,550
 2,180
 1,990
 1,060
 

 Star Castle

 
 David Nelson 
 Eric Geddes 
 Donald Hayes 
 Shawn Cram 
 Derek Litton 
 Michael Sao Pedro 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Robert McClard 
 Jason Cram 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Derek Fonda 
 Chris Burnell 
 Adam Wood 
 Cliff Grimm 
 Nick Ortakales 
 David Cruz 
 Greg Erway 
 Phillip Eaton 
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin 
 Scootie Ahlers 
 

 
 24,760
 23,160
 22,230
 16,660
 15,540
 14,620
 14,590
 14,580
 13,770
 13,630
 12,880
 12,840
 10,930
 
  7,550
   7,410
   6,920
   6,860
   5,380
   5,140
   4,670
 

 The End

 
 Brian Kuh 
 Jason Cram 
 Eric Geddes 
 Adam Wood 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Derek Litton 
 David Nelson 
 Steve Gumtow 
 David Cruz 
 Cliff Grimm 
 Greg Erway  
 Shawn Cram 
 Eric Ahlers 
 Donald Hayes 
 Scootie Ahlers
 

 
 43,030
 38,690
 30,790
 27,900
 27,440
 19,660
 18,400
 17,260
 13,240
 11,480
 11,320
 11,240
 11,200
 11,040
   6,040
 

 VS. Duck Hunt

 
 David Cruz 
 Nik Meeks 
 David Demers 
 Jason Cram 
 Barry Rosenbaum 
 David Nelson 
 Greg Erway 
 Nicholas Lombardo 
 Eric Geddes 
 Cliff Grimm 
 Michael Sao Pedro 
 Adam Wood 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Tim McIlroy 
 Donald Hayes 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Vince Coccoli 
 Derek Litton 
 Shawn Cram 
 

 
 490,100
 483,400
 263,600
 227,500
 224,700
 224,600
 223,400
 216,400
 202,100
 183,800
 179,000
 173,500
 167,500
 152,700
   84,900
   73,500
   63,900
   52,100
   28,100
 

 VS. Hogan's Alley

 
 David Cruz 
 Martin Bedard 
 Michael Sao Pedro 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Eric Geddes 
 David Nelson 
 Adam Wood 
 Donald Hayes 
 Jason Cram 
 Cliff Grimm 
 Derek Litton 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Greg Erway 
 

 
 475,900
 473,900
 372,100
 146,300
 143,900
 129,000
   82,100
   80,000
   71,700
   44,200
   29,400
   23,300
   22,800
 

 

subsection menu     top menu

 

All Atari Challenge results

 

 
 Game name
 

 Player name 

 Player score

 Canyon Bomber

 
 
Fred Pastore 
 Greg Erway 
 David Nelson 
 Robert T Mruczek 
 Nik Meeks 
 Tim McIlroy 
 Brian Kuh 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Derek Litton 
 Stanley Loo 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Donald Hayes 
 Anna Cram 
 Jason Cram 
 Chris McClard 
 Chris Burnell 
 David Demers 
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin 
 Adam Wood 
 Shawn Cram 
 Tom Votava 
 

 
 1,314
    934
    924
    917
    837
    466
    463
    434
    427
    413
    412
    394
    376
    367
    357
    354
    334
    327
    310
    298
    296
 

 Centipede

 
 Donald Hayes 
 Michael Sao Pedro 
 Jason Cram 
 Eric Ahlers 
 Greg Erway 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Shawn Cram 
 Steve Gumtow 
 David Nelson 
 Greg Mott 
 Brian Kuh 
 Derek Litton 
 Scootie Ahlers 
 Todd Rogers 
 Robert T Mruczek 
 Phillip Eaton 
 Nik Meeks 
 Adam Wood 
 Stanley Loo 
 Derek Fonda 
 Tim McIlroy 
 Robert McClard 
 Fred Pastore 
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin 
 Chris McClard 
 Andrew Gardiks 
 David Demers 
 Anna Cram  
 

