After a fairly terrible day, I was looking forward to playing some Donkey Kong. Unfortunately, I’m also pretty tired, so I only played one game and decided I should hit the sack. It went alright (89,600), but I wish I had tried to actually get a higher score instead of just plowing ahead. As is typical for amateur players like me, I hit a hard stop at the third elevator screen. As you’ll recall from yesterday, that made my journey look a little like this:

Why is the third elevator screen so hard? It all has to do with the springs bouncing across the top level. For the first two elevator screens, there is only one bouncing at a time, so it’s easier to figure out when to go, and make corrections if you need to. I have only gotten past the third elevator screen a handful of times, each time relying on a lot of quick reflexes and luck. I need to get better at this one screen, but it’s tough to get all the way there with enough men to practice to make it through. Too bad I don’t have save states on my cabinet.

Ah, well, tomorrow is another day and I’ll try to get in two games, one of which will focus on getting a higher score and not just trying to advance. I know some guys can get past or close to 200,000 and still finish their game around this third elevator screen. I definitely need to accumulate some points before I get there!