socrates63

Chopper Command patch score is a very achievable 10,000. You cleared 56k! I just managed 11k 🙂

I updated the table with qualifying scores from the River Raid squad challenge. @nosweargamer you posted a higher score in the squad challenge, so I updated your score.

I updated the table with the scores posted in the Chopper Command squad challenge thread. I added scores for @TrekMD, @dauber, and @Atari 5200 Guy as well.

10 DAYS ⁉️ You da champ! I don't think I've ever cleared more than 2.

9,961 good enough for the Silver medal patch in Activision Decathlon. It's always one event that holds me back from breaking 10k for gold -- usually the hurdles. My arms and hands are now tired. I think I'm done for the day 🙂

Activision Decathlon Atari 2600 Difficulty: Default, B/B High Score: 9,961 September 4, 2020

I'm on a roll -- got my patch for Chopper Commander. Only 11,900 (less than 1/10 of NSR and RickR's scores 😮) -- this was a fairly easy one although the difficulty seems to ramp up pretty quick near the 10k mark. I hit 11k a few times but not much higher.

YASS! I just got my Beamrider patch! I was hoping to break 50k but fell just short. I think I lasted like 3 seconds in sector 19 and didn't score a single point.

Beamrider Atari 2600 Difficulty: Default Game, B/B High Score: 49,400 September 4, 2020

I was going to ask if anyone has the real thing. That is super cool that you not only got a patch when you're a kid, but that you still have it ♥️👍 I think I may have earned the StarMaster patch as a kid, but of course, I don't have it anymore. Not having anything genuine, I did buy a few patches made for games that Activision did not release patches for. The You Suck patch also came with a fake Activision letter. I bought them all on AtariAge forum. I also picked up a deck of cards a few months ago on Facebook. Each card has an Activision game and the back side has a photo of the developer.

@RickR added you for Ice Hockey @nosweargamer I added all your scores (please double check). I'm going to check out that ice hockey gameplay. 15-14 sounds like a dramatic back and forth match!

Welcome to the I/O, @Bogusflow256! I came to the I/O because of NSG's give-away last month, and although I didn't win, finding the I/O community turned out to be even a better prize. Hope you find it the same. Feel free to drop in on the Introduce Yourself! sub-forum, and well, introduce yourself 🙂

Per Justin's comment, I made a table of Activision games officially released for the Atari 2600. I reviewed the game manuals for all the games listed to gather the patch requirements. I also listed games that do not appear to have patches. If you're interested in what the patches look like, AtariAge forum has an Activision Patch Gallery page. If you have a patch-worthy score, reply here, and I'll add your name to the I/O Member column. I've only managed to get qualifying scores for two games, Stampede and Freeway. I am closing in on Beamrider. I posted my scores for the three games in the Scoreboard sub-forum. Should I include Activision games for other consoles that had patch awards? LAST UPDATE: Dec 1, 2022 2600 Game Patch Score Patch Name I/O Member Activision Decathlon 8,600 9,000 10,000 Bronze Silver Gold @socrates63 (9,961) 🥈 @RickR (8,928) 🥉 Barnstorming < 33.3 sec (game 1) < 51.0 sec (game 2) < 54.0 sec (game 3) Flying Aces @RickR (33.17 sec, game 1) Beamrider 40,000 and sector 14 Beamriders @socrates63 (49,400, sector 19) Boxing --- --- Bridge --- --- Checkers --- --- Chopper Command 10,000 Commandos @nosweargamer (279,600) @RickR (115,100) @TrekMD (56,400) @Atari 5200 Guy (36,300) @Hathaway_tries (16,800) @Csolo (15,700) @socrates63 (11,900) @dauber (11,400) Cosmic Commuter --- --- Crackpots 75,000 Crackpots @HDN (81,160) Dolphin 80,000 500,000 Friends of Dolphins Secret Society of Dolphins Dragster < 6.0 sec World Class Dragster Club @Csolo (5.71 sec) @RETRO DESTRUCTO (5.81 sec) @RickR (5.91 sec) Enduro 5 days Roadbusters @Atari 5200 Guy (10 days, 1,665.9 miles) @Ballblaɀer (6 days, 923.9 miles) @TrekMD (patch holder) @HDN (5 days, 746.1 miles) Fishing Derby --- --- Freeway 20 (game 3 or 7) Save the Chicken Foundation @socrates63 (20, game 7) @RickR (20, game 3) Frostbite 40,000 Arctic Architects @nosweargamer (46,270) Ghostbusters --- --- Grand Prix 0:35 (game 1) 1:00 (game 2) 1:30 (game 3) 2:30 (game 4) Grand Prix Driving Team H.E.R.O. 75,000 Order of the H.E.R.O. Ice Hockey Game 1 victory All-Star Hockey Team @RickR (18-4) @nosweargamer (15-14) Kaboom! 3,000 Bucket Brigade @HDN (3,385) Keystone Kapers 35,000 Billy Club @Marco1019 (293,600) @HDN (40,950) Laser Blast 100,000 Federation of Laser Blasters @RickR (101,520) MegaMania 45,000 MegaManiacs @Marco1019 (200,180) @socrates63 (79,580) @Atari 5200 Guy (69,700) @HDN (50,380) @RickR (48,590) Oink! 25,000 (game 1) Oinkers Pitfall! 20,000 Explorers’ Club @nads (114,000) @nosweargamer (113,332) @Marco1019 (109,964) @RickR (87,720) @Stlrs95 (44,481) @Hathaway_tries (27,368) Pitfall II 99,000 Cliff Hangers @TrekMD (patch holder) Plaque Attack 35,000 No Plaque Pack Pressure Cooker 45,000 Short-Order Squad Private Eye Solve case 3 Super Sleuth River Raid 15,000 River Raiders @Kid A (85,970) @nosweargamer (56,970) @Starbuck66 (44,890) @btbfilms76 (35,410) @HDN (27,290) @Atari 5200 Guy (26,480) @greenween (25,370) River Raid II --- --- Robot Tank 48 tanks 60 tanks 72 tanks Medal of Merit Cross of Excellence Star of Honor @Atari 5200 Guy (56 tanks) Seaquest 50,000 Sub Club @nosweargamer (70,390) Skiing < 28.2 sec (game 3) Activision Ski Team @RickR (28.12 sec) Sky Jinks < 37.0 sec (game 1) Sky Stars @datafry (36.14 sec) Space Shuttle 4 dockings with 4,500 fuel 6 dockings with 7,500 fuel Space Shuttle Pilot Space Shuttle Commanders Spider Fighter 40,000 (left Difficulty A) Spider Fighters Stampede 3,000 Trail Drive @James Campbell Jr. (3,979) @socrates63 (3,528) StarMaster 3,800 (game E) 5,700 (game L) 7,600 (game W) 9,000 (game S) Order of the Supreme StarMaster Leader Wing Commander StarMaster @HDN (5,369 game E) @HDN (7,757 game L) @HDN (9,174 game S) Tennis --- ---

