That’s my new high score - and the score to beat - after a marathon 3-and-a-bit hour game on Monday 17 August. It surpassed the 1,884,380 score I achieved back in February, and how close it came to scaling the magical 2 million point mountain!
It was one of those games where the timing was just about faultless throughout while silly errors were kept to a minimum. In the end, I think the lure of the 2 million contributed to a premature ending in the 183rd Act of the game (that is, during Act 7 on the twelfth time through).
In terms of the details, I started keeping track once I’d clocked the machine the first time around (at the usual 655,350 mark) with only a couple of men down. I had a feeling early on it was going to be a promising game when I made it through the first set unscathed with around 210,000 on the board. And by the end of the fourth time through, I was at 716,950 - a strong average of almost 180,000 per set (over 11,200 per Act).
At the end of the fifth set, I was up to 864,040, and by the end of the sixth set, I’d passed the one million point mark (at roughly 1,030,350 - I missed the score at the end of the 16th Act so recorded it at the end of the next Act instead).
After seven sets, the score was 1,214,050 and after eight times through, I’d reached 1,381,610. After nine times through, the score was 1,520,820 and after ten, it was 1,687,400 - and the nerves were jangling.
I finished the eleventh set with the score at 1,838,250 but with just one man left. Sadly, he died after a rookie error in Act 7 on the twelfth time around, with the final score on 1,905,430 (or, more accurately, on 594,730 with the machine clocking twice at 655,350).
So after a very fast start, I managed to maintain the momentum throughout the game, averaging a very healthy 10,800 for each of the 183 Acts.
This 1.9 million point game was my first since racking up after another million point effort on 13 August when I managed a reasonably uneventful 1,247,820.
Onward and upward!
Thursday, 20 August 2015
Friday, 14 August 2015
Public Pengos - update
A few months back, I started to document the location of publicly available Pengo machines around the place and came up with the following offerings:
• Powerhouse Museum - Ultimo, Sydney, New South Wales (last spotted - May 2014)
• Milkbar Café - Newtown, New South Wales (last spotted - yesterday)
• River Inn Resort - Thredbo, New South Wales (last spotted - August 2014)
• Funspot - Laconia, New Hampshire, USA (seen via website)
As it happens, I’m in the early stages of planning a trip to the USA in March 2016 (primarily to run the New York Half Marathon, around Manhattan) and thought I’d try again to check the state of public transport options to Laconia. I’ve mentioned previously that the absence of any realistic alternatives to driving there put the kybosh on a proposed visit late in 2013 when I was in nearby Boston for a time.
Anyway, as part of that planning, I came across a place called the “Galloping Ghost Arcade” located in a western suburb of Chicago and evidently adjacent to the local Congress Park train station. With over 440 machines, the Galloping Ghost bills itself as the largest video game venue in the United States. And - lo and behold - one of their games is Pengo! Their very informative website even lists the high score for each of their games. For Pengo, that score is 132,790 (yes, 132,790) which was set on 3 April 2015 by a gentleman named James White. Mr White, who must be a local, features a few times on that part of the site. So a few days visit to the Galloping Ghost is now in the diary.
I’ve been to Chicago only once before (in 2006, to run the Chicago marathon) and have very fond memories of the place - despite the unusually chilly October weather that year. So it will be good to get back there again for a few days on the way home from the Big Apple.
I haven’t finally booked anything yet, so if you have an arcade over there you think I should know about, would love to hear about it!
• Powerhouse Museum - Ultimo, Sydney, New South Wales (last spotted - May 2014)
• Milkbar Café - Newtown, New South Wales (last spotted - yesterday)
• River Inn Resort - Thredbo, New South Wales (last spotted - August 2014)
• Funspot - Laconia, New Hampshire, USA (seen via website)
As it happens, I’m in the early stages of planning a trip to the USA in March 2016 (primarily to run the New York Half Marathon, around Manhattan) and thought I’d try again to check the state of public transport options to Laconia. I’ve mentioned previously that the absence of any realistic alternatives to driving there put the kybosh on a proposed visit late in 2013 when I was in nearby Boston for a time.
Anyway, as part of that planning, I came across a place called the “Galloping Ghost Arcade” located in a western suburb of Chicago and evidently adjacent to the local Congress Park train station. With over 440 machines, the Galloping Ghost bills itself as the largest video game venue in the United States. And - lo and behold - one of their games is Pengo! Their very informative website even lists the high score for each of their games. For Pengo, that score is 132,790 (yes, 132,790) which was set on 3 April 2015 by a gentleman named James White. Mr White, who must be a local, features a few times on that part of the site. So a few days visit to the Galloping Ghost is now in the diary.
I’ve been to Chicago only once before (in 2006, to run the Chicago marathon) and have very fond memories of the place - despite the unusually chilly October weather that year. So it will be good to get back there again for a few days on the way home from the Big Apple.
I haven’t finally booked anything yet, so if you have an arcade over there you think I should know about, would love to hear about it!
Wednesday, 12 August 2015
Three weeks in the life
I thought I’d share with you a summary of a random period in my Pengo life (that is, the last three weeks) to give you a sense of how much I actually play this game and for what sort of result.
As it transpired, this was a reasonably productive period with another three one million point games, including a new second highest score of 1,785,850.
By way of background, just about all my games, including the ones documented below, are played when I’m either on the way to somewhere else, or on the way home. And usually I only play one game at a time, while having a pot of green tea and maybe some sweet potato fries, chicken and mushroom pasta, or some other item on the Milkbar café’s delicious menu. At the rate I play (roughly 600,000 points per hour), my visits usually last around an hour to 90 minutes - give or take.
On rare occasions, I need to cut a game short because a film I’ve booked in to see at the adjoining Dendy cinema is about to start, or because I’ve bumped up against the café’s 10:00pm closing time. But generally, I just play the games out. While I’ve felt like it from time to time, I’ve never actually quit a game because I’ve been going badly. Whatever the circumstance, I always remind myself of past occasions when the last one or two Pengos have racked up many hundreds of thousands of points to bring some modicum of respect to what might otherwise have been a quite mediocre score.
This snapshot covers the period from 23 July (the first game after my last post where I’d just achieved my 30th million point game) to today (12 August). I’ve rounded the scores which were less than one million.
