I think I could've managed a Top 8 level score if I had been able to get more than a handful of attempts in this week. Oh well, at least I beat Bimmy again.

That could get interesting!

 

Haha, just nudged out of the Top 8, but pretty good for only one attempt!

Haha, it's all good!  I guess I'll just have take your word on your Tetris game. 

But alas, what could have been?  If I had dedicated some real time to playing this week I think I could have reached 400K and that would have made things pretty interesting in a hypothetical matchup.  I believe my PB is around 350K but it's been a very long time since I've scored that well.
 

With a level 9 start it might be a bigger jump than you think, based on where you earn the points.
That is, it's not just a matter of playing enough games to get a lucky batch of pieces that make it work.

The big leaps in scoring come down to fundamental changes in strategy and how you actually play the game.
(i.e. burning strategically, building higher second-wells so that you aren't wasting a lot of lines dealing with trash every so often, etc)

I've gotten a lot better about knowing when to burn after working with the guys on Ecstasy of Order... but I'll still revert to my old ways once in awhile and hope just a little too hard that I see a long block in the next few pieces


A level 18 start makes that less of a leap, which is when the big leap goes from the 500's/600k to the 700+ territory.  
Once somebody can score in the 700's (with an 18 start) they are almost certainly capable of surviving long enough at 19+ to be able to max out under the right conditions, at least from what I've seen.

That is, they've proven can handle the speed.  The big differentiator becomes the perfection of the critical t-spin moves, and having good judgment about knowing when to play it safe and burn (i.e. don't succumb to gambler's fallacy).



I never quite mastered the level 19+ play (my personal best only survived to level 24, and just barely -- and for every level 19+ I was just getting singles/doubles trying to stay alive -- the REALLY GOOD players are getting tetrises up there on a regular basis)

That means that the best players have a full extra 1/3-1/2 of the game to play once they break level 19 depending on their starting level.




I'm certain you could reach that level, based on your skills with other games.
I just think there is a good chance that it would have been a longer road than 1 week of play.

And I mentioned the risk of "gambler's fallacy" being what kills less experience players (assuming they can handle the speed).

I feel like the other suicidal thought in this game is thinking "I'm having a good game".
Something subtle about having positive thoughts in this game causes you to let your guard down JUST ENOUGH to fuck up



Another thing I noticed, since I hadn't really played much Tetris since up-sizing my CRT (went from a dinky 16" to a 25")... now I need to sit further back so that I don't have to actively scan the screen with my eyes.
The sweet spot is having the screen small enough that you don't have to "look" anywhere other than where you want a piece to go and you can see the next piece clearly in your peripheral vision (along with the piece position and rotation on the way down).
Actively looking around soaks up a ton of time and cognitive effort, compared to off-center viewing of most of the screen.

Are you challenging me again?

I'm game, but it didn't seem to be much of a challenge last time.

 

I'll try to make it more challenging this time around

I guess we'll see about that!

 

This week's contest helped me realize how absolutely mediocre I am at this game! And some of those scores!!! Holy cow! If I added my top 4 scores together I still wouldn't be on top. Good job everyone and to bimmy for the contest, bert for the scores and santa for the news/info!

All of this was well said!

I was going to add about using a CRT since I play on an LCD which would make the upper levels unplayable.  If I were serious this past week I would have switched to my other TV.

I bet Santa is already drafting the news article on this. 
 

Harry Hong first maxed out (with a Level 18 start) on an LCD.

He actually had to retrain on a CRT for the first world championship competition.



That said, as a mere mortal, I notice a considerably difference in the playability of Level 19+ on a CRT versus an LCD. (lower levels -- even Level 18 -- it isn't nearly so pronounced)

 

Wow, I would have assumed that to be impossible.
 

I'm willing to be that it was a max out that relied on a much more favorable piece distribution than the "typical" CRT maxout.

I don't know if Adam Cornelius has full footage of Harry's ability to max out on a CRT, or not, but that was actually what touched off the events that led to making Ecstasy of Order.
The original film was going to be just about Harry and called "Max Out", but shortly after that started up Jonas proved he could max out (evidently he'd done it years earlier, unofficially) and it set off the idea for a live competition.


These guys are at a completely different level, though.

Awwww shhhhhit! It's on!