VGS Atari High Scores

[G-type 1,766]

Welcome to the Video Game Sage: Atari High Scores!

You can submit a score for any Atari game. Photos of your high scores are encouraged!
Unless otherwise specified, games are played on the default setting of 1/b/b

Badge Challenges:

Some Atari games (most famously Activision games) awarded patches for surpassing challenge scores. Throughout the year, I will highlight certain games by posting a challenge score for it. Anyone who beats that challenge will earn a badge graphic for that game next to their name below the scoreboard.

For 2022 We currently have:

To earn: score +200k (Game 6: Ultimate Yar's)

To earn: score +100k (game 1/b)

         To earn: score +15K (game 1/b)

    To earn: Score +100k (game 1/b)

To earn: Score +200 (game 1/b)

To earn: Score +60k (game 1/a)

                Q*bert's QUBES

 

I know not everyone has access to all these games. Here are some emulation tips:

to play in your browser (which is what I frequently do, as it is the most convenient), there is Javatari which can be found at a few places:

http://www.virtualatari.org/

http://www.2600online.com/

https://www.retrogames.cz

If you want to download an emulator, I recommend Stella: https://stella-emu.github.io/

You can also use a USB joystick when playing on emulator. I use and recommend the Hyperkin Trooper 2.

You can also find many of these games via various Flashback and plug-n-play devices.

To understand rules and scoring, its a good idea to check the manual: http://www.digitpress.com/library/manuals/atari2600/