23 July - Off to a flying start on the next 30 million point games with a score of 1,144,340
24 July - 840,000
27 July - 682,000
29 July - 1,785,850. A new second best score, achieved in just over three hours. It was one of those games that felt very smooth the whole way through, despite losing the first two Pengos in the first set. The third Pengo died just after the score had passed one million and as time went by, especially with the fourth Pengo scoring 500,000 on his own, I started getting visions of my first two million point game. But then the last two Pengos fell relatively cheaply and I was left hanging, a mere 200,000 points short.
During the game, I clocked the machine twice at 655,350 and finished with 475,150 on the score line. I also worked out that my last man died in Act 14 on the tenth time through, meaning that I’d completed a total of 157 Acts, dying in the 158th. It was also quite a high-scoring game in terms of points per Act. Usually, an average of 10,000 points per Act for a high scoring game is good going. But for this game, it averaged well over 11,000 points for the duration. I actually made a note of the scores for the final three sets, being 188,070 for the 8th, 167,000 for the 9th, and 146,500 for the incomplete 10th. All-up, it was a very impressive game and worthy of a new high score - if it had gotten to that point.
31 July - 598,000. A very poor start but a reasonable recovery.
6 August - 513,000
7 August - 336,000 and 813,000
9 August - 471,000 and 406,000
10 August - 1,234,120. Very happy with this effort after a series of outs.
12 August - 307,000 and 477,000. Both very disappointing efforts.
Overall, I managed to play on 10 of the 21 days, playing a total of 13 games, with three one million point games. That’s a strike rate of roughly one million point game every four to five games, which sounds about right.
All of which means there’s a couple of changes to the following summaries:
Top 5 scores:
1. 1,884,380 - 21 February 2015
2. 1,785,850 - 29 July 2015
3. 1,548,250 - 6 December 2014
4. 1,488,480 - 6 July 2015
5. 1,452,130 - 31 July 2014
Other records/milestones:
• Fastest Act clearance - 11 seconds
• Fastest Act clearance with 10,000 bonus - 23 seconds
• Highest score after first 16 Acts - 221,880
• Total scores over 1,000,000 - 33
• Total scores in excess of current official world record - 15
Top 5 official Twin Galaxies high scores:
1. 1,217,650 - Paul Hornitzky, 9 September 2012
2. 1,110,370 - Rodney Day, 13 August 1983
3. 809,990 - Kevin Leisner, 25 February 1983
4. 723,950 - Frank Lupia, 20 September 2008
5. 694,030 - Paul Elia, 31 March 1983
As it transpired, this was a reasonably productive period with another three one million point games, including a new second highest score of 1,785,850.
By way of background, just about all my games, including the ones documented below, are played when I’m either on the way to somewhere else, or on the way home. And usually I only play one game at a time, while having a pot of green tea and maybe some sweet potato fries, chicken and mushroom pasta, or some other item on the Milkbar café’s delicious menu. At the rate I play (roughly 600,000 points per hour), my visits usually last around an hour to 90 minutes - give or take.
On rare occasions, I need to cut a game short because a film I’ve booked in to see at the adjoining Dendy cinema is about to start, or because I’ve bumped up against the café’s 10:00pm closing time. But generally, I just play the games out. While I’ve felt like it from time to time, I’ve never actually quit a game because I’ve been going badly. Whatever the circumstance, I always remind myself of past occasions when the last one or two Pengos have racked up many hundreds of thousands of points to bring some modicum of respect to what might otherwise have been a quite mediocre score.
This snapshot covers the period from 23 July (the first game after my last post where I’d just achieved my 30th million point game) to today (12 August). I’ve rounded the scores which were less than one million.
23 July - Off to a flying start on the next 30 million point games with a score of 1,144,340
24 July - 840,000
27 July - 682,000
29 July - 1,785,850. A new second best score, achieved in just over three hours. It was one of those games that felt very smooth the whole way through, despite losing the first two Pengos in the first set. The third Pengo died just after the score had passed one million and as time went by, especially with the fourth Pengo scoring 500,000 on his own, I started getting visions of my first two million point game. But then the last two Pengos fell relatively cheaply and I was left hanging, a mere 200,000 points short.
During the game, I clocked the machine twice at 655,350 and finished with 475,150 on the score line. I also worked out that my last man died in Act 14 on the tenth time through, meaning that I’d completed a total of 157 Acts, dying in the 158th. It was also quite a high-scoring game in terms of points per Act. Usually, an average of 10,000 points per Act for a high scoring game is good going. But for this game, it averaged well over 11,000 points for the duration. I actually made a note of the scores for the final three sets, being 188,070 for the 8th, 167,000 for the 9th, and 146,500 for the incomplete 10th. All-up, it was a very impressive game and worthy of a new high score - if it had gotten to that point.
31 July - 598,000. A very poor start but a reasonable recovery.
6 August - 513,000
7 August - 336,000 and 813,000
9 August - 471,000 and 406,000
10 August - 1,234,120. Very happy with this effort after a series of outs.
12 August - 307,000 and 477,000. Both very disappointing efforts.
Overall, I managed to play on 10 of the 21 days, playing a total of 13 games, with three one million point games. That’s a strike rate of roughly one million point game every four to five games, which sounds about right.
All of which means there’s a couple of changes to the following summaries:
Top 5 scores:
1. 1,884,380 - 21 February 2015
2. 1,785,850 - 29 July 2015
3. 1,548,250 - 6 December 2014
4. 1,488,480 - 6 July 2015
5. 1,452,130 - 31 July 2014
Other records/milestones:
• Fastest Act clearance - 11 seconds
• Fastest Act clearance with 10,000 bonus - 23 seconds
• Highest score after first 16 Acts - 221,880
• Total scores over 1,000,000 - 33
• Total scores in excess of current official world record - 15
Top 5 official Twin Galaxies high scores:
1. 1,217,650 - Paul Hornitzky, 9 September 2012
2. 1,110,370 - Rodney Day, 13 August 1983
3. 809,990 - Kevin Leisner, 25 February 1983
4. 723,950 - Frank Lupia, 20 September 2008
5. 694,030 - Paul Elia, 31 March 1983
Tuesday, 21 July 2015
The 30th million
Well, it’s been some time coming, but I’ve now racked up my 30th million point game. It came earlier this afternoon (21 July) when I posted 1,386,650, my new sixth best score.