 
 56,910
 56,732
 45,271
 43,665
 43,419
 42,586
 41,685
 40,704
 40,228
 38,289
 38,023
 34,738
 34,276
 32,506
 32,358
 32,218
 30,411
 28,474
 28,036
 27,926
 26,501
 22,784
 21,638
 21,390
 20,673
 20,623
 16,422
 16,301
 

 Cloak & Dagger

 
 Brian Kuh 
 David Nelson 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Adam Wood 
 James Gumton 
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin 
 Robert T Mruczek 
 Derek Litton 
 Jason Cram 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Greg Erway 
 Shawn Cram 
 Nik Meeks 
 Tim McIlroy 
 Donald Hayes 
 Fred Pastore 
 Anna Cram 
 Scootie Ahlers 
 Chris McClard 
 Chris Burnell 
 Stanley Loo 
 David Cruz 
 Todd Rogers 
 

 
 374,487
 335,274
 303,005
 278,110
 228,805
 223,962
 220,225
 215,160
 210,725
 191,740
 164,500
 152,372
 134,120
 117,035
 115,431
 104,588
   84,357
   63,668
   60,472
   58,818
   35,591
   11,100
     6,805
 

 Destroyer

 
 Nik Meeks 
 David Nelson 
 Brian Kuh 
 Jason Cram 
 Fred Pastore 
 Robert T Mruczek 
 Greg Erway 
 Stanley Loo 
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin 
 Shawn Cram 
 Derek Litton 
 Adam Wood 
 Tim McIlroy 
 Robert McClard 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Donald Hayes 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Anna Cram  
 

 
 4,000
 3,775
 3,525
 3,350
 3,325
 2,375
 2,225
 2,200
 2,050
 2,000
 1,875
 1,525
 1,500
 1,300
 1,050
 1,025
    925
    625
 

 Food Fight

 
 Mark Alpiger 
 Jason Cram 
 David Nelson 
 Chris Donahue 
 Brian Kuh 
 Robert T Mruczek 
 Nik Meeks 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Derek Litton 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Greg Mott 
 Donald Hayes 
 Adam Wood 
 Greg Erway 
 Paul Barszcz 
 Shawn Cram 
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin 
 Fred Pastore 
 Tim McIlroy 
 Anna Cram 
 Stanley Loo 
 Todd Rogers 
 Vince Coccoli  
 

 
 294,100
 153,100
 146,800
 143,200
 137,800
 134,500
 121,700
 117,000
 106,200
   94,800
   94,000
   86,000
   82,200
   78,100
   69,100
   60,400
   52,900
   52,400
   47,200
   28,800
   26,100
   24,000
   19,900
 

 Gravitar

 
 Dwayne Richard 
 David Nelson 
 Michael Sao Pedro 
 Donald Hayes 
 Jason Cram 
 Adam Wood 
 Derek Fonda 
 Derek Litton 
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Brian Kuh 
 Robert T Mruczek 
 Shawn Cram 
 Greg Erway 
 Nik Meeks 
 Tim McIlroy 
 Vince Coccoli 
 Stanley Loo 
 Robert McClard 
 Anna Cram 
 Fred Pastore 
 

 
 223,500
 138,250
   79,600
   38,850
   38,850
   37,450
   36,800
   29,850
   22,000
   21,850
   21,250
   12,000
     7,502
     7,350
     6,600
     5,250
     4,100
     3,300
     2,800
     2,050
     1,200
 

 Middle Earth  (pinball)

 
 James Gumton 
 David Marston 
 Shawn Cram 
 David Nelson 
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Derek Litton 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Michael Sao Pedro 
 Greg Erway 
 Brian Kuh 
 Donald Hayes 
 Ron Hallett 
 Nik Meeks 
 Joe Knasin 
 Phillip Eaton 
 Vince Coccoli 
 Fred Pastore 
 Jason Cram 
 Adam Wood 
 Chris Burnell 
 Chris McClard 
 Tim McIlroy 
 Robert T Mruczek 
 Kevin Cruz 
 Anna Cram 
 Stanley Loo 
 Cliff Grimm 
 Barry Rosenbaum 
 

