In the days before home consoles videogame players fed quarters into their favourite games at their local arcades. These games were designed to generate a sense of accomplishment while not letting the player progress too fast. This carrot and stick approach kept the arcade owners and publishers happy while the gamer continued to drop in quarters for the glory of the high score.

Typically the high score was displayed at the top center of the screen during gameplay and attract modes but true glory waited for the top scorers screen where the best players had the score posted with their initials.

The most talented and prolific player in the 80s was Andrew Silas Summers — a thin kid from the outskits of Sunnyvale, California. At the top of his game Summers had many rivals including schoolmate Timothy Ian Thompson and east coast champion Simon Edgar Xavier. Summer’s reign continued until the Mid-West Championship where he was bested in the final round by Kansas City newcomer Chris Ulysses Mitchell.