It was a quite an unusual effort in that I managed to lose my first Pengo in the very first Act of the game. I lost another two in a disaster in Act 16 at around the 650,000 mark, but the fifth man battled on exceptionally well, taking the score through to 1.1 million before the last man was lost in an Act 7 when I was suckered into a disappointing death.
Along the way, I cleared one of the Act 16’s in just 19 seconds - the first time I can remember getting the 5,000 point time bonus for an Act 16. I also cleared an early Act 1 in 11 seconds, which tied an existing record. And to cap it off, I managed to finish an Act 7 with the 10,000 bonus in 23 seconds - again equaling an existing record.
In the period leading up to this game, I’d scored 1,270,480 on 22 June in a fairly straightforward, solid game followed a couple of weeks later with a very strong 1,488,480, my new third highest score. That came on 6 July after a four day break and took just over two and a half hours.
Looking back to my first million point game on this quest just over two years ago, it’s clear we’ve come a long way. Back then, I reported it with the somewhat breathless title of “ONE MILLION!!!”, and said:
Only just, but I made it. The score - 1,005,030.
…
I happened to be jotting down some additional scores and other bits and pieces as I was going along … On the one million game, I was 160,100 after the first set of 16 Acts; 285,270 (and one Pengo down - in Act 10) after the second set; 430,500 after the third set; and 559,350 after the fourth set - still with only one Pengo lost.
By the end of the fifth set, I was 714,290, but had lost another two Pengos during it - one as the result of complacency in Act 7 and another during Act 15. The machine also ‘clocked’ at 655,310 - the same high score it had clocked at during my 900K effort a couple of weeks back.
With the final Pengo battling away, I cleared the sixth set with a score of 865,780 (655,310 + 210,470). And then somewhere in Act 13 in the seventh set, when I noticed the accumulating score had just clicked 345,000, I knew I’d broken the magical seven figures. The loss of the final Pengo during the next Act (14) was almost an anti-climax, and probably pay-back for managing to escape a few very close shaves along the way.
In terms of individual sets during that game, I did feel I was getting more and more defensive as the game wore on and not worrying too much about the 10,000 bonuses. On the basis that a reasonable, or par, score for a set is 160,000, my ‘splits’ for each set were (1) 160,100, (2) 125,170, (3) 145,230, (4) 128,850, (5) 154,940, (6) 151,490, and (7 - up to Act 14) 139,250.
I haven’t been as diligent as I probably should have been in maintaining these sorts of statistics during games, but it’s probably just the result of not carrying around a pen and piece of paper any more. The note-taking facility on my phone doesn’t really feel the same. And I won’t mention the number of games over that period where I’ve crashed out in the 900,000’s, or even in the 990,000’s, but each of them still hurts.
So, for those who might have lost track along the way, and as a special treat for the rest of you, following is the full list of my million+ scores:
1. 1,884,380 - 21 February 2015
2. 1,548,250 - 6 December 2014
3. 1,488,480 - 6 July 2015
4. 1,452,130 - 31 July 2014
5. 1,421,010 - 8 May 2015
6. 1,386,650 - 21 July 2015
7. 1,365,400 - 22 January 2015
8. 1,358,180 - 12 June 2015
9. 1,272,650 - 30 December 2014
10. 1,270,480 - 22 June 2015
11. 1,269,950 - 13 January 2015
12. 1,248,570 - 9 February 2015
13. 1,237,950 - 15 July 2014
14. 1,194,580 - 28 May 2015
15. 1,193,270 - 31 December 2014
16. 1,191,920 - 17 February 2015
17. 1,164,090 - 22 October 2014
18. 1,157,930 - 7 June 2015
19. 1,148,940 - 23 February 2015
20. 1,131,740 - 15 May 2015
21. 1,079,010 - 21 April 2015
22. 1,077,940 - 12 August 2014
23. 1,075,130 - 11 January 2015
24. 1,068,090 - 21 April 2015
25. 1,059,670 - 19 December 2014
26. 1,017,250 - 8 June 2013
27. 1,016,940 - 15 August 2014
28. 1,012,700 - 20 March 2015
29. 1,005,030 - 26 May 2013
30. 1,002,130 - 19 October 2014
And for good measure, my other records and milestones are as follows:
• Fastest Act clearance - 11 seconds
• Fastest Act clearance with 10,000 bonus - 23 seconds
• Highest score after first 16 Acts - 221,880
• Total scores over 1,000,000 - 30
• Total scores in excess of current official world record - 13
And, of course, the top 5 official Twin Galaxies high scores remain as follows:
1. 1,217,650 - Paul Hornitzky, 9 September 2012
2. 1,110,370 - Rodney Day, 13 August 1983
3. 809,990 - Kevin Leisner, 25 February 1983
4. 723,950 - Frank Lupia, 20 September 2008
5. 694,030 - Paul Elia, 31 March 1983
Here’s to the next 30!
It was a quite an unusual effort in that I managed to lose my first Pengo in the very first Act of the game. I lost another two in a disaster in Act 16 at around the 650,000 mark, but the fifth man battled on exceptionally well, taking the score through to 1.1 million before the last man was lost in an Act 7 when I was suckered into a disappointing death.
Along the way, I cleared one of the Act 16’s in just 19 seconds - the first time I can remember getting the 5,000 point time bonus for an Act 16. I also cleared an early Act 1 in 11 seconds, which tied an existing record. And to cap it off, I managed to finish an Act 7 with the 10,000 bonus in 23 seconds - again equaling an existing record.
In the period leading up to this game, I’d scored 1,270,480 on 22 June in a fairly straightforward, solid game followed a couple of weeks later with a very strong 1,488,480, my new third highest score. That came on 6 July after a four day break and took just over two and a half hours.
Looking back to my first million point game on this quest just over two years ago, it’s clear we’ve come a long way. Back then, I reported it with the somewhat breathless title of “ONE MILLION!!!”, and said:
Only just, but I made it. The score - 1,005,030.
…
I happened to be jotting down some additional scores and other bits and pieces as I was going along … On the one million game, I was 160,100 after the first set of 16 Acts; 285,270 (and one Pengo down - in Act 10) after the second set; 430,500 after the third set; and 559,350 after the fourth set - still with only one Pengo lost.
By the end of the fifth set, I was 714,290, but had lost another two Pengos during it - one as the result of complacency in Act 7 and another during Act 15. The machine also ‘clocked’ at 655,310 - the same high score it had clocked at during my 900K effort a couple of weeks back.
