Over a year and a half ago, I set my high score in Donkey Kong at 298,200. I was SO close to 300K, but didn’t hit it. I haven’t been able to get close to that score at all since then. I took some time off from playing it because I was burning out.

Well, since tomorrow I am going to be playing some DK with with a few other collectors that live close by, I thought I’d better warm up. Played one game this morning. I only hit 92K on the first man, then I died twice on a barrel level at 140K. My last guy I made it over 300K finally. I was getting really nervous once I hit about 250K, and my hands were shaking at 280K. Still, I hit the milestone (barely) with a score of 300,600!

Here’s the screen shot:

I was so excited to hit the score that I ran upstairs to get my camera. Once I hit the top of the stairs I remembered I didn’t enter my initials in yet. I ran down but didn’t enter them quick enough before time ran out. Crap, now I have to beat it 5 times to fix that screw-up!

Just received a message recently from my friend Jodey Jansen about his new Donkey Kong high score. Jodey is another arcade game collector in my area, and the two of us have been pushing each other to get better at playing Donkey Kong. We’ve been back and forth, but Jodey has been clearly better than I am for a while now. This time, he’s really outdone himself. He passed 500,000 point and is creeping closer to hitting the Kill Screen. Congratulations Jodey, but watch your back!

This past weekend I just received some exciting news from Jeff Rothe of Coinopspace.com. COSP is going to host a live chat with Steve Wiebe. Steve is the Donkey Kong player profiled in the movie King of Kong. It is a great “documentary” about what it is like to try to challenge a long-time classic arcade game world record. I highly recommend the movie if you have not seen it! Steve is a great guy and it will be interesting to hear some of his stories about his life after making KOK.

Here’s the link to the event: Chat with Steve Wiebe

Also, make sure you sign up for an account on Coinopspace.com, even if you do not plan to attend the chat. It’s a great site that has several networking tools for classic arcade game collecting.

Here’s the promotional text from Coinopspace.com covering the event:

On April 15th 2009 Steve Wiebe will be on Coinopspace.com, participating in a live group chat even with Donkey Kong fans and general coin-op enthusiasts. Steve is the latest in a monthly series of live chat sessions that has seen the likes of Tim Skelly, Owen Rubin, Jeff Kulczycki and Brian Colin.

If you aren’t a Donkey Kong fan, and somehow have been living under a rock for the past two years, Steve Wiebe is one of the best Donkey Kong players in the world and starred in the movie King of Kong, a documentary about his quest for the top score. Steve has one of the only 1,000,000 point scores ever recorded in public, and is one heck of a nice guy to boot.
Coinopspace.com is a brand new website for arcade, pinball and console enthusiasts to connect and share stories. Coinopspace.com isn’t just a forum based website, but has every feature for sharing your collection and restoration hobby that you could possibly imagine. There are advanced customizable profiles, photo hosting, a live chat section obviously, hosted blogs, videos and so much more. In the coming months we hope to connect collectors with more arcade game and pinball creators to ask those questions about your favorite games you’ve been dying to know.

To participate in the Steve Wiebe chat you need to sign up for the website and then you can RVSP for the event at the following link:
http://www.coinopspace.com/events/creator-chat-steve-wiebe

You can view all upcoming creator chats and events on the events page at
http://www.coinopspace.com/events

Ask Steve all those questions you have after watching King of Kong, there may be no other better time!

ALMOST 300K! Tonight I just wrapped up a LONG game of Donkey Kong.

Here’s how I did:

Just passed 200K for the first time ever in Donkey Kong! Settled in for a nice 234,600. 300K, here I come!

I’m really increasing my score now, as I am beginning to learn some of the skills and tips from other players. I hit 193,800 this weekend! BUT…just like Steve Wiebe has Billy Mitchell, I have jsquared (KLOV name) who has to keep one step ahead of me. He just sent me notification of his 208,400 score. I’m coming for you Jodey!

Here’s a great viral video from G4TV for those of you who have seen “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters”

If you haven’t seend King of Kong yet, you have to see it. It really got me excited about making a run at my Donkey Kong high score. King of Kong is a documentary about a couple guys’ attempt to beat each others’ world record high scores in the original Donkey Kong arcade game. There are some “inaccuracies” and some supposed misrepresentation of some of the characters in the film, but overall it is an enteraining movie. If you watch it, make sure you Google some of the more recent information as well as some of the revealing truth behind the movie.

Click here to see more on The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Here are a couple links for more information, or more insight into KOK:

• The King of Kong Official Message Boards – Has some interesting debate on the validity of the movie. Some people are a bit “obsessive”!
• AV Club Billy Mitchell Interview – Great impromptu discussion with Mitchell about the facts of the movie
• TexasGeek.TV King of Kong “Director’s Cut” Clip – Nice video of further Wiebe exploits after Mitchell beat him yet again…

Just a quick note to mention that I received my replacement D2K kit. Tried it out, and it works perfectly. I’m going to play it for a week or so, then post a review of the kit and the game itself here on my blog.

I’ve only done one other Multi-game kit review so far, for Clay Cowgill’s Multi-Pac. Just reposted it on my site. Check back soon for more reviews, including D2K!

FINALLY beat my Donkey Kong high score tonight. I’ve had 115,100 as my high for the past six years. Now, I finally beat it.

As I continue focusing on one game in my collection each month, May is Donkey Kong Month! I picked DK because I just saw “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters” and was inspired to make a run on my high score. My current high score is 115,100, which I’ve held for about 6-7 years. Tied it before but never beat it. Last month, I beat my high score on Phoenix a couple times. I expect nothing less this month.

Here are a few links to get you in the Donkey Kong spirit!:

• Donkey Kong Flash Game – Seems to be an emulation. Pretty cool.
• The King of Kong Official Site – Very entertaining “documentary”. Some misrepresentation accusations, but overall a great flick!
• G4 TV King of Kong Broadcast Announcement – Here’s the planned broadcast.
• Donkey Kong Wikipedia Page – Great history.