Game	Score	Name	Settings	Challenge
ACTIVISON				Patch Score
Frostbite	153,380	Red		40k
	101,020	G-Type
Robot Tank	64	G-Type		48, 60, 72
Pressure Cooker	23,945	G-type		45K
	10,630	barrelsAndRivets
H.E.R.O	98,235	PII		75K
H.E.R.O	75,015	G-Type		75K
H.E.R.O	19,235	Loxx O)))
Private Eye	99,174	G-Type	#3/a/a 4sec	Case 3
River Raid II	156,550	G-Type	1/a/b	60k
River Raid	67,520	acromite53		15k
	23,790	G-type
	23,180	Loxx O)))
Enduro	(day4) 4,491	Loxx O)))		5 days
Crackpots	52,560	G-Type		75k
Beamrider	73,074	acromite53		40k,60k
	44,786	G-Type
Dolphin	126,300	G-Type		80k, 300k
Dolphin	81,770	CasualCart
Chopper Command	15,200	JeramiahJT		10k
	11,100	G-Type
	10,500	laddersandcakes
Stampede	5,330	profholt82	3/b/b	3k
	4,739	G-Type
	4,248	JeramiahJT
Kaboom (Expert)	4,839	acromite53	1/a	3k
	1,988	Bert
	1,986	barrelsAndRivets
Kaboom (Novice)	12,779	acromite53	1/b	3k
	2,366	profholt82
"Catching a thousand"				1k with no drops
Pitfall	113,847	JeremiahJT		20k
	85,619	acromite53		20k
	27,362	Loxx O)))		20k
Pitfall II	161,437	JeremiahJT		99k
Skiing	28.12	JeremiahJT	3/b	28.2
	28.17	CasualCart
Keystone Kapers				35k
Megamania	122,620	acromite53		45k
	51,620	behemos		45k
Double Dragon	132,000	JeremiahJT
Seaquest	199,970	acromite53		50k
	66,130	mbd39
	58,820	Loxx O)))
Spider Fighter	237,800	laddersandcakes	1/a	40k
	96,010	acromite53
	53,740	CasualCart	1/b
	49,490	CasualCart	1/a
	49,370	mbd39
Laser Blast	1,000,000	G-Type		100k, 1mil
	157,680	Loxx O)))
Sky Jinks	0:36:58	CasualCart		0:37:00
Starmaster	3,953	JeremiahJT	ensign
	5,811	JeremiahJT	leader
Kung Fu Master	110,160	acromite53		45k
	48,520	G-Type
Ghostbusters	$15,600	JeremiahJT
Barnstorming	33.09	CasualCart	#1
Barnstorming	50.78	CasualCart	#2
Barnstorming	53.54	CasualCart	#3
ATARI
Air-Sea Battle	32	Loxx O)))
Asteroids	129.049	acromite53	4/a/a	69k "Beat Tyler"
Asteroids	34,230	JeremiahJT
Battlezone	59,000	G-Type		75k patch score
Battlezone	40,000	Loxx O)))
Berzerk			9/b/b
Centipede	86,046	laddersandcakes
Centipede	84,439	acromite53
Defender	335,550	G-type		200k
Defender	333,000	CasualCart
Defender	320,050	Stan
Defender	48,950	laddersandcakes	1/a
Dig Dug	63,675	G-Type
Dodge Em	154	Bert
Galaxian	49,250	laddersandcakes
Galaxian	48,760	acromite53
Galaxian	30,730	D2K
Galaxian Perfect Wave		JeremiahJT		3,920 (wave 1)
Galaxian Perfect Wave		acromite53
Galaxian Perfect Wave		G-Type
Gremlins	73,580	Bert
Joust
Jr. Pac-Man
Jungle Hunt	19,480	barrelsAndRivets	1/a
Mario Bros.	96,900	G-Type		90k
Mario Bros.	96,300	JeremiahJT
Millipede	133,040	G-Type
Missile Command	88,390	acromite53
Missile Command	22,165	G-Type
Moon Patrol	26,700	G-Type
Ms. Pac-Man	76,340	acromite53
Pac-Man	999,999	G-type	6/b/b
Phoenix	107,780	acromite53
Phoenix	23,560	CasualCart
Phoenix	16,430	mbd39
Space Invaders	10,510	profholt82
Space Invaders	6,870	leatherrebel5150
Space Invaders	3,565	acromite53
Star Raiders	Ace 3 , Pilot 3	JeremiahJT	lvl 10, lvl 20
Vanguard	135,640	CasualCart
	18,180	Loxx O)))
Yars Revenge	211,416	G-Type	6/b	200k
Yars Revenge	201,643	Makar	6/b
Yars Revenge	51,050	mbd39
PARKER BROS.
Reactor	78,833	G-type		200k "Charlie Heath"
Q*bert	71,700	JeremiahJT	1/a/a
	56,425	acromite53
	46,775	mbd39
Q*bert's Qubes	3,291,480	PII	1/a/a	60k
Q*bert's Qubes	96,375	G-type	1/a/a	60k
Frogger	2,258	barrelsAndRivets	1/a/-
	1,884	acromite53
Frogger 2	6,922	G-type		5k
Empire Strkes Back	2,247	behemos
	1,961	JeremiahJT
	1,527	Loxx O)))
Return of the Jedi	2,002	Loxx O)))
Gyruss	87,300	G-Type
Popeye	28,500	G-Type		20k
	17,300	JeremiahJT
Sky Skipper	7,150	JeremiahJT
COLECO
Donkey Kong	85,200	acromite53		50k
	61,000	G-Type
	40,100	JeremiahJT
Donkey Kong Jr.	89,900	acromite53		60k
	82,200	G-Type
	80,500	JeremiahJT
Mr. Do!
Mouse Trap	20,049	G-Type
	4,238	acromite53
CBS
Mountain King	102,470	DefaultGen		100k
	98,740	G-Type
GORF	16,000	acromite53		15k Medal
	15,600	CasualCart
	7,100	G-Type
Solar Fox
"Solar Fox Rocks"				Complete all six challenge racks for the secret word
Wizard of Wor	33,500	G-Type		30k Medal
Blueprint	2,575	G-Type
"Too Many Secrets"				Hit Ollie with the gun eight times, then unscramble the word.
IMAGIC				Expert Score
Atlantis				125k
Cosmic Ark	14,250	leatherrebel5150		30k
Cosmic Ark	12,590	CasualCart
Demon Attack	101,890	acromite53		100k
Demon Attack	27,410	laddersandcakes
Dragonfire	2,170	G-type's son		25k
Laser Gates	38,039	acromite53
No Escape				10k
Star Voyager	captain	JeremiahJT		35
Subterranea	10,889	G-type		15k
SEGA
Tapper	80,000	acromite53
Tapper	64,750	G-Type
Tac-Scan	135,800	G-Type
Tac-Scan	75,100	laddersandcakes
TELESYS
Coconuts	3,620	acromite53
US GAMES
Squeeze Box	6,460	acromite53
Name this game	6,110	barrelsAndRivets	1/a
XONOX
Sir Lancelot	203,410	Loxx O)))
Avalon Hill
Death Trap	32,136	G-Type		Beat the game
M-NETWORK
Space Attack			1/a/a	Beat the game
Astroblast	5,460	Loxx O)))
Tron Deadly Discs	33,265	Loxx O)))
Adventures of Tron	60,800	G-type
	24,000	Loxx O)))
20th Century Fox
Porkys
Worm War I	144,840	laddersandcakes
	119,620	G-type	1/a
	19,705	acromite53
Alien
Turmoil	127,360	CasualCart		100k
	82,170	G-type
	46,790	mbd39
TigerVision
Marauder	38,960	G-type
Beany Bopper	100,680	CasualCart
SpectraVision
Planet Patrol	10,470	CasualCart