With the final Pengo battling away, I cleared the sixth set with a score of 865,780 (655,310 + 210,470). And then somewhere in Act 13 in the seventh set, when I noticed the accumulating score had just clicked 345,000, I knew I’d broken the magical seven figures. The loss of the final Pengo during the next Act (14) was almost an anti-climax, and probably pay-back for managing to escape a few very close shaves along the way.
In terms of individual sets during that game, I did feel I was getting more and more defensive as the game wore on and not worrying too much about the 10,000 bonuses. On the basis that a reasonable, or par, score for a set is 160,000, my ‘splits’ for each set were (1) 160,100, (2) 125,170, (3) 145,230, (4) 128,850, (5) 154,940, (6) 151,490, and (7 - up to Act 14) 139,250.
I haven’t been as diligent as I probably should have been in maintaining these sorts of statistics during games, but it’s probably just the result of not carrying around a pen and piece of paper any more. The note-taking facility on my phone doesn’t really feel the same. And I won’t mention the number of games over that period where I’ve crashed out in the 900,000’s, or even in the 990,000’s, but each of them still hurts.
So, for those who might have lost track along the way, and as a special treat for the rest of you, following is the full list of my million+ scores:
1. 1,884,380 - 21 February 2015
2. 1,548,250 - 6 December 2014
3. 1,488,480 - 6 July 2015
4. 1,452,130 - 31 July 2014
5. 1,421,010 - 8 May 2015
6. 1,386,650 - 21 July 2015
7. 1,365,400 - 22 January 2015
8. 1,358,180 - 12 June 2015
9. 1,272,650 - 30 December 2014
10. 1,270,480 - 22 June 2015
11. 1,269,950 - 13 January 2015
12. 1,248,570 - 9 February 2015
13. 1,237,950 - 15 July 2014
14. 1,194,580 - 28 May 2015
15. 1,193,270 - 31 December 2014
16. 1,191,920 - 17 February 2015
17. 1,164,090 - 22 October 2014
18. 1,157,930 - 7 June 2015
19. 1,148,940 - 23 February 2015
20. 1,131,740 - 15 May 2015
21. 1,079,010 - 21 April 2015
22. 1,077,940 - 12 August 2014
23. 1,075,130 - 11 January 2015
24. 1,068,090 - 21 April 2015
25. 1,059,670 - 19 December 2014
26. 1,017,250 - 8 June 2013
27. 1,016,940 - 15 August 2014
28. 1,012,700 - 20 March 2015
29. 1,005,030 - 26 May 2013
30. 1,002,130 - 19 October 2014
And for good measure, my other records and milestones are as follows:
• Fastest Act clearance - 11 seconds
• Fastest Act clearance with 10,000 bonus - 23 seconds
• Highest score after first 16 Acts - 221,880
• Total scores over 1,000,000 - 30
• Total scores in excess of current official world record - 13
And, of course, the top 5 official Twin Galaxies high scores remain as follows:
1. 1,217,650 - Paul Hornitzky, 9 September 2012
2. 1,110,370 - Rodney Day, 13 August 1983
3. 809,990 - Kevin Leisner, 25 February 1983
4. 723,950 - Frank Lupia, 20 September 2008
5. 694,030 - Paul Elia, 31 March 1983
Here’s to the next 30!
Thursday, 18 June 2015
Scoring update
A brief note to update the state of play in Pengo-land.
I’ve only been moderately active since my last post but have managed to rack up another couple of million point games.
The first was on 7 June, with a solid 1,157,930. It wasn’t anything particularly spectacular - just a good, honest, million-pointer. The second - a very handy 1,358,180 - came five days later in much more rewarding circumstances. As I was going through, I was contemplating another fairly average 700-800,000 point game, and then a disappointing 900K score when I was left with only one man in the early 900’s. But the little fella threw caution to the wind and went on a rampage, marching through a couple more sets until being eaten just 7,000 points short of a top five score.
Another highlight was on 17 June when I equalled my all-time fastest Act clearance record of 11 seconds. It happened in Act 6 the second time around, in a game where I ended up with a frustrating 921,000. I actually think I prefer dying at 300K or 400K than in the 900,000’s, knowing how close I am to the magic million mark. But such is Pengo-life.
Overall, my top five scores remain unchanged:
1. 1,884,380 - 21 February 2015
2. 1,548,250 - 6 December 2014
3. 1,452,130 - 31 July 2014
4. 1,421,010 - 8 May 2015
5. 1,365,400 - 22 January 2015
• Fastest Act clearance - 11 seconds
• Fastest Act clearance with 10,000 bonus - 23 seconds
• Highest score after first 16 Acts - 221,880
• Total scores over 1,000,000 - 27
• Total scores in excess of current official world record - 10
The top 5 official Twin Galaxies high scores remain as follows:
1. 1,217,650 - Paul Hornitzky, 9 September 2012
2. 1,110,370 - Rodney Day, 13 August 1983
3. 809,990 - Kevin Leisner, 25 February 1983
4. 723,950 - Frank Lupia, 20 September 2008
5. 694,030 - Paul Elia, 31 March 1983
On that, I’ve noticed that the Twin Galaxies website, which has improved exponentially since I first started this quest, now has a simple search function for each name in the high scores list for each game. For the Pengo top five list, it reveals that the champ, Paul Hornitzky, currently holds the official world best scores in an astonishing 19 games other than Pengo and is the second best in yet another game. While I don’t think I’ve heard of any of those various games, his credentials as a truly top class gamer cannot be denied. What a man!
The other all-rounder on our list is Frank Lupia who has been moonlighting on another game I’ve never heard of, called “Quick & Crash”. Frank holds the second best score on that game, which I’m sure is lots of fun.
Good job gents!
I’ve only been moderately active since my last post but have managed to rack up another couple of million point games.
The first was on 7 June, with a solid 1,157,930. It wasn’t anything particularly spectacular - just a good, honest, million-pointer. The second - a very handy 1,358,180 - came five days later in much more rewarding circumstances. As I was going through, I was contemplating another fairly average 700-800,000 point game, and then a disappointing 900K score when I was left with only one man in the early 900’s. But the little fella threw caution to the wind and went on a rampage, marching through a couple more sets until being eaten just 7,000 points short of a top five score.
