BBC micro high scores (Collected by W.H.Scholten, last updated 2017-11-30): --------------------------------------------------------------------------- These are from old magazines. See also my list of scores from the internet, and my own scores in a few more text files, and see my website where I analyse some game scores, on whether they are real, or made on e.g. an Acorn Electron: http://wouter.bbcmicro.net/ =================================================================================================== - To get your hands on scans of the magazines have a look here: + http://www.8bs.com/magazines.htm + https://retropdfs.wordpress.com/ Retropdfs's pdfs are, at least for Acorn user, based on the pdfs on 8bs.com, but the retro pdfs have the advantage of added searchable and selectable/copyable text (not perfect but good enough so you can copy and do some slight editing to correct errors). =================================================================================================== - I checked 'Acorn user' up to 1991-12 The high scores in Acorn user are from ca. end of 1984 onwards, not very useful in determining real high scores due to no splitting of high scores for the BBC micro and Acorn Electron. AU should have not allowed any more high score submissions, unless the submitter stated it was made on a BBC micro or Electron, and also using the corresponding version! (not the Electron version on a BBC nor the BBC version on an Electron). You can tell that many scores are not made on a BBC micro. In case of Planetoid I'm not sure if the 2.8M and 3.1M scores are just made up or made with the Electron or Electron version on the BBC, from my testing and playing with scores up to almost 1M points, these scores are not possible on the BBC with a BBC micro version of Planetoid. For Meteors it's similar, see: http://wouter.bbcmicro.net/bbc/spellen/highscores.html - I didn't check 'Micro user' thoroughly (additions are welcome). This magazine was about the BBC micro, not Electron, so scores are more likely 'real' (as in: made with a BBC micro version of a game running on a BBC micro) than those in Acorn user. - I checked Beebug vol.1-vol.8. While most of the early loose supplements are not included in the pdfs on 8bs.com, and these supplements contain high score lists, "Diminshed" from stardot.org.uk made pictures of all but 1 of the other supplements. The scores here are kept separate because Beebug was only for the BBC micro so the scores here are more likely 'real' (as in: made with a BBC micro version of a game running on a BBC micro) than those in Acorn user. =================================================================================================== - Which other magazines have high score lists? =================================================================================================== ============================================================ AU: Acorn user: ============================================================ ==== AU 1982-12: p. 74: Letters: Information on Snapper + high score 145440 ==== AU 1983-1: p. 59: Letters: Related to a question on preventing keyboard wear and whether the RETURN key could be remapped for Defender to prevent wear, the people from Acorn user wrote: ----- Acornsoft staff have notched up over 410,00 on Defender, 300,000 on Snapper. 110,000 on Monsters and 43,000 on Meteors. And yet they know of only one keyboard which gave problems - and that was on a pre-production model where the space bar became 'unreliable' after nine months! So if your keyboard wears out let Acorn know. ----- ==== AU 1983-12: p.163: Letters: ----- Sir, During the summer my brother bought the Acornsoft game Planetoid. I found the game difficult at first but soon I increased my high-score to 92,650. Could you ask your readers to write in and say what the records are on Planetoid? Charles Painter (age 12) Wiltshire ------ ==== 1984-2: p. 168: Letters: ------ Incidentally, in answer to Charles Painter's Planetoid claim (December issue), my high score on this excellent game is 128,000. Richard Porter London ------ ==== AU 1984-3: p. 169: Letters: ----- Sir, I wish to inform you that my highest score on Acornsoft's Planetoid is 503,300. I obtained this some time ago, but as I am now into machine code programming and computer electronics, I long ago ceased to exhaust myself on playing games. By the way, Planetoid was the first and the only action game I've bought. I found my initial investment of gbp 10 has been truly worthwhile. Kai Rotherham ----- ==== AU 1984-6: p. 165: Letters: ----- Sir, with reference to high scores. The highest scores achieved at my school to date are: Snapper - 116,320 Snapper (joystick) - 143,420 Dare Devil Dennis - 6520 Meteors - 21,250 Monsters - 38,680 Zalaga - 132,260 Rocket Raid - 700,000 + Arcadians - 28,760 Defender - 356,775 Planetoid - 236,100 Starship Command - 1376 Moon Raiders - 285,580 Killer Gorilla - 496,200 One interesting score is the Rocket Raid one this is achieved by 'cheating' thus: 1. PAGE = &E00:*TAPE 2. CHAIN"" (load Rocket Raid) 3. When the game has loaded press BREAK 4. Type CALL&E00 and press Return 5, Destroy all 3 ships - the screen will go haywire 6. Wait approximately 3 minutes 7. Play game 8. You now have about 70 men before step 6 repeats. N.B. The score is reset on pressing ESCAPE. B Nesbit Northants ----- ==== AU 1984-8: p. 59: Letters: ----- High rollers Sir, I have an idea to improve your magazine, that is if you can improve on perfection (creep, creep). It came to me (the idea that is), while reading B Nesbit's letter in your June issue. How about keeping a list of the highest scores achieved by readers at various popular games? Mark Coles Birmingham ----- ----------------- A number of readers have written in to boast of their per- formance in various games. We list the high scores below to get the ball rolling. Record- breakers please write in. Mark Coles Rocket Raid 39,780 Meteors 22,980 Snapper (keyboard) 131,810 Chuckie Egg 1,048,820 Danger UXB 320,750 Pengo 35,790 Overdrive 55,210 Crazy Painter 55,240 Stephen Green Android Attack 602,590 Arcadians 27,300 Starship Command 2,059 Zalaga 111,930 Robet Hirskyj Planetoids 346,775 ----------------- WHS: So they just 'forgot' about the 503300 score for Planetoid as they published in their 1984-3 issue... ==== AU 1984-10: p. 61: Letters: ---------- Latest round-up of games high scores Aviator Acornsoft 450 Mark Bradshaw Android Attack Computer 602,590 Stephen Green Concepts Arcadians Acornsoft 48,760 Gerard Mulholland Battletank Superior 16,320 Damon Futter Chuckie Egg A & F 1,997,800 Gerard Mulholland Crazy Painter Acornsoft 13,700 Derek McDowell Cybertron Micro Power 26,460 Mark Bradshaw Mission Fortress Pace 87,000 Damon Futter Free Fall Acornsoft 1,188 Owain Griffiths JCB Digger Acornsoft 52,000 Owain Griffiths Killer Gorilla Micro Power 63,900 Mark Bradshaw Meteors Acornsoft 73,220 Robert Hirskyj Missile Gemini 25,905 Mark Bradshaw Command Monsters Acornsoft 19,270 Owain Griffiths Moonraider Micro Power 320,000 Damon Futter Overdrive Superior 102,560 Daryl McClure (BBC) Overdrive Superior 707,010 Gerard Mulholland (Electron) Painter A & F 104,820 Mark Bradshaw Pengo Watford 173.000 Damon Futter Planetoids Acornsoft 488,900 Robert Hirskyj Rocket Raid Acornsoft 61,560 Robert Hirskyj Snapper Acornsoft 168,970 Mark Bradshaw Space Virgin 4,640 Gareth Dykes Adventure Zalaga Aardvark 171,430 Daryl McClure ---------- ==== AU 1984-12: p. 59: Letters: ---------- Latest round-up of games high scores Aviator Acornsoft 2,700 D J Reynolds Android Attack Computer 1,132,985 Jon Button Concepts Arcadians Acornsoft 48,760 Gerard Mulholland* Battletank Superior 98,640 Adrian Foster Chuckie Egg A & F 7,739,440 Richard Jolliffe Crazy Painter Acornsoft 85,130 Andrew Jenkins Cybertron Micro Power 68,000 D J Perry Mission Fortress Pace 87,000 Damon Futter* Frak! Aardvark 289,300 Jon Button Free Fall Acornsoft 1,989 Jon Button Hopper Acornsoft 42,375 Stephen Corcoran JCB Digger Acornsoft 52,000 Owain Griffiths* Killer Gorilla Micro Power 108,250 David Sowerbutts Meteors Acornsoft 73,220 Robert Hirskyj* Missile Gemini 34,810 Keith Harding Command Monsters Acornsoft 257,060 Ian Cook Moonraider Micro Power 583,750 Lindsey Tasker Overdrive Superior 102,560 Daryl McClure* (BBC) Overdrive Superior 707,010 Gerard Mulholland* (Electron) Painter A & F 116,350 Stephen Corcoran Pengo Watford 173,000 Damon Futter* Planetoids Acornsoft 639,000 Stephen Corcoran Pole Position Atari 109,600 Simon Payne Rocket Raid Acornsoft 83,270 Stephen Corcoran Snapper Acornsoft 262,810 Ian Cook Space Virgin 4,640 Gareth Dykes* Adventure Starship Acornsoft 2,590 Ian Cook Command Zalaga Aardvark 11,350,200 Stephen Corcoran * Scores unbeaten since October ---------- ==== AU 1985-2: p. 59: Letters: ---------- Latest round-up of games high scores Aviator Acornsoft 30,450 P Hopgood Android Attack Computer 1,132,985 Jon Button* Concepts Arcadians Acornsoft 62,980 Wyn Hughes Battletank Superior 98,640 Adrian Foster* Chuckie Egg A & F 7,739,440 Richard Jolliffe* Crazy Painter Acornsoft 279,790 Richard Arundale Cybertron Micro Power 214,540 Mark Bradshaw Mission Fortress Pace 102,000 Brian Weatherill Frak! Aardvark 370,700 D Hughes Free Fall Acornsoft 2,059 Owain Griffiths Hopper Acornsoft 44,811 John Durrans JCB Digger Acornsoft 52,000 Owain Griffiths* Killer Gorilla Micro Power 672,550 O Beman Meteors Acornsoft 73,220 Robert Hirskyj* Missile Gemini 39,825 Keith Butler Control Monsters Acornsoft 257,060 Ian Cook* Moonraider Micro Power 583,750 Lindsey Tasker* Overdrive Superior 102,560 Daryl McClure* (BBC) Overdrive Superior 707,010 Gerard Mulholland* (Electron) Painter A & F 144,740 Richard Arundale Pengo Watford 173,000 Damon Futter* Planetoids Acornsoft 639,000 Stephen Corcoran* Pole Position Atari 147,200 D Hughes Rocket Raid Acornsoft 83,270 Stephen Corcoran* Snapper Acornsoft 280,100 Mark Davis Space Virgin 4,680 Gareth Dykes Adventure Starship Acornsoft 5,210 Brian Weatherill Command Zalaga Aardvark 11,350,200 Stephen Corcoran* * Scores unbeaten since December ---------- ==== AU 1985-4: p.60: Letters: ---------- Latest round-up of games high scores Aviator Acornsoft 30,450 P Hopgood* Android Attack Computer Concepts 1,132,985 Jon Button* Arcadians Acornsoft 72,820 A Norgate Battletank Superior 98,640 Adrian