The Video Game Masters Tournament was an event that was created in 1983 by Twin Galaxies to generate world record high scores for the 1984 U.S. Edition of the Guinness Book of World Records.[1] It was the most prestigious contest of that era and the only one that the Guinness book looked to for verified world records on video games at the time.[citation needed] This contest was conducted under the joint efforts of Twin Galaxies and the U.S. National Video Game Team in 1983, 1984 and 1985 and by the U.S. National Video Game Team alone in 1986 and 1987.[2]

During its first year, 1983, the event was called the North America Video Game Challenge (State Teams Tournament), but was changed to the Video Game Masters Tournament by the second year.[3]

In order to administer the contest, Twin Galaxies appointed the U.S. National Video Game Team to the task of collecting and verifying scores from the eight cities that participated in the 1983 edition of this event. The cities were Seattle, Washington; Lake Odessa, Michigan; Coeur D'Alene, Idaho; Omaha, Nebraska; Dayton, Ohio; San Jose, California; Upland, California and Chicago, Illinois.[4]

The 1984 event was also conducted in eight cities while the 1985 event was conducted in 35 cities.[5][6]

1983 Event - August 24–28, 1983

Event Date Location Arcade Winner
8/24/1983 - 8/28/1983 Seattle, WA Arnold's on the Ave. TBD
8/24/1983 - 8/28/1983 Coeur D'Alene, ID Mr. Deli TBD
8/24/1983 - 8/28/1983 Omaha, NE Space City TBD
8/24/1983 - 8/28/1983 Villa Park, IL Video Wizard TBD
8/24/1983 - 8/28/1983 Lake Odessa, MI Lake Odessa Fun Center TBD
8/24/1983 - 8/28/1983 Dayton, OH Video City TBD
8/24/1983 - 8/28/1983 San Jose, CA Video Paradise TBD
8/24/1983 - 8/28/1983 Upland, CA Starship Video TBD

1984 Event - June 29 - July 1, 1984

Event Date Location Arcade World Records
6/29/1984 - 7/1/1984 Seattle, WA Arnold's on the Ave. TBD
6/29/1984 - 7/1/1984 Wilmington, NC World Class Amusements TBD
6/29/1984 - 7/1/1984 New York, NY Broadway Arcade TBD
6/29/1984 - 7/1/1984 Victoria, BC, Canada Johnny Zee's TBD
6/29/1984 - 7/1/1984 Miami, FL Cloverleaf Golf N Games TBD
6/29/1984 - 7/1/1984 Anchorage, AK Space Station Arcade TBD
6/29/1984 - 7/1/1984 San Jose, CA Space Shuttle Arcade TBD
6/29/1984 - 7/1/1984 Oklahoma City, OK Starbucks Family Fun TBD

1985 Event - June 28–30, 1985

The 1985 Video Game Masters Tournament was conducted as a fundraiser to raise donations for CARE. The fundraiser set aside half of all entry fees for the CARE/Twin Galaxies African Relief Fund.[6][7][8]

Event Date Location Arcade World Records
6/28/1985 - 6/30/1985 Seattle, WA Arnold's on the Ave. TBD
6/28/1985 - 6/30/1985 Kansas City, MO Fun Factory TBD
6/28/1985 - 6/30/1985 Hilo, Hawaii Fun Factory TBD
6/28/1985 - 6/30/1985 Frederick, MD Fun Factory TBD
6/28/1985 - 6/30/1985 Honolulu, Hawaii TBD
6/28/1985 - 6/30/1985 North Bergen, NJ Big Mouth Pizza TBD
6/28/1985 - 6/30/1985 Victoria, BC, Canada Johnny Zee's Arcade TBD
6/28/1985 - 6/30/1985 Dawson's Creek, BC, Canada Celebrity Fun Ctr. II TBD
6/28/1985 - 6/30/1985 San Jose, CA Space Shuttle Arcade TBD
6/28/1985 - 6/30/1985 Anchorage, AK Space Station Arcade TBD
6/28/1985 - 6/30/1985 Citrus Heights, CA The Game Room Arcade TBD
6/28/1985 - 6/30/1985 College Station, TX Games Galore TBD
6/28/1985 - 6/30/1985 Riverside, CA Castle Park Arcade TBD
6/28/1985 - 6/30/1985 Montreal, Quebec, Canada Amusecorp TBD
6/28/1985 - 6/30/1985 Montclair, CA Huish Family Fun Ctr. TBD
6/28/1985 - 6/30/1985 Valdosta, GA TBD TBD

1986 Event - June 27–29, 1986

Event Date Location Arcade World Records
6/27/1986 - 6/29/1986 Virginia Beach, VA Aladdin's Castle #251 TBD
6/27/1986 - 6/29/1986 Maryland Heights, MO Aladdin's Castle #462 TBD
6/27/1986 - 6/29/1986 Culver, CA Aladdin's Castle #91 TBD
6/27/1986 - 6/29/1986 Rancho Cucamonga, CA Galaxy Arcade TBD
6/27/1986 - 6/29/1986 Citrus Heights, CA The Game Room TBD
6/27/1986 - 6/29/1986 Bronx, NY Playland Arcade TBD
6/27/1986 - 6/29/1986 San Jose, CA Space Shuttle Arcade TBD
6/27/1986 - 6/29/1986 Houston, TX Aladdin's Castle #120 TBD
6/27/1986 - 6/29/1986 Brea, CA Flipper Flapper TBD
6/27/1986 - 6/29/1986 Dublin, GA Aladdin's Castle TBD

1987 Event - July 3–5, 1987

Event Date Location Arcade World Records
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 No. Miami Beach, FL Aladdin's Castle #378 TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Annapolis, MD Aladdin's Castle TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Culver, CA Aladdin's Castle #91 TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Wintersville, OH Aladdin's Castle TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Bronx, NY Playland Arcade TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Independence, MO Aladdin's Castle TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 San Jose, CA Aladdin's Castle #188 TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Middlesboro, KY Aladdin's Castle TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Lakewood, CA Aladdin's Castle #283 TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Mesa, AZ Aladdin's Castle TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Etiwanda, CA Aladdin's Castle TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Beverly Hills, CA Aladdin's Castle TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Waunakee, WI Aladdin's Castle TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Fredericksburg, VA Aladdin's Castle TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Boulder, CO Aladdin's Castle TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Hollis, NY Aladdin's Castle TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Meridian, MS Aladdin's Castle TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Madison, WI Aladdin's Castle TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Monrovia, CA Aladdin's Castle TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Marshalltown, IA Aladdin's Castle TBD
7/3/1987 - 7/5/1987 Miami Beach, FL Cloverleaf Golf N Games TBD

References

  1. ^ "'86 Video Game Masters Tourney Set for June 27–29" (PDF). Cash Box. 50 (2): 34. June 28, 1986. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  2. ^ They're Masters of Video Games - Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA - August 24, 1983 Archived December 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ State Teams Tournament - Poster, August 24-28, 1983 Archived January 2, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ U.S.Video Team Forming; Plans Call for Match with Japan - RePlay Magazine, October, 1983[dead link]
  5. ^ 1985 Video Game Masters Tournament - Computer entertainment Magazine, July, 1985
  6. ^ a b 1985 Video Game Masters Tournament - Poster, June, 1985
  7. ^ "Industry Sponsors Ethiopian Fund " Play Meter Magazine, New Orleans, LA. May 1, 1985.
  8. ^ Twin Galaxies Sets 3rd Video masters Tournament - RePlay Magazine, Los Angeles, CA - April 1, 1985
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