 
 118,620
 108,360
 100,730
   97,890
   93,770
   91,490
   87,520
   82,760
   74,990
   74,670
   70,260
   68,910
   64,900
   59,990
   56,010
   55,200
   53,030
   50,600
   48,100
   47,560
   46,000
   45,810
   42,620
   39,440
   34,770
   30,020
   29,410
   28,850
   19,310
 

 Quantum

 
 Jason Cram 
 Derek Litton 
 Brian Kuh 
 Joe Knasin 
 Donald Hayes 
 Shawn Cram 
 David Nelson 
 Adam Wood 
 Michael Sao Pedro 
 Derek Fonda 
 Greg Erway 
 Nik Meeks 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Tim McIlroy 
 Bob Cusolito 
 Scootie Ahlers 
 Robert T Mruczek 
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin 
 Fred Pastore 
 Chris McClard 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Stanley Loo 
 Anna Cram 
 

 
 117,480
   77,040
   61,720
   58,880
   57,940
   55,920
   52,840
   49,760
   46,200
   43,060
   42,340
   38,740
   38,400
   37,920
   36,320
   35,100
   34,100
   33,780
   26,020
   18,880
   14,780
   12,660
   11,400
 

 Superman  (pinball)

 
 Michael Sao Pedro 
 Shawn Cram 
 David Nelson 
 Fred Pastore 
 Chris McClard 
 Joe Knasin 
 Jason Cram 
 Ron Hallett 
 Brian Kuh 
 Kevin Cruz 
 Nik Meeks 
 Steve Gumtow 
 David Marston 
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin 
 Martin Bedard 
 Adam Wood 
 Phillip Eaton 
 Greg Erway 
 Donald Hayes 
 Matt Cimini 
 Vince Coccoli 
 Robert T Mruczek 
 Tim McIlroy 
 Anna Cram 
 Derek Litton 
 Cliff Grimm 
 Stanley Loo 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Gerard Buchko 
 Morningdove  
 

 
 574,570
 474,680
 463,390
 360,240
 331,630
 305,680
 291,020
 284,810
 282,870
 267,580
 261,680
 222,510
 206,940
 206,750
 205,840
 193,570
 187,670
 181,650
 180,160
 179,470
 172,870
 168,740
 165,100
 135,700
 119,780
 109,690
 107,870
 100,780
   95,190
   71,180
 

 Video Pinball

 
 Nik Meeks 
 Brian Kuh 
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin 
 Thomas Hayes 
 Stanley Loo 
 Scootie Ahlers 
 Tim McIlroy 
 David Nelson 
 Jason Cram 
 Chris McClard 
 Dwayne Richard 
 Shawn Cram 
 Fred Pastore 
 Joe Knasin 
 David Demers 
 Greg Erway 
 Robert T Mruczek 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Adam Wood 
 Derek Litton 
 Donald Hayes 
 Todd Rogers 
 Anna Cram 
 

 
 473,860
 374,660
 352,740
 342,410
 331,800
 318,450
 270,040
 266,960
 239,900
 235,510
 224,650
 217,070
 203,880
 199,250
 178,450
 173,370
 164,720
 162,360
 137,060
 132,800
 123,980
 116,860
   83,130
 

 

subsection menu     top menu

 

Pinball Tournament results

 

 
 Game name
 

 Player name 

 Player score

 Close Encounters

 
 Eric Geddes 
 Michael Haycock 
 Greg Mott 
 Kevin Cruz 
 Vince Coccoli 
 Michael Sao Pedro 
 David Marston 
 Stanley Loo 
 Martin Bedard 
 David Demers 
 Shawn Cram 
 Ron Hallett 
 Robert T Mruczek 
 David Cruz 
 Gerard Buchko 
 Phillip Eaton 
 Joe Knasin 
 Tim McIlroy 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Nicholas Lombardo  
 

 
 1,023,610
    628,780
    452,060
    422,330
    355,240
    334,810
    325,420
    292,080
    258,690
    250,750
    244,320
    230,920
    230,160
    227,500
    223,430
    219,470
    217,810
    182,910
    174,880
      60,150
 