Another highlight was on 17 June when I equalled my all-time fastest Act clearance record of 11 seconds. It happened in Act 6 the second time around, in a game where I ended up with a frustrating 921,000. I actually think I prefer dying at 300K or 400K than in the 900,000’s, knowing how close I am to the magic million mark. But such is Pengo-life.
Overall, my top five scores remain unchanged:
1. 1,884,380 - 21 February 2015
2. 1,548,250 - 6 December 2014
3. 1,452,130 - 31 July 2014
4. 1,421,010 - 8 May 2015
5. 1,365,400 - 22 January 2015
• Fastest Act clearance - 11 seconds
• Fastest Act clearance with 10,000 bonus - 23 seconds
• Highest score after first 16 Acts - 221,880
• Total scores over 1,000,000 - 27
• Total scores in excess of current official world record - 10
The top 5 official Twin Galaxies high scores remain as follows:
1. 1,217,650 - Paul Hornitzky, 9 September 2012
2. 1,110,370 - Rodney Day, 13 August 1983
3. 809,990 - Kevin Leisner, 25 February 1983
4. 723,950 - Frank Lupia, 20 September 2008
5. 694,030 - Paul Elia, 31 March 1983
On that, I’ve noticed that the Twin Galaxies website, which has improved exponentially since I first started this quest, now has a simple search function for each name in the high scores list for each game. For the Pengo top five list, it reveals that the champ, Paul Hornitzky, currently holds the official world best scores in an astonishing 19 games other than Pengo and is the second best in yet another game. While I don’t think I’ve heard of any of those various games, his credentials as a truly top class gamer cannot be denied. What a man!
The other all-rounder on our list is Frank Lupia who has been moonlighting on another game I’ve never heard of, called “Quick & Crash”. Frank holds the second best score on that game, which I’m sure is lots of fun.
Good job gents!
Tuesday, 2 June 2015
Frank speaks
After the transcribed interview with former world champ Aussie Rod Day a couple of posts back, I thought I’d treat you all to another interview I’ve come across with another of Pengo’s heavy-hitters - Mr Frank Lupia.
Frank’s high score of 723,950, officially now the world’s fourth best (and the third best at the time), was achieved on 20 September 2008. Almost exactly two years before that, on 24 September 2006, he was interviewed by someone from the Classic Arcade Gaming website at a video gaming event somewhere on the United States east coast. They describe it thus:
This interview is with the ultimate winner of the East Coast Arcade Championships event - Frank Lupia. He talks about Pengo, his favorite title, plus his preference for the classics. Also, he gives a great demonstration of how to play Pengo. At the time of the interview, Frank was in 3rd place, but managed to raise that to first by the end of the event.
And here’s the transcript …
Interviewer - We’re here at Challenge Arcade in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, with Frank Lupia, a local player who comes here very, very often. Is that correct Frank?
Frank Lupia - [Nods]
Int - Ah, Frank has a lot of fame on a number of games but I guess the top game for Frank is - and it’s right in the arcade there - ah, Pengo! Now that game was featured not only this weekend in the East Coast Arcade Championships, which is the long weekend of September 21st through 24, 2006, but it was also featured in my contest - Classic Arcade Gaming Dot Com Tournament - in March of 2006. Frank has, ah, led in that contest and in this contest. Ah, do you remember what your current score is in this current contest Frank?
FL - I beat 719,000 and change
Int - Now, what is your all-time score, approximately, on the game?
FL - Unofficially, 892,000
Int - What about unofficially?
FL - Unofficially, it was 892, yeah.
Int - Oh, I thought you were alluding that you had more unofficially. I got ya.
FL - No, no, 892 is my best.
Int - But, hey, both of those scores I believe are in second or third which shows the level that Frank’s at on the game which is just, ah, spectacular. He can play and play for over an hour - correct me if I’m wrong?
FL - In a good enough game, yeah.
Int - Awesome, awesome. Now, ah, I just told Frank that he’s ranked third in this contest but the top three is separated by less than 2% out of 100% which is a very tight grouping. Ahm, what do you think you’re gonna do and work on in this contest to try to get first place Frank?
FL - Well I guess best thing to do is shooter games [inaudible] I’m more in terms of, ah, better at the classics so I’m going to have to improve upon the shooter game.
Int - So the modern shooter games are giving you more trouble because you don’t practice as much and you, ah, perhaps have more trouble with modern games? Is that true? Don’t let me put words in your mouth.
FL- Right, right. Well I was always more a fan of the classics.
Int - Right, right.
FL - Newer games are, modern are great, but I was always more a fan of the classics.
Int - Right, well, you probably like a lot of people appreciate the good gameplay and the less violence. Is that true?
FL - Yeah, exactly
Int - So modern, modern ones tend to have a little more violence and maybe a little less substance? But let’s be honest, there’s groups that both sets of games appeal to, ah, differently, so that’s how it is.
FL - Right
Int - You get different personalities with different games.
FL - Oh sure. Modern games are great. Modern games are great. Great graphics. Good gameplay. But again, I’m just more a fan of the classics.
Int - Right, exactly. Speaking of which, can I film you for a few seconds playing your favourite - Pengo - over here?
FL - Sure, let’s go.
Int - OK, lead the way.
FL - The only thing with Pengo is, a lot of people think, a lot of people think with the classics there’s a set pattern. Pengo, really, there’s no set pattern to it. There’s a few things you can do the same way. Otherwise, really you’re on your own and it takes a lot of practice to get good.
Int - And that takes skill, which is excellent.
FL - Right. This is why this is one of the better classics. This, along with Mr Do, has always been one of the more, more challenging, and I will say, frustrating, games.
Int - Right, but frustrating in a fun way, right?
FL - You got that right. You got that right.
Int - OK. Let’s see you play, my friend.
FL - The key is to try and get the diamond blocks together to get a lot of points.
Int - Right. And remember if you push those three diamond blocks together, you get 5,000 and of course on the way you hopefully are able to pick up points by crushing the sno-bees which are those green things on the screen right now.
FL - Right.
Int - Awesome.
FL - Getting the diamond blocks together gives me 10,000 points.
Int - Oh, is it 10,000? Oh, I thought it was 5. Wow!
FL - Yeah, it’s 5,000 if the blocks are attached to the wall.
