The 2011 Classic Arcade Gaming (dot com) Contest   July 2011, Santa Clara, California

Introduction    (click here to skip to table of contents)

     The first-ever Classic Arcade Gaming (dot com) Contest to be held in California will take place at this year's California Extreme show.  Located in Santa Clara, the one day contest will take place the afternoon and evening of Saturday, July 9th, and features a guaranteed purse of $140 in cash awards, on four classic arcade game titles - Donkey Kong, Xevious, Millipede, and Black Widow.  There will be the potential for more cash awards, if the number of entrants is large enough.  The contest hours will be 2 to 8 PM, but (of course) the CE show will open earlier, and close later, than those times.

    Big thanks goes out to Paul Dean, who, after five years of running his annual high score contest, has turned the reigns over to me (Mark Alpiger).  I will carry on his ideal of having a contest on an array of classic arcade titles, and giving out numerous prizes, such that most any player of good skill has a chance to win a prize (and, at the very least, have a lot of competitive fun !).

Who will be there    (click here to go to table of contents)

    In addition to the usual regulars from Paul Dean's contest over the past 5 years, likely entrants will be a number of the CE event regulars that are fans of the great hobby of classic arcade gaming.  Four pre-registrants, who signed up on or before June 30, received the special privilege of being able to suggest one (for the $5 entry fee) or two (for the $10 entry fee) game titles from the original list of 17 game choices, and those games were put into prioritized consideration for the choices of the final four titles that have been picked to appear in the contest.  Other titles that were listed as preferences were used to help determine substitute game titles, which will be used if there is a game failure, or unavailability of a title.  All of this information can be found in the game listing table further down the page.

    Currently, 8 players have signed up for the event, with many more to come !  Games that are listed under a currently signed-up entrant show the game title(s) that they chose as a preference to potentially appear in the final four contest game titles.  If no title appears, then that means the player signed up after the deadline to be able to list their preference(s).  Titles in the table below that are shown in green are one of the four finalized contest titles, and titles in blue are one of the four substitute game titles, which will be used in case of problems with any of the four selected contest games.

    Be sure to sign up ASAP, and you can take part in a contest featuring the hobby's top players, plus get a chance to win cash prizes, and have a meet and greet with Mark Alpiger (yours truly) from The King of Kong movie.

Reasons to attend    (click here to go to table of contents)

    As most of you already know, the California Extreme show features a plethora of rare, and prototype, game titles that you won't see anywhere else !  But, while you should come out for that, plus the hundreds of game titles, naturally this contest is another reason to attend CE !  As always for all CAGDC contests, you'll find that:

    .  the contest games will be working properly

    .  contest results will be updated throughout the event, so everyone can keep track of their place

    .  all contest games will be set at factory default settings, for consistency and play difficulty that most players are used to

Contest format    (click here to go to table of contents)

    The format of the event is very simple - play as few, or as many, of the four contest games as you like, in an attempt to make the best score possible.  There is a choice of entry fee - for a modest $5, and you can play one (and only one) of the contest titles as much as you like (as it's available, of course), and for $10, you can play all four of the contest titles (which are listed in the table below).

  You will turn in your scores as you make better ones on each title, though it should be noted that there is a minimum 'threshold' score for all titles that must be topped in order to turn in your initial score.  Also note that all games are set to free play, so no quarters are necessary !  Keep in mind that, of course, you do have to pay to enter the California Extreme show, in addition to my contest fees... just a notation, for the newbies !

    Now to the prizes !  At the end of the contest, the first place player on each title will win a $20 cash prize.  Second place garners $10, and third will receive $5.  Note that if we have enough entrants such that the entry fees total more than the guaranteed prize purse, then the additional monies will be added in, in a proportional amount, to each of the 12 game place prizes !

Contact info for the organizer(s)    (click here to go to table of contents)

    For any questions on contest-related matters, you may contact me (Mark Alpiger) by going to the e-mail link in the next-to-last paragraph below.

Information for travelers    (click here to go to table of contents)

    Now, lets touch on an important issue to many contestants (especially those traveling into the area from out of town) - the locality information.  The location is near the center of Santa Clara, which is adjacent to San Jose (and their International airport, which most travelers use, versus the other two San Francisco area airports).

    Alright - on to the local eateries !  In addition to a restaurant inside the show's Hyatt hotel location, up the street (take a right out of the hotel property) a couple of blocks, and on the left, is a strip mall that features Taco Bell (a fave of mine !), and a sandwich shop.  If you go left out of the hotel instead, there are numerous eateries alongside the road for about a mile's distance.  Click here for the listings of all the restaurants in the immediate area.

    Most contestants won't be needing overnight accommodations, as they'll either stay at the Hyatt, or will be local to the area. But in case someone does, there's a number of other locations in the immediate area.  Click here for listings.

Prize purse and entry fee info    (click here to go to table of contents)

    As mentioned above, the four contest games will each have guaranteed cash prizes of $20, $10, and $5, respectfully, for entrants placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd on the title.  In addition, a gaming DVD, courtesy of Classic Arcade Gaming (dot com), will be given out to a non-winning contestant of Mark Alpiger's choice.  And, last but not least, as noted above, if the entry fees received are larger than the prize payout listed above, then the additional monies will be added in, in a proportional whole number amount, to each of the 12 game place prizes.  Prizes will be awarded in a ceremony shortly following the 8 PM close of the contest.  You must either be at the ceremony, or have a PayPal account, to receive your prize; otherwise, the prize is forfeited.

    The $10, or $5, entry fee noted above may be sent via PayPal (credit cards are accepted if you don't have a PayPal account), with the final deadline day for receipt being on Thursday, July 7th.  The entry fee can also be paid at the contest area on Saturday, July 9th, and must be in cash.

    As mentioned above, pre-registrants that sign up on or before June 30 will receive the special privilege of being able to suggest one (for the $5 entry fee) or two (for the $10 entry fee) game titles from the game listing table below, and those games will be put into prioritized consideration for the choices of the final four titles that will appear in the contest.  You may make note of your game preferences in the comments box that appears under the PayPal button on this page.

Final notes    (click here to go to table of contents)

    Well, that sums up the contest, and should address most questions or issues regarding the event.  If you feel there is something that I haven't covered on this page, then you may with your question, or even send a suggestion.  Up-to-the-day information can always be found on this page, and also on the CAGDC forums, in this thread.

    The date of this page's last update was July 7th, 2011.  Keep checking back for further updates, and, most of all, come out and support both the event, and classic arcade gaming !

Game listing table    (click here to go to table of contents)

Arcade and event hours listing    (click here to go to table of contents)

Online entry fee payment links    (click here to go to table of contents)

Contest entry fee choices; choose one Compete on all 4 contest games $10.00 Compete on 1 contest game only $5.00

After picking the correct choice from the drop-down menu, click the 'Buy Now' button at left to pay the appropriate fee for the 2011 Classic Arcade Gaming (dot com) Contest, via PayPal (using a credit card, or a PayPal account).  After Thursday, July 7th, you must pay all fees in person, in cash, at the contest location on the day of the contest (Saturday the 9th). There are two payment choices for the contest: $10 to be able to play, and turn in scores, for all four contest games; or $5, to be able to play, and turn in scores, for one (and only one) contest game.  Note that if you choose the $10 option, you do not have to play or turn in scores for all four games, but you may if you wish to. Note that all payments are non-refundable, even if game title changes take place - no exceptions, unless the event is cancelled.

A view of the event    (click here to go to table of contents)

 
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