Foster* Chuckie Egg A & F 30,275,420 Stephen Corcoran Crazy Painter Acornsoft 279,790 Richard Arundale* Cybertron Mission Micro Power 214,540 Mark Bradshaw* Fortress Pace 117,500 D Shavick Frak! Aardvark 498,600 David Perry Free Fall Acornsoft 3,800 David Perry Hopper Acornsoft 44,811 John Durrans* JCB Digger Acornsoft 119,500 David Perry Killer Gorilla Micro Power 672,550 O Beman* Meteors Acornsoft 430,120 Malcolm Duncan Missile Gemini 101,125 Nicholas Jackson Control Monsters Acornsoft 257,060 Ian Cook* Mr Ee Micro Power 243,350 Stephen Corcoran Moonraider Micro Power 583,750 Lindsay Tasker* Overdrive Superior 338,450 David Perry (BBC) Overdrive Superior 771,520 Matthew Ede (Electron) Painter A & F 144,740 Richard Arundale* Pengo Watford 173,000 Damon Futter* Planetoids Acornsoft 2,896,500 David Perry Pole Position Atari 147,200 D Hughes* Rocket Raid Acornsoft 101,400 Keith Simms Snapper Acornsoft 639,260 Peter Simpson Space Virgin 4,680 Gareth Dykes* Adventure Starship Acornsoft 5,210 Brian Weatherill* Command Zalaga Aardvark 11,350,200 Stephen Corcoran* * Scores unbeaten since February ---------- WHS: Note: The score of Planetoid of 2,896,500 is possibly a misprint, with an added 2 before the real score? 896500 would be possible, but scores much higher than that are impossible, at least when running the BBC version (instead of Electron version) on a BBC micro. See my analysis here: http://wouter.bbcmicro.net/bbc/spellen/highscores.html ==== AU 1985-6: p. 60: Letters: ---------- Latest round-up of games high scores Aviator Acornsoft 30,450 P Hopgood* Android Attack Computer 1,132,985 Jon Button* Concepts Arcadians Acornsoft 97.660 Ian Boffin Battletank Superior 98,640 Adrian Foster* Chuckie Egg A & F 30,275,420 Stephen Corcoran* Crazy Painter Acornsoft 279,790 Richard Arundale* Cybertron Micro Power 715,320 Mark Bradshaw Mission Fortress Pace 117,500 D Shavick* Frak! Aardvark 1,347,445 Nigel Shaw Free Fall Acornsoft 5,024 Philip Comber Hopper Acornsoft 46,649 Jonathan Wolfe JCB Digger Acornsoft 119,500 David Perry* Killer Gorilla Micro Power 672,550 O Beman* Meteors Acornsoft 498,500 P Ludgate Missile Gemini 469,225 Ian Boffin Control Monsters Acornsoft 257,060 Ian Cook* Mr Ee Micro Power 542,250 Ian Boffin Moonraider Micro Power 583,750 Lindsey Tasker* Overdrive Superior 338,450 David Perry* (BBC) Overdrive Superior 1,011,720 P Ludgate (Electron) Painter A & F 203,690 Nigel Shaw Pengo Watford 230,310 Tony Smith Planetoids Acornsoft 2,896,500 David Perry* Pole Position Atari 384,200 Neil Mochrie Rocket Raid Acornsoft 161,270 Warren Day Snapper Acornsoft 1,149,390 Peter Simpson Space Virgin 4,890 Mark Bradshaw Adventure Starship Acornsoft 8,420 Ian Boffin Command Zalaga Aardvark 23,460,500 Ian Boffin * Scores unbeaten since April ---------- ==== AU 1985-9: p. 50: Letters: ---------- Latest round-up of games high scores Aviator Acornsoft 30,450 P Hopgood* Android Attack Computer 1,495,105 Tim Hedger Concepts Arcadians Acornsoft 98,020 Niaz Islam Battletank Superior 108,500 Stephen Corcoran Chuckie Egg A & F 30,275,420 Stephen Corcoran* Crazy Painter Acornsoft 279,790 Richard Arundale* Cybertron Micro Power 715,960 Niaz Islam Mission Fortress Pace 129,250 Stephen Corcoran Frak! Aardvark 20,000,200 Paul O'Malley Free Fall Acornsoft 5,024 Philip Comber* Hopper Acornsoft 52,422 John Durrans JCB Digger Acornsoft 131,450 Stephen Corcoran Killer Gorilla Micro Power 836,475 Stephen Corcoran Meteors Acornsoft 498,500 P Ludgate* Missile Gemini 469,225 Ian Boffin* Control Monsters Acornsoft 283,000 Stephen Corcoran Mr Ee Micro Power 685,650 Jonathan Parker Moonraider Micro Power 642,125 Stephen Corcoran Overdrive Superior 338,450 David Perry* (BBC) Overdrive Superior 1,011,720 P Ludgate* (Electron) Painter A & F 203,690 Nigel Shaw* Pengo Watford 230,310 Tony Smith* Planetoids Acornsoft 3,186,450 Stephen Corcoran Pole Position Atari 384,250 Niaz Islam Rocket Raid Acornsoft 161,460 Roger Austin Snapper Acornsoft 1,150,790 Niaz Islam Space Virgin 4,890 Mark Bradshaw* Adventure Starship Acornsoft 8,420 Ian Boffin* Command Zalaga Aardvark 23,460,500 Ian Boffin* * Scores unbeaten since June Please say whether your score was notched up on a BBC micro or Electron when sending in your games high scores, as in future issues we'll be publishing separate tables for each micro. ---------- WHS: Note: The score for Planetoid is definitely not possible on a BBC micro using the BBC version of Planetoid. See: http://wouter.bbcmicro.net/bbc/spellen/highscores.html ==== AU 1986-2: p. 59: Letters: ---------- Latest round-up of games high scores Aviator Acornsoft 30,450 P Hopgood* Android Attack Computer Concepts 1,495,105 Tim Hedger Arcadians Acornsoft 98,020 Niaz Islam Battletank Superior 108,500 Stephen Corcoran Castle Quest Superior 2,240 Peter Simpson Chuckie Egg A & F 30,275,420 Stephen Corcoran* Crazy Painter Acornsoft 279,790 Richard Arundale* Cybertron Micro Power 715,960 Niaz Islam Mission Fortress Pace 129,250 Stephen Corcoran Frak! Aardvark 20,000,200 Paul O'Malley Free Fall Acornsoft 5,024 Philip Comber* Hopper Acornsoft 52,422 John Durrans JCB Digger Acornsoft 131,450 Stephen Corcoran Killer Gorilla Micro