 Fireball II

 
 Michael Haycock 
 Eric Geddes 
 Ron Hallett 
 Greg Mott 
 Michael Sao Pedro 
 Kevin Cruz 
 Daniel Howard 
 Martin Bedard 
 Stanley Loo 
 Phillip Eaton 
 David Demers 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Vince Coccoli 
 David Marston 
 David Cruz 
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin 
 Gerard Buchko 
 Tim McIlroy 
 Joe Knasin 
 Morningdove 
 

 
 4,510,690
 3,116,320
 2,933,550
 1,679,860
 1,314,990
 1,112,370
 1,021,710
    867,930
    761,940
    743,240
    654,860
    539,530
    509,630
    469,150
    448,720
    307,980
    297,920
    293,630
    258,410
    199,270
 

 Flash

 
 Michael Haycock 
 Eric Geddes 
 Michael Sao Pedro 
 David Marston 
 Greg Mott 
 Shawn Cram 
 Daniel Howard 
 Ron Hallett 
 Chris Donahue 
 Phillip Eaton 
 Martin Bedard 
 Gerard Buchko 
 David Demers 
 Greg Erway 
 Stanley Loo 
 Vince Coccoli 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin   
 

 
 769,660
 766,700
 760,350
 648,600
 533,760
 513,510
 457,070
 412,660
 361,900
 326,360
 322,550
 318,620
 292,550
 265,100
 226,460
 201,220
 163,320
   48,600
 

 Gorgar

 
 Michael Haycock 
 Greg Mott 
 Eric Geddes 
 David Marston 
 Michael Sao Pedro 
 Ron Hallett 
 Phillip Eaton 
 Vince Coccoli 
 Stanley Loo 
 Robert T Mruczek 
 Martin Bedard 
 David Demers 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Nicholas Lombardo 
 Gerard Buchko  
 

 
 424,060
 356,040
 332,470
 279,670
 272,890
 231,690
 202,790
 195,940
 189,070
 172,450
 166,640
 149,990
 136,490
   92,500
   91,450
 

 Harlem Globetrotters

 
 Michael Haycock 
 Michael Sao Pedro 
 Shawn Cram 
 Eric Geddes 
 Stanley Loo 
 Greg Mott 
 Martin Bedard 
 David Marston 
 Ron Hallett 
 Kevin Cruz 
 David Demers 
 James Gumton 
 Steve Gumtow 
 Gerard Buchko 
 David Cruz 
 Phillip Eaton 
 Daniel Howard 
 Vince Coccoli
 

 
 1,822,760
 1,253,570
 1,210,970
 1,052,850
    794,040
    715,410
    715,180
    619,960
    572,260
    565,330
    553,360
    550,950
    528,300
    426,410
    377,740
    361,250
    342,890
      68,320
 

 

subsection menu     top menu

 

Player ranking results, by category
(qualified players, who submitted on all games in a category)

 

 
 Category
 

 Player name 

 Player percentage total

 Video Game Tournament

 (1200.00 possible % total)

 
 Jason Cram
 David Nelson
 Eric Geddes
 Dwayne Richard
 Donald Hayes
 David Cruz
 Steve Gumtow
 Adam Wood
 Derek Litton
 Greg Erway
 

 
 756.92
 753.18
 743.89
 583.14
 545.07
 484.38
 466.27
 378.14
 340.34
 283.11
 

 All Atari Challenge

 (1000.00 possible % total)

 
 David Nelson
 Brian Kuh
 Jason Cram
 Nik Meeks
 Dwayne Richard
 Shawn Cram
 Derek Litton
 Greg Erway
 Robert T Mruczek
 Fred Pastore
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin
 Donald Hayes
 Steve Gumtow
 Adam Wood
 Tim McIlroy
 Stanley Loo
 Anna Cram
 

 
 778.77
 650.63
 624.57
 583.05
 573.25
 522.83
 486.31
 486.25
 476.54
 475.14
 457.76
 441.84
 435.12
 415.74
 350.32
 296.44
 200.77
 

 Pinball Tournament

 (500.00 possible % total)

 
 
Michael Haycock
 Eric Geddes
 Michael Sao Pedro
 Greg Mott
 Ron Hallett
 David Marston
 Martin Bedard
 Stanley Loo
 Phillip Eaton
 David Demers
 Vince Coccoli
 Gerard Buchko
 Steve Gumtow
 

