Video Game Masters Tournament
Encyclopedia
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 (now called Guinness World Records
Book). 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. This contest was conducted under the auspices of Twin Galaxies in 1983, 1984 and 1985, and, later, by the U.S. National Video Game Team in 1986 and 1987.
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.
In order to administer the contest, Twin Galaxies assigned the newly-created 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.
The 1984 event was also conducted in eight cities while the 1985 event was conducted in 35 cities.
Twin Galaxies
Twin Galaxies is an American organization that tracks video game world records and conducts a program of electronic-gaming promotions. It operates the Twin Galaxies website and publishes the Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records, with the Arcade Volume released on June...
to generate world record high scores for the 1984 U.S. Edition of the Guinness Book of World Records (now called Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
Book). 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. This contest was conducted under the auspices of Twin Galaxies in 1983, 1984 and 1985, and, later, by the U.S. National Video Game Team in 1986 and 1987.
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.
In order to administer the contest, Twin Galaxies assigned the newly-created U.S. National Video Game Team
U.S. National Video Game Team
The U.S. National Video Game Team was founded on July 25, 1983 in Ottumwa, Iowa, USA by Walter Day and the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard.-Members:Walter Day was the Team Captain and the first five members chosen by Twin Galaxies for the team were:...
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.
The 1984 event was also conducted in eight cities while the 1985 event was conducted in 35 cities.
1983 Event - August 24–28, 1983
| Event Date | Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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.| 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 | Sunnyvale, CA | Aladdin's Castle #188 | 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 |