 

Edited January 24 by G-type

[G-type 1,766]

Lets kick things off with our first spotlight challenge, Nintendo games on Atari:

In addition to the highscores chart, I'm going to keep leaderboard stats to track the participation of these challenges. For the month of November, beat the challenge score to earn a badge for that game next to your name (each worth +1 point). Simply playing all 7 games will earn you the bonus Nintari Championship badge (+3 points)

You have until midnight (VGS time) December 7 to post scores for this.

Sky Skipper - Challenge score 10k

Popeye - Challenge score 20k

Donkey Kong - Challenge score 50k

Donkey Kong Jr - Challenge Score 60k

Mario Bros. - Challenge Score 90k

Princess Rescue - (Super Mario Bros homebrew) Challenge Score: 90k (+2 more points if you beat the whole game)

https://atariage.com/forums/topic/215058-princess-rescue-binaries-released/

Kung Fu Master - challenge score: 45k

(this is a port of the IREM arcade game, but since R&D1 did the NES port and its a black box game, I'm counting it)

Let me know if anyone needs me to link to a browser-based emulator for any of these games.

 

Edited December 6, 2019 by G-type

[acromite53 335]

Good stuff! Thanks for putting these together. I'll be playing with y'all on this. I haven't played the Atari in a while. Luckily I recently acquired Kung Fu master which I haven't tried out yet.

Question about difficulty switches. I see we are going by B. Would you consider that the default? I've seen it referred to as both. Asteroids calls A the advanced/expert game. Q bert calls A Normal game.

[G-type 1,766]

Yes, Game 1 / B / B will be the default settings unless otherwise specified. B is sometimes also referred to as Novice and A as Expert. There may be a few instances where the difficulty switches do not follow this rule, but according to the manual, Q*bert is not an exception: http://www.digitpress.com/library/manuals/atari2600/qbert.pdf

[barrels 124]

Just now, G-type said:

Yes, Game 1 / B / B will be the default settings unless otherwise specified. B is sometimes also referred to as Novice and A as Expert. There may be a few instances where the difficulty switches do not follow this rule, but according to the manual, Q*bert is not an exception: http://www.digitpress.com/library/manuals/atari2600/qbert.pdf

Could you remind me of the equivalent of 1/B/B on an Atari 7800? I think it's reversed but can never keep this straight.

[G-type 1,766]

25 minutes ago, barrels said:

Could you remind me of the equivalent of 1/B/B on an Atari 7800? I think it's reversed but can never keep this straight.

[barrels 124]

Either my main one doesn't have labels or I've somehow ignored them for years  thanks @G-type

[G-type 1,766]

the labels were added to the photo for reference 

[G-type 1,766]

Some donkey kong tips: Use the hammer on the barrel levels, you get 800 points for smashing each barrel vs 100 for jumping them. On the rivet level, save the hammer for last so you can maximize your time bonus, (since there's only 1 thing to hammer) Pretty straight forward. The only thing that really screws me up is fireballs randomly changing direction as I'm trying to jump over them.

[Lincoln 230]

I'm gonna fire up some HERO tonight. One of my favorite games ever.