 
 461.43
 404.87
 293.78
 273.96
 227.24
 226.43
 164.95
 163.00
 147.96
 142.75
 122.10
 114.79
 111.44
 

 

subsection menu     top menu

 

Pinball Tournament non-results
(due to game being pulled during the tourney)

 

 
 Game name
 

 Player name 

 Player score

 Old Chicago

 
 Greg Mott 
 David Marston 
 Eric Geddes 
 Steve Gumtow 
 David Marston 
 Ron Hallett 
 Nicholas Lombardo 
 Stanley Loo 
 Michael Haycock 
 Mr. Kelly R. Flewin 
 Phillip Eaton 
 Vince Coccoli  
 

 
 50,790
 42,790
 41,370
 41,210
 38,860
 35,000
 30,580
 29,240
 28,090
 25,560
 23,010
 22,800
 

 

subsection menu     top menu

 

Mystery Game Tournament results

 

 
 Game name  (day)
 

 Winner's name 

 Winner's score

 

 Xenophobe  (Thursday, 05-31)

 Vanguard  (Friday, 06-01)

 Chiller  (Saturday, 06-02)

 Bump 'n Jump  (Sunday, 06-03)

 

 

 Brian Kuh

 Eric Geddes

 Eric Geddes

 Brian Kuh

 

 

 146,115  (unconfirmed)

 ?

 7,347,380

 280,484  (unconfirmed)

 

 

subsection menu     top menu

 

 Tournament game world record results

 

 
 Game name
 

 Player name

 Score  Date set

 Canyon Bomber


 Fred Pastore
 
       1,314  ?

 Destroyer


 Nik Meeks
 
       4,000  (inaugural)  ?

 Lode Runner


 Donald Hayes
 
    999,999  (tie with his own wr)  ?

 Lunar Rescue


 Brian Kuh
 
     20,910  ?

 Paperboy


 Eric Ahlers
 
    133,024  (Easy Street)  ?

 Pulsar


 Jason Cram
 
      85,500  ?

 

subsection menu     top menu



Other scores of note    (click here to go to top menu)

 

    Not all scores that occurred outside the tournament are noted below, as some accomplishments are unknown.

 

 

 Non-tournament world record results

 

 
 Game name
 

 Player name

 Score  Date set

 1943: The Battle of Midway


 Brian Kuh
 
 2,003,890  (harder ROMset *)  Thursday, 05-31-2007

 Chiller


 Eric Geddes
 
 7,347,380  Saturday, 06-02-2007

 Final Lap


 Brian Kuh
 
       38"98  (lap record)  Thursday, 05-31-2007

 The Real Ghostbusters
 (doubles)


 Brian Kuh /
 Todd Rogers
 
    211,850
    (192,950 / 18,900)
 Thursday, 05-31-2007

 Indiana Jones and the
 Temple of Doom


 Brian Kuh
 Darren Harris
 
    848,910  (medium, 3 lives)
 1,471,710  (hard, 7 lives)
 Thursday, 05-31-2007
 Sunday, 06-03-2007

 Lethal Enforcers


 Brian Kuh
 
        1,898  (57% accuracy)  Thursday, 05-31-2007

 LSA Squad


 Brian Kuh
 Tim McIlroy
 
    698,850
    766,100
 Thursday, 05-31-2007
 Saturday, 06-02-2007

 Lunar Rescue


 Brian Kuh
 
      18,910  Thursday, 05-31-2007

 Mercs


 Brian Kuh
 
    184,750  Thursday, 05-31-2007

 Millipede


 Donald Hayes
 
    495,126  (TGTS)  Thursday, 05-31-2007

 Rampage  (doubles)


