There's a Donkey Kong Post Coming Up... If Anyone is Interested

Donkey Kong!

This classic arcade game is easily one of most famous arcade games, with Pac-Man probably being the only one that's even more well known. Donkey Kong was really Nintendo's first good game, and I'm glad it was a success. It lead to the creation of some of my favorite games, and some of the best video games of all time.

In 2007, this classic was reintroduced to many in the film 'The King of Kong,' featuring the 1980s high score champion Billy Mitchell, and recent competitor Steve Wiebe. After the film's release, many players started actively trying to see if they too could reach the infamous 'Kill Screen,' the final and impossible screen to beat. Many gamers, myself included, asked this question: "Is Donkey Kong really as difficult as they say?"

A short 'King of Kong' clip regarding the game's difficulty:

Donkey Kong has attracted enough attention that it branched out from Twin Galaxies (The authority on video game world records) and now even has its own website (Donkey Kong Forum) dedicated to Donkey Kong competition. The DKF has hosted a number of online tournaments with cash prizes. The last official online Donkey Kong tournament hosted by DKF took place this week, and the final results are just coming in. The competition was fierce with many top contenders, including current DK champions Robbie Lakeman and Dean Saglio in competition. Both competitors are aiming to beat the world record arcade score during the event and claim the $3000 bounty! Lots of cash prizes are up for grabs, and anyone can compete. I too decided to compete with the intent of reaching 1 million points. However, given that I'm not actively playing Donkey Kong, I figured I'd at least have some fun and put up whatever score I could manage for the last tournament.




The results are now in as I'm typing this, and there were definitely some unexpected and surprising results! This was the longest event with a total of 174 hours to play, which meant plenty of time for players to put up massive scores. Thank you John Salter and Eric Tessler for hosting this competition and congratulations to all the competitors for dominating the leaderboard. You guys rock!

Donkey Kong Open #6 Online Tournament Results:

1. Robbie Lakeman: 1,105,000: $300
2. Dean Saglio: 1,100,200: $250
3. Jeff Wolfe: 1,062,700: $200
4. Phil Tudose: 1,047,600: $150
5. Ethan Daniels: 1,041,100: $100
6. Wes Copeland: 1,029,000: $50
7. Vincent Lemay: 1,008,200: $40
8. Jason Wade: 972,100: $30
9. Mick Winzeler: 948,400: $20
10. Andrew Gardikis: 946,900 : $10

Now we have the Bounty winners:
* First 1 million point game: Ethan Daniels: $50 ( Daniel Desjardins)
* Most consecutive 2200 games (92): George Riley: $50 (Robbie Lakeman)
* NOTE: George also claimed 285, but no need to verify as 92 was the highest that was claimed by the players
* A special thanks goes out to Robbie Lakeman for this one smile emoticon
* Mystery bounty #1 (12th place): Martin Laing: $50
* Mystery bounty #2 (24th place): Scott Cunningham: $50
* Mystery bounty #3 (50th place): Brendan O'Dowd: $50
* Mystery bounty #4 (52nd place): Ky Staal: $50
* Mystery bounty #5 (56th place): Cynthia Tessler: $50 (congrats sis!!!)
* Mystery bounty #6: TBA 

Very surprising results! I am extremely impressed by just how many 1 million point scores there were, and just how close the competition was. These really are some of the most talented gamers in the world, and it was an honor to compete with the best. I was very satisfied with my performance. I somehow managed not only to best my personal high score, but also reach the kill screen, and even place on the top 10 scoreboard! I had a lot of fun, and I'm glad the community encouraged me to participate.

Special congrats to Ethan Daniels for reaching his first 1 million point game during the event and congratulations to the overall winner, Robbie Lakeman, for edging out Dean Saglio's score on the last quarter drop of the competition! Astounding results! Congrats everyone!

The last mystery bounty has yet to be announced, and I'm curious as to what exactly that is!