[acromite53 335]

I had some time to play Donkey Kong today. Here's my best so far: 85,200

[G-type 1,766]

Got the hang of Popeye

[G-type 1,766]

[G-type 1,766]

[G-type 1,766]

Each challenge is intended to be a month challenge. Because the Ninatari Challenge didn't start on the Nov.1  to get a full month, I'm extending the deadline to Decemeber 7. Post ANY score for all 7 games to earn your participation point. The challenge scores will still be applicable throughout the year to earn a challenge badge with your high score. New challenge for December coming tomorrow.

[G-type 1,766]

I feel like I should be able to do better than this, but there's something about the randomness that always gets me.

[G-type 1,766]

December Challenge: Sequels

There weren't a ton of part 2's for the Atari library, and the ones that were made tend to be overshadowed by the more well known original.

You have until midnight (VGS time) Decemeber 31, to post your scores to earn badges.

Pitfall 2: challenge score 99k  (199k perfect score)

River Raid 2: Challenge score 60k (Game 1/a/b)

Frogger 2: Challenge score 5k

Qberts Qubes: Challenge score 60k (GAME 1/A/A)

Edited December 24, 2019 by G-type

[G-type 1,766]

Frogger 2 is pretty confusing unless you look in the manual to see what is safe to step and what is dangerous.

Each level consists of 3 screens:

underwater

Safe: Sea Turtle

Danger: everything else

get bubbles for points

goal: fill the berths in the 3 logs

advance to next surface by landing on a non-hole section of log

Surface

everything is safe except the boat, the hippos when standing, or the mama duck if she catches you riding on her babies

turtles and whales dive intermittently and lilly pads disappear when you step off them.

goal: fill the life preserver berth dragging behind the boat

jump in water to get to previous screen, or jump on mama duck to advance to the air

Air

jump and get progressively higher with each hop

get butterflies for points

Safe: Zepplins, birds

Danger: Dragons, Airplanes, bats, black edges

Goal: Get into the cloud berth

fall through hole in bouncy cloud to return to the surface.

[G-type 1,766]

How do your kung fu skills transfer from NES to Atari? I kind of suck at both, but I've at least looped the NES version. Here, I only made it to the 3rd floor.

Edited December 6, 2019 by G-type

[acromite53 335]

57 minutes ago, G-type said:

 

How do your kung fu skills transfer from NES to Atari? I kinda of suck at both, but I've at least looped the NES version. Here, I only made it to the 3rd floor.

I can loop the NES game as well. I'm still new to Atari Kung Fu. I've only played it twice so far. So I'm still getting a hang of the controls. I have to say that I'm really impressed with this version of the game. I think its really good. 

[acromite53 335]

110,160

I think I died on the final boss. Level 5 is hard. Fun game. If you want to maximize points, use the crouching punch.

[captmorgandrinker 1,539]

Kung Fu Master and Pitfall II had the lead for broken Atari controllers at my house.

[G-type 1,766]

I cleared out all the old patch graphics, and will be doing it in a separate gallery now, just below the scoreboard. To encourage participation in the monthly challenges, only games featured in the spotlight challenges will you be able to earn badges. High scores for any game can still be posted at any time

[G-type 1,766]

Frogger II

Took me a while to beat the challenge score.  I think I probably could go even higher but I want to focus on the other games for the rest of the month

[G-type 1,766]

A late update for Q*berts Qubes. Make sure you switch to Difficulty A to start from level 1!! (I just learned this after struggling for a bit) Difficulty B starts at level 6. (this is the inverse of the traditional difficulty switch usage)

The qube in the upper left is a model of what you are trying to rotate the others to match. (4 in a row)

unlike the arcade version, you don't get a visual of the cube actually rotating, (it just flashes color) but the cube DOES rotate to a new side, it will rotate in whichever direction you jump off.

A strategy that is work for me is to go for the cubes that have one of the 2 front facing sides match, and then spin the cube on whichever axis will maintain that face until the rest matches.

try to avoid the 2  cubes in the 2nd row from the top as much as possible, as this is where the enemies spawn.

on the bonus rounds, you spin each cube freely (without hopping away until you've made it match).

I'm starting to get much better at this, but in retrospect, I may have set the challenge score too high. (I typically set challenge scores by aligning it to the median score posted in the Atariage High Scores contest).

 

 

Edited December 20, 2019 by G-type