Power 836,475 Stephen Corcoran Meteors Acornsoft 498,500 P Ludgate* Missile Control Gemini 469,225 Ian Boffin* Monsters Acornsoft 283,000 Stephen Corcoran Mr Ee Micro Power 685,650 Jonathan Parker Moonraider Micro Power 642,125 Stephen Corcoran Overdrive Superior 338,450 David Perry* (BBC) Overdrive Superior 1,011,720 P Ludgate* (Electron) Painter A & F 203,690 Nigel Shaw* Pengo Watford 230,310 Tony Smith* Planetoids Acornsoft 3,186,450 Stephen Corcoran Pole Position Atari 384,250 Niaz Islam Rocket Raid Acornsoft 161,460 Roger Austin Snapper Acornsoft 1,839,210 Peter Simpson (BBC) Space Virgin 4,890 Mark Bradshaw* Adventure Starship Acornsoft 8,420 Ian Boffin* Command Zalaga Aardvark 23,460,500 Ian Boffin* *Scores unbeaten since June 1985 Please say whether your score was notched up on a BBC micro or Electron when sending in your games high scores as in future issues we'll be publishing separate tables for each micro. ---------- ==== AU 1986-5: p.59: Letters: ---------- Latest round-up of games high scores Aviator Acornsoft 30,450 P Hopgood* Android Attack Computer Concepts 1,495,105 Tim Hedger* Arcadians Acornsoft 98,020 Niaz Islam* Battletank Superior 108,500 Stephen Corcoran* Castle Quest Superior 2,240 Peter Simpson* Chuckie Egg A & F 30,275,420 Stephen Corcoran* Crazy Painter Acornsoft 279,790 Richard Arundale* Cybertron Micro Power 715,960 Niaz Islam* Mission Fortress Pace 129,250 Stephen Corcoran* Frak! Aardvark 20,000,200 Paul O'Malley Free Fall Acornsoft 5,024 Philip Comber* Hopper Acornsoft 52,422 John Durrans* JCB Digger Acornsoft 131,450 Stephen Corcoran* Killer Gorilla Micro Power 836,475 Stephen Corcoran* Match day Ocean 10-0 Matthew Padeaux Meteors Acornsoft 498,500 P Ludgate* Missile Control Gemini 469,225 Ian Boffin* Monsters Acornsoft 283,000 Stephen Corcoran* Mr Ee Micro Power 944,350 Stewart Roberts Moonraider Micro Power 642,125 Stephen Corcoran* Overdrive Superior 338,450 David Perry* (BBC) Overdrive Superior 1,011,720 P Ludgate* (Electron) Painter A & F 203,690 Nigel Shaw* Pengo Watford 300,400 Stewart Roberts Planetoids Acornsoft 3,186,450 Stephen Corcoran* Pole Position Atari 384,250 Niaz Islam* Rocket Raid Acornsoft 161,460 Roger Austin* Snapper Acornsoft 1,839,210 Peter Simpson* (BBC) Space Virgin 4,890 Mark Bradshaw* Adventure Starship Acornsoft 8,420 Ian Boffin* Command Zalaga Aardvark 23,460,500 Ian Boffin* *Scores unbeaten since February 1986 Please say whether your score was notched up on a BBC micro or Electron when sending in your games high scores as in future issues we'll be publishing separate tables for each micro. ---------- ==== AU 1986-7: p.45: Letters: ---------- Latest round-up of games high scores Match Day Ocean 10-0 Matthew Pedeaux Mr Ee Micro Power 944,350 Stewart Roberts Pengo Watford 300,400 Stewart Roberts ---------- WHS: There were no other changes in the above list compared to 1986-5, so I will omit the rest of the table ==== AU 1986-8: p.55: Letters: ---------- Latest round-up of games high scores Mr Ee Micro Power 1,012,950 Stewart Roberts Way of the Melbourne 397,100 C Parsons Exploding Fist House ---------- WHS: All other scores unchanged from July 1986, so I will omit the rest of the table. ==== AU 1986-9: p.43: Letters: ---------- Quick-scoring match player: ---------- In this letter mention of scores of 14-0 for Matchday, 123600 for Commando ==== AU 1986-10: p.47: Letters: ---------- NEW RULES FOR HIGH SCORES Sir, Your magazine continues to print high-score tables, one of the few that does, and look- ing at the August issue on page 55, I can see why so many magazines do not. Mr Ee! is the only high score which has been beaten since May 1986. Not only that but the table is dominated by three people. These scores represent gaming skill, cer- tainly more than I possess, but what is the point? These people are obviously good but they are credited every month and the scores are out of reach of most people. The way arcade game de- signers by-passed the skilled few was to have an all-time hall of fame, to be looked on with wonder, and a daily high score so people like me had a chance. Although you can contend that the micro games market is different, it cannot be so different or you wouldn't print high scores. The inclusion of a monthly high score total would, I am sure, liven up this section of the magazine. V J Roberts Essex Points taken, so here's a new set of rules for high scores in future issues. First, the score must be witnessed by two people, at least one of whom is over 18, and preferably a parent. Second, any score un- beaten in three months will go into an 'all-time best' list- ing at the bottom of the reg- ular table. Third, entries must say which machine the scores were on - BBC, Master or Electron - so we can do sepa- rate charts. Let's see if that livens up the chart. ---------- ---------- Latest round-up of games high scores Battletank Superior 117,400 Stephen Gayler Castle Quest Superior 2,270 Jonathan J Hallet Fortress Pace 138,720 Stephen Gayler Match Day Ocean 14-0 Peter Harvey Mr Ee Micro Power 1,012,950 Stewart Roberts Overdrive (BBC) Superior 380,640 Stephen Gayler Rocket Raid Acornsoft 168,010 Stephen Gayler Zalaga Aardvark 