Int - Oh. 10 if they’re off the wall, I understand. Awesome. You just taught me a trick. [FL finishes Act 1, after getting the 10,000 bonus] Awesome. Well, thanks for the lesson, Frank.
FL - Sure
Int - And ah, keep, ah, keep doing your best in the contest.
As a footnote, from flicking through the web, it seems that the Challenge Arcade closed down sometime in 2010. Pity.
If you want to watch the interview, some of the audio of Frank speaking is not great and the interviewer does a bit too much of the talking, but it’s good to put a face to a name and actually see the guy in action. The link is here - http://www.classicarcadegaming.com/media/ECAC_-_Frank_Lupia_interview.htm
As for my own scoring, there’s been a couple of recent developments of note.
First, another two 1-million point games to add to the list. The first was on 15 May, with a reasonably solid 1,131,740, and the second on 28 May with a useful 1,194,580. That becomes my 10th best score and my 25th million+ score since embarking on this journey.
Second, the 28 May game also saw me equalling my record for the fastest clearance while achieving the 10,000 bonus. It came during Act 1 (the third or fourth time around, can’t remember), with a sizzling 23 seconds. It actually felt a little faster than that and I don’t know how I could have done it any more efficiently, so maybe 23 seconds is the fastest time actually possible. We’ll see.
And before I go, a shameless plug for my new blog - BQ Quest - which you’re welcome to check out if you need a break from destroying all those sno-bees and ice-blocks. As well as being a moderately successful Pengo player, and the compiler of a reasonable collection of ‘do-not-disturb’ signs, I also enjoy the challenge of distance running. So I’ve set myself a goal of trying to qualify to run the Boston marathon. This is known in the trade as getting a ‘BQ’ - a Boston Qualifier. A BQ is the holy grail for those like me who, despite our best intentions, were invariably hopeless at athletic pursuits in our younger days but who’ve decided to give running a crack as we’ve aged. It’s going to be extraordinarily difficult and will take a few years, so I thought it’s a perfect subject for a blog. The public accountability associated with this Pengo quest of mine seemed to work (albeit I still need to make my performances official one day), so let’s see how it goes over there.
Just google ‘BQ Quest’ and ‘blogspot’ if you’re interested.
Frank’s high score of 723,950, officially now the world’s fourth best (and the third best at the time), was achieved on 20 September 2008. Almost exactly two years before that, on 24 September 2006, he was interviewed by someone from the Classic Arcade Gaming website at a video gaming event somewhere on the United States east coast. They describe it thus:
This interview is with the ultimate winner of the East Coast Arcade Championships event - Frank Lupia. He talks about Pengo, his favorite title, plus his preference for the classics. Also, he gives a great demonstration of how to play Pengo. At the time of the interview, Frank was in 3rd place, but managed to raise that to first by the end of the event.
And here’s the transcript …
Interviewer - We’re here at Challenge Arcade in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, with Frank Lupia, a local player who comes here very, very often. Is that correct Frank?
Frank Lupia - [Nods]
Int - Ah, Frank has a lot of fame on a number of games but I guess the top game for Frank is - and it’s right in the arcade there - ah, Pengo! Now that game was featured not only this weekend in the East Coast Arcade Championships, which is the long weekend of September 21st through 24, 2006, but it was also featured in my contest - Classic Arcade Gaming Dot Com Tournament - in March of 2006. Frank has, ah, led in that contest and in this contest. Ah, do you remember what your current score is in this current contest Frank?
FL - I beat 719,000 and change
Int - Now, what is your all-time score, approximately, on the game?
FL - Unofficially, 892,000
Int - What about unofficially?
FL - Unofficially, it was 892, yeah.
Int - Oh, I thought you were alluding that you had more unofficially. I got ya.
FL - No, no, 892 is my best.
Int - But, hey, both of those scores I believe are in second or third which shows the level that Frank’s at on the game which is just, ah, spectacular. He can play and play for over an hour - correct me if I’m wrong?
FL - In a good enough game, yeah.
Int - Awesome, awesome. Now, ah, I just told Frank that he’s ranked third in this contest but the top three is separated by less than 2% out of 100% which is a very tight grouping. Ahm, what do you think you’re gonna do and work on in this contest to try to get first place Frank?
FL - Well I guess best thing to do is shooter games [inaudible] I’m more in terms of, ah, better at the classics so I’m going to have to improve upon the shooter game.
Int - So the modern shooter games are giving you more trouble because you don’t practice as much and you, ah, perhaps have more trouble with modern games? Is that true? Don’t let me put words in your mouth.
FL- Right, right. Well I was always more a fan of the classics.
Int - Right, right.
FL - Newer games are, modern are great, but I was always more a fan of the classics.
Int - Right, well, you probably like a lot of people appreciate the good gameplay and the less violence. Is that true?
FL - Yeah, exactly
Int - So modern, modern ones tend to have a little more violence and maybe a little less substance? But let’s be honest, there’s groups that both sets of games appeal to, ah, differently, so that’s how it is.
FL - Right
Int - You get different personalities with different games.
FL - Oh sure. Modern games are great. Modern games are great. Great graphics. Good gameplay. But again, I’m just more a fan of the classics.
Int - Right, exactly. Speaking of which, can I film you for a few seconds playing your favourite - Pengo - over here?
FL - Sure, let’s go.
Int - OK, lead the way.
FL - The only thing with Pengo is, a lot of people think, a lot of people think with the classics there’s a set pattern. Pengo, really, there’s no set pattern to it. There’s a few things you can do the same way. Otherwise, really you’re on your own and it takes a lot of practice to get good.
Int - And that takes skill, which is excellent.
FL - Right. This is why this is one of the better classics. This, along with Mr Do, has always been one of the more, more challenging, and I will say, frustrating, games.
Int - Right, but frustrating in a fun way, right?
FL - You got that right. You got that right.
Int - OK. Let’s see you play, my friend.
FL - The key is to try and get the diamond blocks together to get a lot of points.
Int - Right. And remember if you push those three diamond blocks together, you get 5,000 and of course on the way you hopefully are able to pick up points by crushing the sno-bees which are those green things on the screen right now.
FL - Right.
Int - Awesome.
FL - Getting the diamond blocks together gives me 10,000 points.
Int - Oh, is it 10,000? Oh, I thought it was 5. Wow!
FL - Yeah, it’s 5,000 if the blocks are attached to the wall.