 Brian Kuh /
 Todd Rogers
 
    226,050
    (187,570 / 38,480)
 Thursday, 05-31-2007

 Sprint 2


 Brian Kuh
 
         262  Thursday, 05-31-2007

 Starship 1


 Brian Kuh
 
       6,900  Thursday, 05-31-2007

 Steel Talons


 Brian Kuh
 
     45,500  Thursday, 05-31-2007

 Stratovox


 Brian Kuh
 
     34,000  Thursday, 05-31-2007

 Super Mario Bros. 3


 Brian Kuh
 
     56,580  Thursday, 05-31-2007

 Triple Hunt


 Blaine Locklair
 
      4,460  (Hit the Bear option)  Saturday, 06-02-2007

 Turbo


 Brian Kuh
 
     31,311  (harder TGTS)  Thursday, 05-31-2007

 Turbo Outrun (set 1)


 Martin Bedard
 
 41,756,060  Friday, 06-01-2007

 Twin Cobra


 Martin Bedard
 
  3,557,840  Sunday, 06-03-2007

 VS. Super Mario Bros.


 Brian Kuh
 
    222,250  (3W-1)  Thursday, 05-31-2007

 Xenophobe  (doubles)


 Brian Kuh /
 Todd Rogers
 
    162,320
    (146,115 / 16,205)
 Thursday, 05-31-2007

 
 
*  game likely used a ROMset that offered less in the way of hidden bonus point opportunities

 

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Media coverage    (click here to go to top menu)

     -  from the Friday, June 1, 2007 edition of 

      -  from the Monday, June 4, 2007 edition of 

 



    This article appeared in the Friday, June 1, 2007 edition of  .

 

 



Picture

VIDEO GAMER Brian Kuh, right, of Weirs Beach shows off his high score on the 1976 Atari game Starship 1 to Mark Alpiger at Funspot where the annual Video Game and Pinball Tournament is underway all weekend.



LACONIA — If you've ever wanted to know what happens when a Pac-Man or a Space Invaders arcade game turns over, you might find the answer at Funspot today through Sunday.

For the ninth year, Funspot and the American Classic Arcade Museum are hosting the Classic Videogame and Pinball Championships where the mood, music and artwork, as well as what Funspot bills as the "world's largest collection of classic arcade games still operating in an arcade setting," are all circa-1987 or older and where an expected 90 gamers from around the world are gathering to schmooze, maybe set some world records and to relive for what many of them, like Tony Temple, were some of the best times of their lives.

And, the gamers, who hail from near and far and began arriving at Funspot on Thursday, get the chance to win not only bragging rights for a year but also a $250 prize in three categories: video games, pinball, and all-Atari, a manufacturer of many classic arcade games.

Gary Vincent, who is the tournament organizer and curator of the American Classic Arcade Museum at the Funspot Family Entertainment Center in The Weirs, said the event draws "a predominantly male audience age 25 to 50, but I do see a lot of them now bringing their kids and showing them the games they played when they were kids, and their kids laugh."

Nonetheless, the games at Funspot and in the arcade museum are the direct precursors of the X-Box and Nintendo and a highlight of this year's tournament will be the appearance of Ralph Baer, the man many consider "the father of home video games."

Working with colleagues at Saunders and Associates in Nashua, Baer in 1967 designed the world's first videogame console which was later licensed as the Magnavox Odyssey. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the first videogame console, Baer will attend the tournament on Saturday from 3-6 p.m.

Twin Galaxies, which is affiliated with the Guinness Book of World Records, is the official tournament scorer, and if last year is an indicator, they should be pretty busy this weekend.

Among the gamers on hand are Laconia's own Brian Kuh, who in 2006 set 16 world records and this weekend is vying for 17, which Vincent thinks is a world record in itself, as well as Dwayne Richard who traveled from Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada — which Vincent estimated is about 3,200 miles from The Weirs — and who came with a film crew that's recording him play.

Temple, who at last year's tournament set the Missile Command world record, hails from Ashbourne, Derbyshire, England. Todd Rogers, who holds records in just about every imaginable category of video gaming, made his annual pilgrimage up from the Sunshine State.

Mike Stulir of Philadelphia isn't a competitor but makes it a point to return to Funspot each year to provide technical support — he designs computer networks for a living — and also because "(Vincent) misses me and I have to come back."

Stulir said this year's tournament is extra special because of Baer's presence.

"Basically, Ralph invented the first video game console," as well as the electronic game "Simon," said Stulir.