29,329,420 Stephen Gayler All time bests: Aviator, P. Hopgood, 30,450; Android Attack, Tim Hedger, 1,495,105; Arcadians, Nidz Islam, 98,020; Chuckie Egg, Stephen Concoran, 30,275,420; Crazy Painter, Richard Arundale, 279,790; Cybertron, Niaz Islam, 715,960; Frakl, Paul O'Malley, 20,000,200; Free Fall, Philip Comber, 5,024; Hopper, John Durrans, 52,422; JCB Digger, Stephen Concoran, 131,450; Killer Gorilla, Stephen Concoran, 836,475; Meteors, P Ludgate, 498,500; Missile Control, Ian Boffin, 469,225; Monsters, Stephen Concoran, 283,000; Moonraider, Stephen Concoran, 642,125; Overdrive (Electron), P Ludgate, 1,011,720; Painter, Nigel Shaw, 203,690; Pengo, Stewart Roberts, 300,400; Planetoids, Stephen Concoran, 3,186,450; Pole Position, Niaz Islam, 384,250; Snapper (BBC), Peter Simpson, 1,839,210; Space Adventure, Mark Bradshaw, 4,890; Starship Com- mand, Ian Boffin, 8,420; Way of the Exploding Fist, C Parsons, 397,100. Please say whether your score was notched up on a BBC micro or Electron when sending in your games high scores as in future we hope to be publishing separate tables for each micro --------- ==== AU 1987-2: p.135: The games page: ---------- Acorn User Highscore table as at 18/11/86 GAME SCORE NAME Alien 8 28 lost Francis Brown Android Attack 149,105 Tim Hedger [ actually, the score is 1,495,105 in previous tables... ] Arcadians 98,020 Niaz Islam Aviator 30,450 P Hopgood Battletank 117,400 Stephen Gayler Beach Head 166,000 Nicholas Brown Castle Quest 3,020 Francis Brown Chuckie Egg 32,002,640 Nicholas Wright Cybertron 715,960 Niaz Islam Exploding Fist (BBC) 397,100 C Parsons Exploding Fist (Electron) 597,000 Hugo Moore Fortress 138,720 Stephen Gayler Frak! 20,000,200 Paul O'Malley Free Fall 5,024 Philip Comber Hopper 63,104 Nicholas Brown JCB Digger 131,450 Stephen Concoran Killer Gorilla 836,475 Stephen Concoran Match Day 14-0 Peter Harvey Meteors 498,500 P Ludgate Missile 469,225 Ian Boffin Monsters 283,000 Stephen Concoran Moonraider 642,125 Stephen Concoran Mr Ee! 1,102,300 Julian Jones Overdrive (BBC) 380,640 Stephen Gayler Overdrive (Electron) 1,130,700 Simon James Painter 203,690 Nigel Shaw Pengo 312,900 Sarah Killworth Planetoid 3,186,450 Stephen Concoran Pole Position 384,250 Niaz Islam Rocket Raid 168,010 Stephen Gayler Snake 1,395 Peter Simpson Snapper 1,839,210 Peter Simpson Space Adventure 4,890 Mark Bradshaw Starship Command 8,420 Ian Boffin Thrust 205,300 Thomas Simpson Zalaga 29,329,420 Stephen Gayler The high score table is back after a short break and the current round-up is shown above. The table will be compiled and printed every other month. Any high score claim must be witnessed by two other people, one of whom should be over 18 and preferably a parent. A photograph of the game's high score table would be nice, but is not absolutely vital. The game must be played in its unadulterated form ie, no cheating! When sending in your score, please state the machine (BBC micro, Elec- tron or Master) and ask the witnesses to sign the letter as well. Anyway, enough of the rules, I would be interested to receive high scores or low lap times on Revs, fastest time to beat, or slowest computer think time on White Knight chess and highest level on The Sentinel. ---------- ==== AU 1987-6 p. 137 "The games page": ---------- Acorn User high score table GAME SCORE NAME Alien 8 28 lost F Brown Android Attack 149,105 T Hedger [ again, score is 1,495,105 in previous tables ] Arcadians 98,020 N Islam Aviator 30,450 P Hopgood Battletank 117,400 S Gayler Beach Head (B) 204,800 J Freu Beach blead (E) 361,000 I Pierce Boffin 582,155 I Surman Castle Quest 2,240 P Simpson Centipede 2,000,010 C Cochrane Chuckie Egg 32,002,640 N Wright Commando 417,600 P Sharrock Contraption 993,200 C Cochrane Cybertron 1,856,840 S Gelder Danger UXB! 105,710 M Gullick Eagle's Wing 112,700 R Schmidt Exploding fist (B) 397,100 C Parsons Exploding fist (E) 597,000 H Moore Fortress 138,720 S Gayler Frak! 20,000,200 P O'Malley Free Fall (B) 5,024 P Comber Free Fall (E) 7,605 I Jones Hopper 63,104 N Brown JCB Digger 131,450 S Concoran Karate Combat 166,608 I Surman Killer Gorilla 836,475 S Concoran Match Day 16-0 J Freu Meteors 498,500 P Ludgate Missile 469,225 I Boffin Monsters 283,000 S Concoran Moonraider 642,125 S Concoran Mr Ee! 1,415,500 S Roberts Overdrive (B) 380,640 S Gayler Overdrive (E) 1,130,700 S James Painter 103,690 N Shaw Pengo 312,900 S Killworth Planetoid 3,186,450 S Concoran Pole Position 110,000 P Gauagher Repton 2 20,468 I Simmons Revs (Oulton Park) 1:17.9 C Cochrane Revs (Silverstone) 1:24.5 I Surman Rocket Raid 168,010 S Gayler Snake 1,395 P Simpson Snapper 2,187,670 P Simpson Space Adventure 4,890 M Bradshaw Starship Command 8,420 I Boffin Stryker's Run 16,100 P Sharrock Thrust 1,054,450 T Simpson Winged Warlords 336,000 C Dunn Yie Ar Kung fu 675,300 I Surman Zalaga 29,329,420 S Gayler And a special early Firetrack score of 324,000 by Bill Bauer. This was witnessed by his mum. ---------- ==== AU 1987-9: p.129: "The games page": ---------- Finally, here are the latest Revs lap times I have heard of: Brands Hatch - 1:23.7 Donnington Park - 1:08.5 Silverstone - 1:23.1 Snetterton - 1:00.4 