Int - Oh. 10 if they’re off the wall, I understand. Awesome. You just taught me a trick. [FL finishes Act 1, after getting the 10,000 bonus] Awesome. Well, thanks for the lesson, Frank.
FL - Sure
Int - And ah, keep, ah, keep doing your best in the contest.
As a footnote, from flicking through the web, it seems that the Challenge Arcade closed down sometime in 2010. Pity.
If you want to watch the interview, some of the audio of Frank speaking is not great and the interviewer does a bit too much of the talking, but it’s good to put a face to a name and actually see the guy in action. The link is here - http://www.classicarcadegaming.com/media/ECAC_-_Frank_Lupia_interview.htm
As for my own scoring, there’s been a couple of recent developments of note.
First, another two 1-million point games to add to the list. The first was on 15 May, with a reasonably solid 1,131,740, and the second on 28 May with a useful 1,194,580. That becomes my 10th best score and my 25th million+ score since embarking on this journey.
Second, the 28 May game also saw me equalling my record for the fastest clearance while achieving the 10,000 bonus. It came during Act 1 (the third or fourth time around, can’t remember), with a sizzling 23 seconds. It actually felt a little faster than that and I don’t know how I could have done it any more efficiently, so maybe 23 seconds is the fastest time actually possible. We’ll see.
And before I go, a shameless plug for my new blog - BQ Quest - which you’re welcome to check out if you need a break from destroying all those sno-bees and ice-blocks. As well as being a moderately successful Pengo player, and the compiler of a reasonable collection of ‘do-not-disturb’ signs, I also enjoy the challenge of distance running. So I’ve set myself a goal of trying to qualify to run the Boston marathon. This is known in the trade as getting a ‘BQ’ - a Boston Qualifier. A BQ is the holy grail for those like me who, despite our best intentions, were invariably hopeless at athletic pursuits in our younger days but who’ve decided to give running a crack as we’ve aged. It’s going to be extraordinarily difficult and will take a few years, so I thought it’s a perfect subject for a blog. The public accountability associated with this Pengo quest of mine seemed to work (albeit I still need to make my performances official one day), so let’s see how it goes over there.
Just google ‘BQ Quest’ and ‘blogspot’ if you’re interested.
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Your comments
Some of the keener-eyed readers of this blog will have noticed that back in January 2014, when it was in something of a hiatus, a few comments were posted from some of you under a couple of my posts. This included a comment from none other than Mr Paul Elia, holder of the 5th highest Pengo score ever officially achieved (with 694,030).
I have to confess I didn’t actually see the comments when they came in, so my profoundest apologies if you felt slighted by me not acknowledging them, especially where you asked a question! I will try and be more attentive - and recognise that this is not just all about me …
So, in a fairly lame attempt to make amends, and to bring you all up to date, the comments (in time/date order) were as follows, with my responses now added:
Sandman x - 13 January 2014 at 11:29
Any updates since this time? I love Pengo and recently have been able to play it via a 96 in 1 kit on Pac Man hardware. I absolutely suck at it but it's a game I'd like to get much better at.
PengoQuest: Yeah, sorry about the radio silence on the blog for a while there Sandman (or Mr/Ms/Mrs x?), but we’re well and truly back in business. Hopefully we haven’t lost you. I agree, it’s an engrossing game, and I hope your practice is going well. Would love to hear all about it one day.
Anonymous - 17 January 2014 at 12:59
You still on this quest? I'm on a similar mission myself. Surpassed 260,000 for the first time just recently, so still got a ways to go. It's a great game, it's teaching me about daily practice and the zen of dealing with game collision bugs (*breathe* the BUG IS PART OF THE GAME THE UNIVERSE ISN'T ALWAYS A FAIR PLACE!! *breathe*)
PengoQuest: Certainly am, Anonymous, and good to meet a fellow traveler/missionary. 260,000 is not a bad effort - but I agree, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Can I venture to suggest that at this stage of your development (unless of course you've really zoomed ahead in the time since you first left your comment), you’ve got to be concentrating on survival, especially in the last 4-6 Acts? Forget all about going for the 10,000’s there - it’s just too risky. I also found for those Acts that the key (like many things in life, really) is demonstrating courage! Don’t just stand back and wait for them to come to you. Get on the front foot and try to eat or kill as many as you can as quickly as you can. The longer each Act goes on, and the fewer blocks there are to hide behind, the greater the certainty that you’ll die - especially if there’s two or three of them still galloping around.
As for the other part of your comment, I hadn’t really thought about it that way, but whatever floats your boat!
Anonymous - 17 January 2014 at 13:05
Hey Sandman x I only found this blog today and I've got the same question! On a quiet quest of my own to get at least in the top five :)
PengoQuest: Go for it! Where do you play, if you don’t mind me asking? If it’s in a public place, I need to add it to my list of public Pengo machines (and future holiday destinations!).
Paul Elia - 20 January 2014 at 03:56
Thanks for this post. I am Paul Elia with the #5 score from 1983. I went to Twin Galaxies to look up some old scores of mine but the site is down. It seems that the company and its score keeping service are in new hands.
PengoQuest: Hey Paul! Welcome aboard, and great to hear from you! Of course, now that you’ve poked your head above the parapet, I’m going to have to ask you all about that fateful day - Thursday 31 March 1983, apparently on a machine at a Putt Putt Golf venue somewhere in the US - when you ascended to the podium of all time Pengo high scores. From what I can make out from some back issues of “Joystik” magazine that are available on-line, the official Pengo high score first appeared in their April 1983 edition, with a gentleman named Mark Robichek of Mountainview, California, credited with scoring 263,860 on 24 October 1982. Which can’t have been too long after the game was actually released - obviously a fast learner! The next edition, in July 1983, had Kevin Leisner of Racine, Wisconsin, listed as the record holder, with a score of 809,990 achieved on 25 February 1983. That score was also noted as the highest in the next couple of editions (in September 1983 and November 1983). Of course, Aussie Rod Day then amassed his score in August 1983 and the rest is history. My point being that in March 1983, when you were doing your stuff, yours was the second highest Pengo score ever achieved (and documented)! A magnificent effort. I’m sure we’d all love for you to share your memories of those couple of hours.
And for those of you interested in Joystik, the link is here - http://www.digitpress.com/library/magazines/joystik/joystik.htm Their April 1983 issue carries quite a lengthy report on Pengo, titled “The Arctic Antics of Pengo”. Worth a read, albeit some of the strategy advice they offer is a bit silly.
