To quote yourself in 2009 :
I, too, never understood how that would be possible, but we could be surprised nonetheless. If the score pass twingalaxies referees, it must be legit somehow.

Maybe the record was set on the arcade version or something? 250k doesn't sound possible on the nes version unless I'm missing some cool trick.

It was definitely the NES version. Twingalaxies never mix up different ports.

Update

I thought about the math on this and it just doesn't make sense.

10 papers per day for the mailboxes net 7500 per day and 52,500 for the week.
a week's worth of time bonuses at 2600 per day nets 18,200 for the week.
Similarly 2600 on the target practice is pretty solid so another 18,200 for the week.

so far we are at 88,900.

That leaves another 50k to get to my score or 160k to hit 250k.
i have a hard time believing I was only hitting with 1/3 of my non mailbox shots.

but that is still 530  papers in excess of the 70 you already throw at mailboxes over the course of the week.

we are talking almost 80 drop targets and windows per day.
that is 7 paper reloads minimum.

and the first day can't be that good because you are lighter on reloads.



in conclusion without seeing a video I don't understand how 250k is possible.

and I have a hard time seeing how you could average more than 25k/day (MAYBE I could see a stretch to 30k/day)

x2

I wouldn't be surprised if many of the TG records were not legitimate. I remember TG counting that questionable video Billy Mitchell sent in King of Kong to get his DK record back....so yeah. Plus there's bound to be a cheat score or two that just slips by as everyone makes mistakes.

Well, the record was 250,100 in 2009, and it apparently got beaten in 2012 by a score of 251,800 : https://twitter.com/TwinGalaxies/...

I would be surprised they goof two times in a row for the same game, no?

Interesting. Can't wait till the Twin Galaxies website is back.

How is it possible to AVERAGE 80 drop targets per day on top of the 10 mailboxes per day?

I mean, maybe it is possible to consistently beat 26 seconds on the time trial AND hit more of the targets there, but it still doesn't add up.

Personally, I don't know exactly and would like to see a video of it. Looking at your numbers, my guess is that in order to achieve a much higher score than 160k, there's a few things taken for granted that need to be rethought over.

Clearly.  There has to be something that either provides a multiplier or is worth more than 300 pts per paper.

the arcade game appears to give bonuses from playing from the street or playing from max distance.
i tried that, though, and it appears to make no difference (unless the bonus comes in at the end)

47750

I'm curious why so many people have tombstones in their front yard in this game.

I've been trying to find videos of some high scoring runs but all I can find at the moment are speed runs. Until I see proof otherwise,I can't see either of those 250k+ as legitimate.

I am willing to believe I am only hitting 50-60% of the no mailbox targets, so that probably implies that as much as 200k is feasible (though in my mind would require perfect execution)

So TAS runs possibly? I don't believe TG allows those,but then again I'm not a TG guy,so I don't know.

There's no TAS run sent to TG. We ain't Paperboy Pros, you gotta believe a little here.

But I am a math pro and the numbers don't make sense to get to 250k

There must be some flaws in your number. Ex : You count the 10 mailboxes at 750 points as essential to a best run. But, there's more points to be made, especially later in the game, with red houses than mailboxes. Somewhere in the run you need to get a paper in the mailbox (750) and another in the window so the house is turned red for the next week. Not all houses are worth being red probably, but those that are worth it are definitely worth it.

It's probably the combination of a lot of thinking of the like mixed with a super lucky extra papers placement that make, occasionally, a 250k run possible.

Another thing I keep asking myself, is it possible to hit the motorcycle guys?

You are still limited by how many papers you can obtain, so in general a 750 point paper should not be sacrificed for 300 point papers when there are plenty of drop targets to use up your ammo anyway.

There are maybe two instances where the paper stacks come two houses in a row and it be hooves you to unload fully, but not all of those houses even have enough targets to warrant it.

i just don't think there are enough papers to AVERAGE 80 targets or more on the street.
So if there is a secret it is some extreme scoring potential on the training course that I am overlooking.

I have never seen it done. 


Another her thing the arcade version does is give a bonus for hitting the break dancers, but I don't think any non static targets have value in the NES version.

That's my point actually, nothing general must be taken as granted if you want to get the best run possible. All risks must be taken and all luck happenning. All the big points are probably made within the last days cause there's full of extra papers around, more than I can personally handle but I can imagine the possibilities.

If we take the 750 point papers out of the picture you need closer to 100 papers PER DAY to hit targets.

i really don't think I have ever seen that on a single day, let alone on average across all 7 days.

That is 9 reloads, per day, everyday... (With the exception of getting three reloads by using up your lives)
That is a reload every other house...every single day.


Paper quantity is the limiting factor, by far, except on the obstacle course, but unless there is a hidden "clear bonus" there definitely are not enough targets to make up the deficit due to their lower point value.

You probably need to keep some of them while turning the more profitable window houses red. Something you're missing also is that you can throw more than just one papers at subscribers house and get points for them. I haven't test this to full potential, but I think I got 2x300 hits plus the 750 mailbox hit out of one subscriber house.