Temple, 38, who works for an Internet bank, said he resumed playing Missile Command several years ago after nearly a two decade-long hiatus.

He got increasingly better at the game and Temple remembers that "somebody said 'why don't you come to Laconia and show us what you can do,'" which he did with great results.

Asked what makes a man fly thousands of miles across an ocean to play a video game, Temple replied that "the attraction is that upper floor" at Funspot, which is home to the arcade museum. "There's nothing like that in England," he said, "and I suspect in the U.S."

The arcade scene across the pond peaked at about the same time, the early to mid-80s, as in the States, said Temple, and then began declining, but luckily, there are still places like Funspot and the arcade museum around.

Temple has been in America before — he got married in New York City — but coming up to the Lakes Region "is a really nice change."

Compared to back home, "gas is half the price, which is kind of nice and there's so much space here as well," he said, referring to the relatively huge tracts of open land that can still be found in the Granite State.

Ultimately, being in The Weirs playing video games beats the alternative, which for Temple would have entailed "sitting in my office."

Rogers, who has been called "The King of Video Games" for his 2,047 world records on a variety of gaming systems, said he's here for the camaraderie since, "strangely, I don't have any competition" at the tournament.

For anybody looking for a game and maybe the opportunity to win some cash, Rogers has two interesting offers: he'll give $1,000 to the person who can top his 10-second result in the 100-meter dash competition of "Decathlon" for the Atari 2600 game console, and $10,000 to the person who bests him in "Dragster," also for the Atari 2600. The games must be "live." Details are available at toddrogersvideogameking.blog.com.

Although he's partial to the classics, Rogers, who is also a marathon gamer — he once played a console game for 86 hours with only one potty break and an arcade game for 40 hours — challenges players of more recent vintage arcade games, none of whom, however, are allowed in the Classic Videogame and Pinball Championships.

But what can be found at the championships which continue today and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., is a connection back to childhood memories and maybe something even deeper, said Rogers.

People should come to mingle with the "best of the best," he said, "and if they ever wondered what a game does after a certain level, there's probably someone who can show them."

For more information about the Classic Videogame and Pinball Championships go to www.funspotnh.com and www.ClassicArcadeMuseum.org.

 

 

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    This article appeared in the Monday, June 4, 2007 edition of  .

 

 



Picture

One of the celebrities at the Funspot videogame/pinball tournament was Todd Rogers of Brookfield, Fla. Todd is deemed to be 'King of the Video game' by gaming geeks from all over the country.



LACONIA - When Todd Rogers rolls out of bed in the morning in his Brooksville, Fla., home, he is usually thinking about two things: video games and spiders.

Which he attends to first depends on the day, but one thing that is for certain is that Rogers is anything but ordinary.

The man who has been described as "the king of video games" raises tarantulas (yes ... the big huge hairy arachnids that sometimes are venomous), he obsesses about tenths of a second in his times on a 1980 arcade game "Dragster" and he often brings two pounds of swiss cheese to his favorite pizza joint because "they just don't put enough cheese on them."

He wears Hawaiian shirts and, while he has a ponytail, the sides of his head are shaved.

To say Rogers is unique is an understatement; but this weekend he fit in perfectly as one of several die-hard and eccentric video game fanatics who took part in the 9th annual International Classic Videogame and Pinball Championships.

The event takes place annually at the American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot in Weirs Beach and this year's competition drew upwards of 80-90 of the best old-school video game players in the world.

Picture

Sunday evening at the Funspot videogame/pinball tournament wrap up, Walter Day of Fairfield, Wisc., right, presents Brian Kuh, center, an award for breaking 16 world records in one day. On the left is Gary Vincent, president of the Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot.


The tournament ran throughout the weekend and offered separate competitions for pinball, video games and one category strictly dedicated to Atari — a pioneering video game brand that made some of the 1970s-1980s classics like "Centipede," "Gravitar" and "Cloak & Dagger."

Players traveled from all over the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom to attend a competition that has organizers keeping quiet about which games would be featured in this year's tournament.

While arcades are said to be becoming less and less abundant, the popularity of classic or "retro" gaming is moving upward, thanks in part to home video game systems and new consoles that offer classic titles.

