| 2/20/2006 | Kelly Tharp vs. Q*Bert at Challenge Arcade
Is Kelly Tharp Tough Enough for Q*bert? Watch out, Mousetrap is Next! | |
Click
on the poster at
left to see a larger version and then click again on the larger version
to
see an even larger image. This poster was specially commissioned by
the Challenge Arcade to honor Kelly Tharp's WORLD RECORD
ATTEMPT.
This poster, once again, is from the talented C.J. Hoose, of Fairfield,
Iowa, the talented singer/songwriter turned graphic
artist. To see all of C.J. Hoose's past posters, go to POSTERS.
Wyomissing, PA - February 20,
2006
-- Kelly Tharp, of Sellersburg, Indiana, will be
marathoning Q*bert at the
nationally-famous Challenge Arcade in the Reading, Pennsylvania area
for a three-day stint starting on February 20, 2006.
Kelly Tharp has already won his way into the gaming history books by
taking the Tapper Marathon crown on December 4th in Humble, Texas
during
the highly-acclaimed "Legends of the Golden Age" classic gamers
reunion. Kelly lasted 18 hours, scoring 9,437,400 points to beat
the 9,100,175-point mark set by Famington, NY's Greg Erway on June 20,
2003.
Since the beginning of organized video game playing, Q*Bert has been
recognized as the most difficult game to marathon for great lengths of
time. Due to its bizarre array of colorful screens, the game play is
harder on the eyes than any other game of the "Golden Age" of arcade
classics, and countless players have failed to beat the 22-year-old
world record of 33,273,520 points set by Bob Gerhardt of Lloydminster,
Alberta, Canada on November 28, 1983.
If successful, his marathon will take approximately 72 hours,
starting on the afternoon of Monday, February 20, playing on only one
quarter. During that time, he will be required to record on videotape
his entire performance and also submit to a drug test immediately
after
the game's completion. The tape and drug test will be evaluated by
the editors of Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of
World Records.
"Most players can only handle one or two marathons in their career,"
says Walter Day Chief Scorekeeper at Twin Galaxies and editor of the
Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records. "If Kelly
beats
Q*bert in addition to his prior victory over Tapper, he will attain a
level of prestige few players will ever reach."
Apparently, Kelly is an old hand at marathoning games. Though his past
accomplishments were never verified by Twin Galaxies, he reports
prodigious scores on important titles: Jungle Hunt (521,620 points),
Mousetrap (18,000,000 points), Q*bert (12,800,000 points), Burgertime
(3,800,000 points), Battlezone (1.1 million points) and Robotron
(27,000,000 points). He also claims to have finished Crystal Castles,
Galaga, Kick Man, Pac Man, Paperboy, Dragons Lair1&2, Space Ace
Cliffhanger and Marble Madness.
The Challenge Arcade is located at the Berkshire Mall, 1665 State Hill
Road, Wyomissing, PA 19610 (Reading area). Their phone number is
610-376-1650. The Challenge Arcade will be conducting an arcade
championship during the weekend of March 17-19, 2006. Among the many
games in their collection are the following titles:
Classic video
titles:
1943, Asteroids, Baby Pac-Man, BadLands, Bubble Bobble, Crystal
Castles, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, Donkey Kong 3, Frogger,
Galaga, Missile Command (cabaret), Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man, Paperboy,
Pengo, PlayChoice-10, Pole Position II, Punch-Out !!, Road Runner, Star
Wars, Tempest, Track & Field, and Xenophobe.
Classic laser
titles: Dragon's Lair, Dragon's Lair II, and
Super Don Quix-ote.
Modern video
titles:
CarnEvil, Die Hard Arcade, Killer Instinct 2, Megatouch XL, Mortal
Kombat 4, Need for Speed GT, Neo-Geo two-slot (with Bust-A-Move and
Samurai Shodown), Neo-Geo six-slot (with Metal Slug X, Nightmare in the
Dark, Strikers 1945 Plus, Super Dodge Ball, SNK vs. CAPCOM SVC Chaos,
and The King of Fighters 10th Anniversary), NFL Blitz 2000 Gold Edition
/ NBA Showtime, Police Trainer, Police Trainer 2, Raiden II, ROLLing
eX.tre.me, Street Fighter II, Super Puzzle Fighter II X,
Tekken
Tag Tournament, Tenth Degree, The House of the Dead, The Punisher, The
Simpsons, Virtua Cop, X-men vs. Street Fighter, and Zombie
Raid.
Pinball
titles: Baby Pac-Man, Grand Prix, Orbitor I,
Rescue 911, Star Wars, Strikes N' Spares, Vampire, Viper Night
Drivin'.
Non-vid/pin
titles:
Beatmania complete MIX, billiards (pool table), Cosmo Ball (skeeball),
Dance Dance Revolution Extreme Plus, Hotflash (air hockey),
ParaParaDancing, and Top Dawg.
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