Oulton Park - 1:13.9 These were all set by Linus Surguy, so come on everyone, we can't have one person hogging pole position! ---------- ==== AU 1987-11: p. 145: "The games page" (part of the section 'Reviews', strangely) ---------- HIGH SCORE TABLE UPDATE Game Score Name Eagle's Wing 460,400 S Greenwood Firetrack 375,900 S Gibson Joust 19,950 S Brown Repton 2 24,018 M Young ---------- ==== AU 1988-3: p. 141: Reviews | The games page ---------- HIGHSC0RE UPDATE Arkanoid 381,820 Adam Gorst Frenzy 581,399 Ian Lay Labyrinth 348,800 Ian Lay Plan-B 14,090 Stephen Hewson Repton 2 29,064 Stephen Hewson Snapper(Elk) 2,429,198 Ronnie Cusworth Zarch 673,307 Sam Greenhill ---------- ==== AU 1989-6: p. 113: Reviews | The games page ---------- As the Redwood front doors aren't exactly blocked with new games for the run up to summer, I've managed to dig up the high scores from May last year. ---------- ---------- ACORN USERS' HIGH SCORES Game Score Name Alien 8 28 lost F Brown Android Attack 149,105 T Hedger Arcadians 98,020 N Islam Arkanoid 381,820 A Gorst Aviator 30,450 P Hopgood Battletank 117,400 S Gayler Beach Head (B) 806,200 P Wallace Beach Head (E) 361,000 I Pierce Boffin 582,155 I Surman Castle Quest 2,240 P Simpson Centipede 2,000,010 C Cochrane Chuckie Egg 32,002,640 N Wright Commando 443,100 P Wallace Contraption 993,200 C Cochrane Cybertron 1,856,840 S Gelder Danger UXB! 105,710 M Gullick Dunjunz 5,282 R Jackson, S Hickling R Archer, J Hickling Eagle's Wing 460,400 S Greenwood Exploding Fist (B) 397,100 C Parsons Exploding Fist (E) 597,000 H Moore Firetrack 375,900 S Gibson Fortress 138,720 S Gayler Frak! 20,000,200 P O'Malley Free Fall (B) 5,024 P Comber Free Fall (E) 7,605 I Jones Frenzy 581,399 I Lay Hopper 63,104 N Brown JCB Digger 131,450 S Concoran Joust 19,950 S Brown Karate Combat 229,538 K Stafford Labyrinth 348,800 I Lay Match Day 16-0 J Freu Meteors 498,500 P Ludgate Missile 469,225 I Boffin Monsters 283,000 S Concoran Moonraider 642,125 S Concoran Mr Ee! 1,415,500 S Roberts Overdrive (B) 380,640 S Gayler Overdrive (E) 1,130,700 S James Pacmania (A) 1,279,140 S Hunt Painter 203,690 N Shaw Pengo 312,900 S Killworth PlanB 14,090 S Hewson Planetoid 3,186,450 S Concoran Pole Position 111,750 S Goodchild Repton 2 29,064 S Hewson Rocket Raid 168,010 S Gayler Snake 1,575 R O'Conner Snapper (B) 2,187,670 P Simpson Snapper (E) 2,429,198 R Cusworth Space Adventure 4,890 M Bradshaw Starship Command 8,420 I Boffin Stryker's Run 36,060 T Green Thrust 1,054,450 T Simpson Winged Warlords 336,000 C Dunn Yie Ar Kung Fu 675,300 I Surman Zalaga 29,329,420 S Gayler Zarch (A) 783,764 A Norris ---------- ==== AU 1989-8: p. 140: Games ---------- HIGH SCORE UPDATE Galaforce 30,840 Zachary Rae Match Day 18-0 N Nebel Labyrinth 366,740 Chris Harris ---------- ==== AU 1990-3: p. 128: Game show ---------- Since June, the high score table has grown big and as promised in December, I'm not going to keep it all to myself. The scores shown are all new. The rest can be gleaned from the June 1989 issue of BBC Acorn User. The Labyrinth and Yie Ar Kung Fu scores were sent in by Pablo Graca, who is the first contributor to have sent material all the way from Brazil! I didn't even know BAU was sold in South America. ---------- ---------- TITLE SCORE PLAYER Arkanoid 383,980 J Potter Commando 537,400 A Knight Conqueror (A) 3,728,214 W Stein Danger UXB! 301,660 P Murray Frenzy 765,494 P Bender Galaforce 40,020 P Horsfield Galaforce II 154,910 R Rodway Impact 839,300 W Baird Karate Combat 1,253,805 R Edwards Labyrinth 531,520 P Graca Orbital 3,955 M Price Paperboy 190,800 R Rodway Pole Position 112,950 M Young Shark 179,650 N Davey Yie Ar Kung Fu 864,300 P Graca ---------- WHS: I checked the AU mags up to 1991-12. ============================================================ TMU: BBC micro user/Micro user: ============================================================ Jan 1984 - Aug 1984, jan 1986, nov 1986: nothing (I only checked the letters section) Are there any high scores printed in this mag other than in the 1988-12, 1989-12, 1990-12 issues? ==== TMU 1988-12: p. 71: Hac man ---------- Getting on top Last month I mentioned that I was not a great believer in high score tables. However, since starting this column I've received a number of letters from readers who have asked if their top score for a particular game is the highest in the land. Regular readers may recall that I included high scores for Zarch and Uridium in last month's column. So -- in for a penny, in for a pound -- here is a selection of high scores for many of the most popular games for the BBC Micro. However, in the Hac-Man tradition, it is a high score table with a difference: Each has been achieved by the author of the game. Any additions or amendments are welcome -- from authors as well as players -- but please submit only genuine scores achieved without using any cheat modes or other modifications. I have excluded arcade-adventures, such as the Repton and Thunderstruck series, because each one has an ending and therefore a maximum score, so that potentially everyone who completes a game of this type can achieve that maximum score. I have also excluded Elite