Scoring Update
While I’m here, I may as well update progress over the last little while. There hasn’t really been too much play to report since the last post, although I did happen to score a very nice 1,421,010 on 8 May after not having much sleep at all the previous evening. It’s now become my 4th highest score, as follows:
1. 1,884,380 - 21 February 2015
2. 1,548,250 - 6 December 2014
3. 1,452,130 - 31 July 2014
4. 1,421,010 - 8 May 2015
5. 1,365,400 - 22 January 2015
• Fastest Act clearance - 11 seconds
• Fastest Act clearance with 10,000 bonus - 23 seconds
• Highest score after first 16 Acts - 221,880
• Total scores over 1,000,000 - 23
• Total scores in excess of current official world record - 9
The top 5 official Twin Galaxies high scores remain as follows:
1. 1,217,650 - Paul Hornitzky, 9 September 2012
2. 1,110,370 - Rodney Day, 13 August 1983
3. 809,990 - Kevin Leisner, 25 February 1983
4. 723,950 - Frank Lupia, 20 September 2008
5. 694,030 - Paul Elia, 31 March 1983
I have to confess I didn’t actually see the comments when they came in, so my profoundest apologies if you felt slighted by me not acknowledging them, especially where you asked a question! I will try and be more attentive - and recognise that this is not just all about me …
So, in a fairly lame attempt to make amends, and to bring you all up to date, the comments (in time/date order) were as follows, with my responses now added:
Sandman x - 13 January 2014 at 11:29
Any updates since this time? I love Pengo and recently have been able to play it via a 96 in 1 kit on Pac Man hardware. I absolutely suck at it but it's a game I'd like to get much better at.
PengoQuest: Yeah, sorry about the radio silence on the blog for a while there Sandman (or Mr/Ms/Mrs x?), but we’re well and truly back in business. Hopefully we haven’t lost you. I agree, it’s an engrossing game, and I hope your practice is going well. Would love to hear all about it one day.
Anonymous - 17 January 2014 at 12:59
You still on this quest? I'm on a similar mission myself. Surpassed 260,000 for the first time just recently, so still got a ways to go. It's a great game, it's teaching me about daily practice and the zen of dealing with game collision bugs (*breathe* the BUG IS PART OF THE GAME THE UNIVERSE ISN'T ALWAYS A FAIR PLACE!! *breathe*)
PengoQuest: Certainly am, Anonymous, and good to meet a fellow traveler/missionary. 260,000 is not a bad effort - but I agree, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Can I venture to suggest that at this stage of your development (unless of course you've really zoomed ahead in the time since you first left your comment), you’ve got to be concentrating on survival, especially in the last 4-6 Acts? Forget all about going for the 10,000’s there - it’s just too risky. I also found for those Acts that the key (like many things in life, really) is demonstrating courage! Don’t just stand back and wait for them to come to you. Get on the front foot and try to eat or kill as many as you can as quickly as you can. The longer each Act goes on, and the fewer blocks there are to hide behind, the greater the certainty that you’ll die - especially if there’s two or three of them still galloping around.
As for the other part of your comment, I hadn’t really thought about it that way, but whatever floats your boat!
Anonymous - 17 January 2014 at 13:05
Hey Sandman x I only found this blog today and I've got the same question! On a quiet quest of my own to get at least in the top five :)
PengoQuest: Go for it! Where do you play, if you don’t mind me asking? If it’s in a public place, I need to add it to my list of public Pengo machines (and future holiday destinations!).
Paul Elia - 20 January 2014 at 03:56
Thanks for this post. I am Paul Elia with the #5 score from 1983. I went to Twin Galaxies to look up some old scores of mine but the site is down. It seems that the company and its score keeping service are in new hands.
PengoQuest: Hey Paul! Welcome aboard, and great to hear from you! Of course, now that you’ve poked your head above the parapet, I’m going to have to ask you all about that fateful day - Thursday 31 March 1983, apparently on a machine at a Putt Putt Golf venue somewhere in the US - when you ascended to the podium of all time Pengo high scores. From what I can make out from some back issues of “Joystik” magazine that are available on-line, the official Pengo high score first appeared in their April 1983 edition, with a gentleman named Mark Robichek of Mountainview, California, credited with scoring 263,860 on 24 October 1982. Which can’t have been too long after the game was actually released - obviously a fast learner! The next edition, in July 1983, had Kevin Leisner of Racine, Wisconsin, listed as the record holder, with a score of 809,990 achieved on 25 February 1983. That score was also noted as the highest in the next couple of editions (in September 1983 and November 1983). Of course, Aussie Rod Day then amassed his score in August 1983 and the rest is history. My point being that in March 1983, when you were doing your stuff, yours was the second highest Pengo score ever achieved (and documented)! A magnificent effort. I’m sure we’d all love for you to share your memories of those couple of hours.
And for those of you interested in Joystik, the link is here - http://www.digitpress.com/library/magazines/joystik/joystik.htm Their April 1983 issue carries quite a lengthy report on Pengo, titled “The Arctic Antics of Pengo”. Worth a read, albeit some of the strategy advice they offer is a bit silly.
Scoring Update
While I’m here, I may as well update progress over the last little while. There hasn’t really been too much play to report since the last post, although I did happen to score a very nice 1,421,010 on 8 May after not having much sleep at all the previous evening. It’s now become my 4th highest score, as follows:
1. 1,884,380 - 21 February 2015
2. 1,548,250 - 6 December 2014
3. 1,452,130 - 31 July 2014
4. 1,421,010 - 8 May 2015
5. 1,365,400 - 22 January 2015
• Fastest Act clearance - 11 seconds
• Fastest Act clearance with 10,000 bonus - 23 seconds
• Highest score after first 16 Acts - 221,880
• Total scores over 1,000,000 - 23
• Total scores in excess of current official world record - 9
The top 5 official Twin Galaxies high scores remain as follows:
1. 1,217,650 - Paul Hornitzky, 9 September 2012
2. 1,110,370 - Rodney Day, 13 August 1983
3. 809,990 - Kevin Leisner, 25 February 1983
4. 723,950 - Frank Lupia, 20 September 2008
5. 694,030 - Paul Elia, 31 March 1983
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)