On Sunday, a Hawaiian shirt-clad Rogers recalled the day in 1980 when he beat the computer's best time at the Activision classic "Dragster," despite the fact that the game's programmers thought they had developed a perfect run that couldn't be bested.

Rogers, 42, recorded the best time in Dragster (5.51 seconds) by figuring out a trick that allowed him to essentially pop the clutch on the video game vehicle immediately when the little pixilated green light hit "go."

The never-bashful Rogers said he got calls from the gaming programmers who asked him if he had cheated.

Rogers spends his non-video game-playing time raising thousands of tarantulas and admitted that his interests surely aren't mainstream. He proclaimed his love for cheese — specifically swiss — and bemoaned that his Chicago roots have him disappointed in the cheese coverage on Florida pizza, which he said he must often enhance to his liking.

"I was a loner growing up, but here [at the tournament] I fit in perfectly. This is my family," said Rogers with a laugh.

Rogers holds 2,047 video game records and he plays everything from old, classic games to the brand new consoles like X-Box 360 and PlayStation 3. He said he has more than 60 game consoles at his home and the event at Funspot had a "pool of talent that is incredible."

While he may seem like he would stand out, he was just one of several competitors (mostly middle-aged men) who stood out in this past weekend's classic gaming event.

Take, for instance, 41-year-old Donald Hayes of Salem who is known for being one of five people to have recorded a perfect score (3,333,360 points) on the all-time video game classic Pac-Man — a feat that took him more than five hours.

Hayes, a software engineer, has the video game high scores for "Centipede," "Millipede," "Dig-Dug" and "Frogger" among others and says watching flashing lights and quick- moving characters actually has a calming effect on him.

He recalled the day at Funspot in which he took more than nine hours to score 7,111,111 points in Centipede to become the record holder. Hayes actually called it quits when he became tired and Funspot prepared to close for the night.

"It [the high score] was a number that was easy to remember," said Hayes with a slight grin.

Hayes, who broke the "Millipede" high score record this past weekend, brings his own stool to competitions and said he almost exclusively plays classic games even though their graphics are rudimentary compared to the new gaming systems.

"For me it's just fun ... they are the games I grew up with," he explained.

Gary Vincent, a long-time Funspot employee who currently serves as the president and curator for the arcade museum, said most are drawn to the games for their nostalgia and their simple features.

"These are the games that started the video game revolution and they have become like collectors' items," said Vincent, adding that his museum has one of the largest and most extensive collections in the world available for public playing.

If you think classic gaming is an American phenomenon, you are wrong.

Rocky Howard, Tony Temple and Richard Hammond traveled from the United Kingdom simply to visit the museum and take part in an event they found incredible.

"It's a pilgrimage to get back to the games we knew as kids ... it's magical," said Hammond.

Hammond and his friends run a UK-based magazine on gaming and said arcades are all but gone in their country.

Temple is known as being the all-time champion at the classic "Missile Command" and his score of 1.9 million points is viewed as the equivalent of breaking major league baseball's home run record considering that it is more than 1.5 million above the second-highest score.

Hammond laughed that Temple feels most comfortable playing in his pants, which in the United Kingdom, he explained, means "underwear or boxers."

The group said their trip to the Lakes Region has been one for the ages, considering the video gaming opportunities and the beautiful scenery.

"This is certainly a beautiful part of the world ... you people are lucky to live here," said Hammond.

This weekend's competition drew video game and pinball journalists from around the world with Walter Pay bringing his newest book "Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game and Pinball Book of World Record-Second Edition" for signing.

The book, which took him nine years to put together, hails Funspot as a mecca of classic gaming where several world records have been broken in the last decade.

The first chapter notes that 4,425 different coin-operated video games have been distributed in arcade cabinets over the last 35-years with 680 of the records for those gaming being contained within the pages of his three-inch-thick manual.

And as for the winners: Mike Haycock took the pinball championship with David Nelson winning in the Atari showdown.

Jason Cram of Maine's famed Cram family — a group known as the "first family of classic gaming" — won the regular video game category.

 

 

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