and other games in which it is possible to save your position. Once the player has become proficient at these games, high scores are achieved more by persistence than by outright skill. Game Score Author Arcadians 28,500 Orlando Barbarian 55000 Dylan By Fair Means or Foul 230,000 Michael Simpson Crazee Rider 48,500 Kevin Edwards Dune Rider 5,000 Ashley Saulsbury FireTrack 1,400,000 Orlando Fortress 160,000 Mat Newman Galaforce 45,000 Kevin Edwards Galaforce II 177,250 Kevin Edwards Killer Gorilla 80,000 Adrian Stephens Killer Gorilla 2 48,000 Christopher Hyde Mr EE 300,000 Adrian Stephens Positron 200,000 Gary Partis Ransack 150,000 Peter Scott Skirmish 120,000 Delos D. Harriman Space Hi-way 100,000 Mat Newman Thrust 1,000,000+ Jeremy Smith Ultron 50,000 Gary Partis Uridium 100,475 Angus Hughes Zalaga 150,000 Orlando Kevin Edwards tells me that when he achieved his Galaforce II high score he actually started on level 16 -- talk about masochism. ---------- ==== TMU 1989-12: p.99: ---------- High score update Regular readers may remember the December 1988 column, in which I published a table of high scores by the authors of the fea- tured games. I'm not really keen on them because I know how easy it is to achieve ones artificially by dubious methods such as infinite lives pokes. Nevertheless, over the last year I have collect- ed quite a few new ones, including Neil Raine's top scores for his three Acornsoft classics and Kevin Edwards' improved Galaforce II high score. So check Out the table for the first update to the definitive Hac-Man high scores table. Although I don't intend to publish updates very often, new entries are always welcome for any BBC Micro game, old or new. It goes without saying that any scores submitted must have been achieved without the use of any poke rou- tines or built-in cheat modes. Of course there is no way I can tell whether or not a score has been achieved by cheating, but it's only fair on everyone else to play along with this simple rule. For some time now I've been meaning to raise the point that my Master conversions should also allow the game in question to run on the B+ and B+128. However, the hardware and soft- ware architecture of the B+ is considerably clos- er to the model B than is the architecture of the Master, so illegally written games should need far less converting to run on it. While on the subject of B+/Master con- versions, if anyone has persuaded Android Attack, Bounty Bob Strikes Back, Caveman Capers, Contraption, Jet Set Willy, Jet Set Willy II, Manic Miner, Paranoid Pete or Snakepit to run on the Master (or B+), I would be very inter- ested to hear from them. Game Score Player Airwolf 75623 Michael Yick Android Attack 505725 Perdita Patterson Arkanoid 463020 David Jones Bruce Lee 123650 David Collins By Fair Means 262700 Jonathan Simon or Foul Codename Droid 236000 C. Hyatt Commando 98600 Matthew Bain Conqueror 2192100 Dave Smith Dambusters 18100 David Stott (Alligata) Danger UXB 101010 Antony Moss Galaforce II 225750 Kevin Edwards Hopper 43000 Neil Raine Labyrinth 163650 Michael Bailey Meteors 52000 Neil Raine Mr Ee 855400 Cleone Patterson Planetoid 541000 Neil Raine Positron 640580 Chris Beale Ransack 112650 Charles Ewan Revs 1:22.9 A. Hooper Stryker's Run 15700 Michael Bailey (Master version) ---------- ==== TMU 1990-12: p.84 ---------- Top of the class of '90 We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christ- mas, we wish you a merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. And no Christmas would be complete without an update to the Hac Man high-score table. Although the first edition was composed entirely from the high-scores of the authors of the featured games, I have long since thrown it open to all readers. The only qualification for inclusion is that the score must be achieved without the use of pokes or cheat facilities. Of course, I cannot check on the validity of these scores, so I leave it up to individual con. sciences. Most of these scores are quite incredi- ble. all the more so for being genuine. However, three in particular really stands out far me: Gary Hunt's Thrust score, Perdita Patterson's more than five-fold improvement on her own high-score for Android Attack, and Corinne Berg's suc- cess with Tetris. This last one is particularly astounding because Corinne completed more than 900 lines in the course of this record-setting game. She asks: 'Can the scare go to six fig- ures?" Well, Corinne, Tetris stores its high- score table in memory using three bytes for each score, and each byte is used for two digits of the score. For example, a score of 98202 is stored in memory as 098202. I think this answers the question: Yes, Tetris can accept scores up to 999999. Keep going. Incidentally. I have heard of higher scores than some of these. particularly a 30 million-plus Orlando totted up for Zalaga when it was first released way back in 1983. However, these are the highest scores that I have received. If you can do better, drop me a line. The Hac-Man High-score Table GAME SCORE PLAYER Android Attack 2707680 Perdita Patterson By Fair Means or Foul 758340 Kris McCann Conqueror (Strategy game) 3621905 