Video game wizards are competing in Victoria this weekend for a North American title and the chance of getting their names into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Thousands of contestants are taking part simultaneously in nine cities across North America today and Sunday, said Guinness video game editor Walter Day, in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Johnny Zee’s Family Fun Centre on Shelbourne Street is the only Canadian site for the challenge.

It was selected, said Day, because of the variety and newness of euipment and because of it’s “good following among local kids and excellent rapport with the community.”

More than 50 out-of-town experts are matching their wits and stamina in the three-day marathon, which includes 60 different electronic games.

Superstar players Chris Emery, 15, or Winnipeg, Dwayne Richards, 15, or Grande Prairie, Alta., and Darren Olson, 21, of Calgary, who together have about half a dozen world records, are seeking more.

Olsen was recently seen on the TV program That’s Incredible, where he took third prize among some of America’ best.

He took second place recently at the North American Video Olympics in Iowa and racked up 1.2 million points Friday on Centipede game – a world record.

“It’s a real challenge,” said Olson.  “It’s you against the computer.  You’ve got to look for flaws in the system, analyze them and try to exploit them.”

He said the video games helped him with math and physics courses at school and will be an advantage at the computer science course he plans to take at university.

“I look upon the brain as a muscle.  This is great exercise for it.”

According to John Zanic, owner of Johnny Zee’s, there are a couple of Victoria teenagers in contention as well, but it’s a question of how they will hold up under stiff competition and stress.

After hosting the North American Guinness challenge, he intends making his arcade a site for the World Video Game Challenge which draws contestants from as far away as Italy and Japan.

Most of the approved games have been set to levels of increased difficulty with limits on the number of lives, or mistakes, a player can have.

The contests are testing skill and endurance, said Zanic.

The only exception is the Nibbler game which will focus on all-out stamina.  Competitors must beat a billion-point record established recently.  It could take hours.

While old favorites such as Bubbles, Berzerk, Defender and Frogger are among the 60 contest games, it is the new co-ordination benders such as Mappy, Centipede and Crossbow that have drawn most attention.

The competition, which started Friday, continues at 1 p.m. today and Sunday.  Today’s play will finish at 11:30 p.m. and the competition will end at 10 p.m. Sunday.

All competitors have three chances at each game and their best score is taken.

Source: Times-Colonist, June 30, 1984