Trader Joe's! I'll have to check that out. Totally agree flavor > heat and hot for hot sake is just dumb.

@TrekMD now that looks like Galaxian! I need to get a hold of that hack.

31,150 Finally broke 30k

Did someone say flair?? I loved Ric Flair back in the day -- such a fun entertainer and athlete

Salumi Deli -- it's a well regarded place to go for deli meats and sandwiches. I had read about it online and in magazines but had never been there. It is in a little bit of an obscure location in Pioneer Square area near the football stadium and international district. A month ago, I grabbed my wife for a lunch date and off we went. Of course, Son #1 wanted to know where we were going, and when he learned that food was involved, Mr. Fifth Wheel joined us. The sandwiches and salad were very tasty as advertised. Sorry for the photo -- should have shown the meat more, who cares about the bread 🙄

I've done all those things in town but never with the excitement I'm feeling from you, Rick 🙂. After seeing your posts, I'm thinking of heading to Southcenter Mall this weekend. We've driven around the mall many times and have gone to restaurants in the area, but I haven't stepped inside the mall itself in like forever. As a kid living in south Seattle, I often rode my bike there during summer breaks. It's a miracle that I'm still alive and didn't get run over riding my bike on the shoulder of the road 🙂

Nice! I need to visit the hometown more often. I'm always interested in what people outside of Seattle think of the city and why. Learning to be a tourist in your own city is probably good idea and will help you better appreciate what you have and where you're at.

Retrogameboyz has a 3D printer and he prints the cases and other parts. He builds and sells them as shown in my photo. The case is 7" wide and he told me that it's the widest his printer can accommodate. For the controllers with joysticks on them, the case is great. I can even play games comfortably holding the controller in my hand.

So, here's a story -- I'm Korean and have loved spicy food all my life. When my mom was younger, she'd eat jalapeno peppers straight up raw and would even put go-chu-jang (Korean spicy paste) on it for extra kick and flavor. The same blood flows in me. Back in 2008, I was on a business trip and was in Germany visiting one of our localization vendors. They took us out for lunch at a restaurant across the street from their office -- Mongolian grill in Germany of all places. As we were eating, conversation turned to the restaurant's hot sauce. A couple of the Germans (all caucasians) were talking up how they eat this stuff for breakfast etc... well, I'm thinking, I'm Korean born and raised, and these pasty white dudes' idea of spicy is probably one or two stars, maybe three at most. If they can eat this stuff, I can do better. The hot sauce was passed around to those brave enough to give it a try, and it finally came to me. The German engineers who talked the talk and walked the walk were eyeing me with anticipation. No way I'm passing on this opportunity to show what this Korean boi is made of. I put a good helping of it on a spoonful of rice and meat and in it went into my waiting mouth. Veni, vidi, and vici! The rice and grilled meat -- yum, tasty as always -- and I continued chewing. I felt the sauce's spicy flavor beginning to build and then 💥 🔥🔥🔥 I think it burned off my taste buds, and I lost a pound or two from all the sweat that started pouring out. It was only my ethnic pride that held me in check from screaming out loud in pain, but the same pride wasn't strong enough to prevent me from spitting out the rice and meat into a napkin. On that day, my racist attitude concerning spicy food and white people went out the window along with my taste buds. Lessoned learned! Twelve years later, I still love spicy food, but as I've gotten older, my tolerance level has dramatically gone down. It only takes 1 or 2 stars for me to feel the heat now. I figure it's a good thing. Hot spicy food isn't good for the digestive tract anyway, so my body is taking care of me naturally.

Cilantro a big 👎 for me and my wife. If it tasted like soap to me, that might be considered an improvement. It's a bit tricky to describe, but for me, it's a nauseating taste and smell. The worst is when it's in hot soup like pho where the scent really comes out. I can tolerate it in salsa. I like other aromatic herbs like basil. My wife and I are big fans of basil, but cilantro just doesn't work for us. My older son loves it and younger son is fine with it though.

I'm thinking about playing the well regarded Haunted House game for the 2600. I've never played it so 👻🎃 night seems an appropriate time to give it a go. As for giving out candy, my wife and I have not been home often on Oct 31. Sometimes our kids give them out. Other times, we've left a tray of candy in front of the door for self service. Not sure yet what we'll be doing this year.

Beamrider Atari 2600 Difficulty: Default Game, B/B High Score: 37,114 September 2, 2020