Jonathan Griffiths Conqueror (Arcade game) 121333 Jonathan Griffiths Crazee Rider 105390 Jason Stone Crazy Painter 56540 Jason Stone Frenzy 1327604 Jason Stone Galaforce II 264100 Jason Stone Hopper 37725 Jason Stone Labyrinth 552790 Nick Glencross Skirmish 153500 Chris Harrison Snapper 100000 Jonathan Griffiths Tetris 98202 Corinne Berg Thrust 10080800 Gary Hunt Yie-Ar Kung Fu 875700 Jason Stone Zalaga 456090 Jason Stone ---------- ============================================================ Beebug: I presume there were supplements with most issues until they were incorporated into the main mag in 1985 or 1986, but loose stuff tends to get lost. Putting any interesting stuff into a loose supplement was a moronic idea from Beebug... Who has supplements, and can make tables or scans of the scores listed in them? vol.1 = April 1982 - March 1983: : No supplements included with the main pdfs on 8bs.com... vol.2 = April/May 1983 - April 1984: : No supplements included with the main pdfs on 8bs.com... vol.3 = May 1984 - April 1985: : No supplements included with the main pdfs on 8bs.com... I had a brief look in e.g. the letters section but saw nothing. vol.4 = May 1985 - April 1986: There are only 2 supplements with v4 in the pdfs on 8bs.com, are there more? - BeebUG v0405 (Oct 1985), supplement, p.7: ---------- New High Scores BEEBUG Supplier Game Score Player ------------------------------------------------------- BEEBUG MAG Cosmonaut 4040 R.Koten BEEBUG MAG Truffle Hunt 6189 R.Koten FIREBIRD Duck 55200 E.Denning H SOFT Penguin 163730 J.Dowling MICRO POWER Castle quest 2210 S.Rawnsley PSION Saloon Sally 56380 R.Koten SUPERIOR SOFT Jack & Beanstalk 11430 R.Koten ---------- - BeebUG v0406 (Nov 1985), supplement, p.18: ---------- New High Scores BEEBUG Supplier Game Score Player ----------------------------------------------------------- A&F Planes 53160 R.Bunnett A&F Plank Walk 5630 R.Bunnett ACORNSOFT Carousel 27300 R.Bunnett ACORNSOFT Invaders 26260 P.Orton ACORNSOFT Labyrinth 336240 P.Orton ACORNSOFT Planetoid 875185 J.De Saram ACORNSOFT Revs 1:29.0 N.E.Cromane ACORNSOFT Tetrapod 5900 M.Orten ATARISOFT Pole Position 113100 J.De Saram BEEBUG MAG Space City 110362 R.Bunnett BUG-BYTE Oblivion 5010 Cthulhu BUG-BYTE Sealord 4020 M.Orton DURRELL Combat Lynx 400 P.Orton DYNABYTE Space Ranger 25450 P.Orton DYNABYTE Demolator 12600 P.Orton FIREBIRD Acid Drops 10440 P.Orton FIREBIRD Bird Strike 20910 P.Orton FIREBIRD Gold Digger 24964 P.Orton FIREBIRD Hacker 7138 P.Orton ICON Caveman Capers 17000 P.Orton ICON Contraption 2440 Cthulhu ICON Drain Mania 40750 Cthulhu MXCRO-BYTE 3D Space Ranger 334500 R.Bunnett MICRO POWER Jet Power Jack 18275 Cthulhu MICRO POWER Martian Attack 32300 Cthulhu MICRO POWER Mine 224640 Cthulhu MICRO POWER Mr.Ee 344000 C.Rogers SOFT SPOT Fruity Freddy 13800 P.Orton SOFT SPOT Transistors Revenge 540200 R.Bunnett SOFTWARE INV Jet Boat 12900 Cthulhu SOFTWARE PROJ Karl's Kavern 8603 P.Orton SOFTWARE PROJ Manic Miner 20758 P.Orton SUPERIOR SOFT Mr.Wiz 13360 P.Orton SUPERIOR SOFT Repton 81531 P.Orton SUPERIOR SOFT Smash and Grab 22440 P.Orton SUPERIOR SOFT Spitire command 10700 R.Bunnett SUPERIOR SOFT Zany Kong jr. 38300 P.Orton W.E.soft Crawler 36913 P.Orton ---------- vol.5 = May 1986 - April 1987: - Beebug vol 5 no 7 (Dec. 1986) [ BeebUG'8612Vol05No07_[uBee].pdf ], p.34 (in the 'supplement', but this is part of mag, no longer separate) ---------- High Scores Supplier Game Score Player ------------------------------------------------------- ACORNSOFT Revs (Silverstone) 1:24.2 B.Hughes ACORNSOFT Revs (Brands Hatch) 1:25.5 B.Hughes ACORNSOFT Revs (Doningtun) 1:13.5 B.Hughes ACORNSOFT Revs (Oulton) 1:16.9 B.Hughes ACORNSOFT Revs (Snetterton) 1:01.8 B.Hughes BEEBUG MAG Manhole 264 R.Koten BEEBUG MAG Scrumpy 45925 K.Rosser BEEBUG MAG Wee shuggy 7643 R.Koten MICRO POWER Alien Swirl 84750 C.Dunford SOFTWARE INV Blitzkrieg 168100 M.Reardon SUPERIOR SOFT Karate Combat 42333 M.Reardon SUPERIOR SOFT Mr.Wiz 28690 R.Koten SUPERIOR SOFT Stryker's Run 14000 M.Williams TYNESOFT Jet set willy 26 R.Koten ULTIMATE Atic Atac 98% R.Koten ULTIMATE Atic Atac 14956 R.Koten ULTIMATE Atic Atac 13.55 mins R.Koten ULTIMATE Nightshade 12% R.Koten ULTIMATE Nightshade 42000 R.Koten ---------- - Beebug vol 5 no 9 (Mar. 1987) [ BeebUG'8703Vol05No09_[uBee]_hi.pdf ], p.36 (in the 'supplement', but this is part of mag, no longer separate) ---------- New High Scores Supplier Game Score Player ------------------------------------------------------- ACORNSOFT Carousel 99020 S.Clark ALLIGATA Blagger 23280 S.Clark MELBOURNE Exploding fist 7th Dan K.Brown 41700 K.Brown SUPERIOR SOFT Repton 2 20468 I.Simmons SUPERIOR SOFT Space Pilot 112300 J.Benger SUPERIOR SOFT Stryker's Run 19200 K.Brown US GOLD Commando 436000 K.Brown ---------- vol.7 = May 1987 - April 1988: - nothing to be found in the 'supplements'... vol.8 = May 1988 - April 1989: Note: The supplements are gone in the later issues in vol.8, they are properly incorporated in the magazines with e.g. ads listed in the index. - nothing to be found in letters or 'supplements'. ============================================================ Additions by "Diminished" (stardot.org.uk)