End of month high scores - 30 June 2013

My top 5 scores since comeback:

   1.   1,017,250   8 June 2013

   2.   1,005,030   26 May 2013

   3.   991,350   5 May 2013

   4.   806,980   22 June 2013

   5.   684,970   7 April 2013

 

Fastest Act clearance - 11 seconds

Fastest Act clearance with 10,000 bonus - 24 seconds

Total scores over 500,000 - 14

 

Top 5 official Twin Galaxies high scores:

 

   1.   1,217,650   Paul Hornitzky   10 July 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 you will see, I decided to add to these statistics the total number of times I’ve scored over 500,000 since my comeback, given that the half million mark seems to be a barrier of sorts for the more skilled Pengo player. I note particularly that the sixth highest score on Pengo - as recorded by Twin Galaxies - is only 460,650 made by a gentleman named Terry Tanaka on 2 July 1985. This is some 200,000 behind the fifth highest scorer.

 

So with that in mind, I am now up to 14 scores over 500,000. The two most recent occurred yesterday, with a 594,730 (ending in Act 13 of the 4^th set), and a 568,860 (ending in Act 9 of the 4^th set). Reasonably good scores, I suppose, but both were a few steps down from my more substantial efforts earlier in the month.

 

Now with an otherwise quiet June out of the way, I am looking forward to a significantly more active and productive PengoQuest in July and August.

 

And finally, a very happy anniversary, in advance, to Paul Hornitsky. His world record Pengo score turns one on 10 July 2013. I doubt very much that I'll get the opportunity to play - or blog - again before that date, so your record is safe from me, at least.

 

Good job!

 

Chipping away

Managing to fit in just one game of Pengo in over two weeks - which is what I did yesterday - has been a little disappointing, although I suppose you take it when you can get it.

The moment I finished the opening Act in yesterday’s game in a new record time (for me) of 11 seconds, I could feel immediately I was onto something. Perhaps the two week break had freshened me up. Whatever it was, I ended up with a very respectable final score of 806,980.

What’s more, as I sensed going along, it turned out to be quite an aggressive scoring game. My average Act score of about 10,090 points sustained over 80 Acts for this game compares very favourably with an average Act score of slightly under 9,250 points in my highest scoring game of 1,017, 250, which lasted for 110 Acts. An average of over 10,000 points per Act for that length of game is no mean feat (even if I say so myself!), and requires the diamond blocks to be lined up (to get the 10,000 point bonus) in just about three out of every four Acts.

The individual set scores this time around were 171,700 for the first 16 Acts, 136,960 for the second, 176,700 for the third, 173,690 for the fourth and 147,930 for the incomplete fifth set.

This time, the machine ‘clocked’ at 655,350, slightly higher than the high-score on its counter of 655,310, which I'd set previously. So the final score was 655,350 + 151,630.

I lost my Pengos at Act 6 in the third set, Act 16 in the fourth set, and - annoyingly - twice in Act 16 just as I was about to make a start on the sixth set and perhaps get my third seven-figure score in almost as many games.

Overall, it was a strong effort, and with my heavy scoring over the last six weeks whilst having only played a handful of games, I am quietly confident of soon eclipsing Mr Hornitsky’s 1,217,650 world mark (the first anniversary of which is coming up). That is, as soon as (a) I can get a bit more time to focus on it, and (b) I get my hands on a machine that has the regulation six Pengos, not the four I’ve been confined to on the museum’s machine since this quest began a few short months ago.

And on both those fronts, dear reader, I expect to be able to report to you some very good news in the very near future.

Another million

A new high score, and my second million point game since the comeback. This time - 1,017,250.

 

It came in the fourth game I’d played in the past week or so. On the first weekend, I reached scores of just 289,560 and 294,430, and in the first game this weekend, scored a very modest 331,990. I gave myself one more game to get a decent score, and that’s what happened.

 

That million point game ended in Act 14 of the seventh set. Overall, I’d completed 109 Acts and died for the fourth and final time in the 110^th. While I didn’t make a note of it, the entire game must have lasted around two and a half hours.

 

It was also probably the biggest winning margin in the history of Pengo. Zackomba was Player 2 in the game, but when his turn came around, he was engrossed in his iPad game. He did manage to break himself away when his third and final Pengo came up, and chewed an ice-block just to get some points on the board. But I’d be surprised if there’s been a more lop-sided scoreline in a two-player game than 1,017,250 to 30!

 

For the aficionados, the set scores were 131,760 for the first 16 Acts, 150,500 for the second, 173,840 for the third, 132,090 for the fourth and 151,010 for the fifth. Probably because I was so relieved to have cleared it, I forgot to record the score at the end of the sixth set, albeit it was 900,890 after Act 2 of the seventh set. Again the machine ‘clocked’ at 655,310, so the final score was 655,310 + 361,940.

 

I lost my Pengos at Act 14 in the first set, Act 13 in the third set, Act 6 in the sixth set (a stupid mistake - too greedy looking for the 10,000 bonus), and finally at Act 14 in the seventh set. As it happened, the end of the game coincided with chucking-out time at the museum, so if I hadn’t died when I did, the increasingly stern look on the security guard’s face suggested that the machine was going to be switched off very quickly afterwards.

 

The icing on the cake during the game was breaking my record for the fastest completed Act while achieving the 10,000 point bonus. My new record of 24 seconds (down from 25 seconds) was achieved during Act 2 of the fifth set.