Pengo rage

It’s something that describes exactly my feelings this afternoon. I’d just completed Act 16 for the fourth time, had amassed over 660,000 points at quite a clip, albeit with one Pengo left, and was about to launch confidently into the fifth set with ambitions of at least another quick 100,000 points before being seriously challenged. Alas, too confidently as it turned out. A case of appalling complacency in Act 1 and it’s all over - at 665,730.

Dr Zackomba, noting my fairly obvious frustration, diagnosed it as a case of Pengo-rage - although very well contained, I should add. No museum exhibits or other paraphernalia were harmed in the immediate aftermath of the game.

Looking back, it was probably exacerbated by some lacklustre scoring over the past week or so. Last weekend, it was a 293,330, followed by a 303,220, a very promising 672,570, but then a 296,130. Yesterday, it was 114,680, and then 287,490, and then 382,540, followed by a 213,130, and finishing with an exceptionally strong 425,440. The tragedy of that final score was that it was achieved with only one Pengo down. Unfortunately, the security guard at the museum - nor, for that matter, the person on the museum’s loudspeaker - don’t seem to be Pengo fans, and were insistent we leave so that museum staff could get home to their families at the end of their working day.

Today’s first game (130,780) was as uninspiring as yesterday’s opener, but the subsequent 600K effort made up for it. The breakdown was 196,300 after the first set (with a Pengo lost in Act 9), 368,180 after the second set (with the second Pengo lost in Act 7), 517,290 after the third set and 665,300 after the fourth set (having lost the third Pengo in Act 14). Overall, it was a very solid per-Act average of just under 10,400 over 64 completed Acts. And again, the machine clocked at 655,350.

So after that run, my total number of games with scores exceeding 500,000 is now up to 17, including two 1,000,000 point games. But with more to come, I'm sure.