2024 Big Dog Tournament

Multipliers! Normaly, a select number of games are played and the rank of each player's score is applied for an aggregate overall tournament score. For the purposes of the Big Dog tournament, the points earned on a game are simply added up - the more points you earn, the higher your overall base score. To reward players for their both their persistence and  the broad range of games they scored on, multipliers are then applied to their base score, similar to multipliers on a pinball table. 

• Unique Dates: Unique dates on which a score is submitted increases this multiplier: visit the Retrocade 10 times this summer and submit an applicable, accepted score for each visit and you've earned a 10x multiplier - your tournament score total is multiplied ten times!  A Maximum of 10 multipliers are available for visits. Hint: you can buy a membership punch card for $150 that includes 10 visits. After the card is fully punched you can use it for discount admission of $5 for the remainder of the year - punches and discount admission only for named card holder, not transferrable - you can't buy a discount admission for someone else.  
• Unique Games: Players are also rewarded with a multiplier for each unique game from which a score is earned. With over 180 games elligible for score submission, the unique game multiplier can be huge! So don't just play your 5 or 6 favorite games - you've gotta play 'em all - at least once - and submit a score!

To submit your score, follow our established high score submission process: check in at the front counter to ensure you're advised as to any game specific rules, play your game and document your play as dictated by the game rules (ie: if a game allows continues you must record video of your play from start to finish to prove you only used 1 credit and did not extend your game via continue). As a rule of thumb, many 2nd floor games require video of your play, in contrast to most 1st floor games only require a picture of your score. Again, check with our staff for documentation requirements before you play - we'd hate to not be able to accept your score due to inadequate proof.

When you're finished playing, bring your score proof back to the front counter, where our staff will take your information and record your score using the Aurcade high score registry system, as well as to our tournament specific record.

Since we don't want to repeatedly enter multiple scores for the same game during your visit, please only submit your highest score after you've completed playing that particular game title for that visit.

Everyone! If you can play a game, document your score, and submit that score to our staff, you’re in!

Nearly every video game and pinball machine can be played for score. For the purposes of this tournament, certain games are ineligible:

• Action games like air hockey, skeeball, bubble hockey, and pop-a-shot basketball scores are not accepted. 
• Games where the best score is the lowest – timed games, golf games, etc – are ineligible.

For your score to be accepted for the tournament it needs to be your personal best as documented in the Aurcade score repository. If you haven’t been set up in Aurcade we will happily set you up with a free account – all we need is your name. Throughout the course of the tournament, we hope you’ll return to improve your score on any particular game.

That's the great thing about this scoring system: personal best scores have to be beaten to count. If you haven't established a personal best before, then you can submit any score, and then keep improving on it all summer long. Those people who you see appearing repeatedly in our local high scoreboard, they have to beat their personal best for their score to count. Ipso-facto: Billy Mitchell won't be able to submit a score on Pac-man because he can't beat his personal best since he has already achieved a perfect Pac-man and his score can't be improved upon. He'll have to focus on our other games. We're sure you have plenty of sympathy for him in this regard. 

Additionally, score multipliers allow you to raise your tournament score dramatically by submitting a score on more than one day and by submitting scores for as many games as you can.

Scroll on down to see the tournament scoreboard!