Four Score & Seven Pongs Ago

Of Tangents and Sines

Jared and I have had more than a few passing discussions over the last few years about expanding the Four Score media empire and with a new year in full bloom and thanks to a Whiskey Wednesday gathering we are finally taking action.

Welcome to the first episode of our new podcast: Sines, Co-Sines & Tangents.

It’s been a number of years since both of us actively put out podcasts and we decided that people needed to hear our puerile opinions on stuff and things.. so the podcast was born.

Sines, Co-Sines & Tangents is a general Nerd Culture podcast that will allow us to talk about many of the things we both enjoy. Expect long detailed discussions on video games, movies, comics, traditional games, RPGs and whatever strikes us.

We hope to hit the target of 1 per week for the near future, and we hope all of you will listen, provide input and feedback. We’ve also bandied around how we’d do occasional livestreams or interactive broadcasts, but before we tried to boil those oceans we decided to start with what we knew.

Look for a link to the podcast soon and please if you like it, hate it or are slightly more than apathetic let us know here or on our 4 Score twitter.

Subscribe here using your podcast player of choice: http://4score7pongs.com/feed/podcast/sinescosinestangents

Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter at @4score7pongs and our Facebook page for new episode announcements.

Recap & Future Plans

A recap of the tournament, and some plans for the future.

We came, we fought, and ultimately Brian completed a triumphant reclaiming of the Golden Joystick.

Jared took and early lead with the first two games, and then Brian trounced Jared in Windjammers to the point where viewers were donating money to end the slaughter.

Pinball isn’t the most specatator friendly sport, however, it did create a lot of drama. Jared mounted an impressive score before it was Brian’s turn. Brian then had a fantastic run nearly doubling Jared’s score. At this point, it was tied and only one game remained: Tekken.

Tekken was over pretty quickly as Brian’s skills were too much for Jared’s novice ability. After that Brian had once again reclaimed the trophy he held many years ago.

We were able to accomplish a fantastic goal with your help. We met our fundraising goal of $1,000 dollars for Child’s Play. This is something we are eternally grateful for. Thank you so much.

We are currently formulating some future plans for more events that will be more inclusive for everyone to join.

Additionally you should bookmark and follow us on Twitch and YouTube. We will have more regular streaming and video content soon. We are also working on some video highlights of the tournament in case you missed it.

2016 has commenced with a wonderous beginning. We are planning to continue with that momentum and make this a great year for gaming and charity. If you didn’t get a chance to donate, you still can!

Thank you!

We’re LIVE! TUNE IN!

We’re are live. Please tune and join us on Twitch. We’ll be in the chat along with our host Shawn.

Let us know who you want to win with the hashtags #teamjarbo (Jared) and #teamtoast (Brian).

Our tenative schedule is as follows:

_{_{*All times are EST

12 PM – Introduction

12:15 PM – Resogun 45 min run for high score (Brian)

1:05 PM – Resogun 45 min run for high score (Jared)

1:50 – Break

2:00 PM – Nidhogg (head to head) most matches won in 45 min

2:45 PM – Break

3:00 PM – Windjammers (head to head) most matches won in 45 min

3:45 PM – Break

4:00 PM – Pinball 45 min run for high score (Jared)

4:50 PM – Pinball 45 min run for high score (Brian)

5:35 PM – Break

5:50 PM – Tekken 6 (head to head) most matches won in 45 min

6:35 PM – Small break and closing ceremonies}}

Also please do not forget to donate! Every bit helps!

When and how to watch

The 4 Score & 7 Pongs Ago event happens today starting around 12:00PM EST.

You can watch LIVE on the official Twitch channel.

If you can’t watch all day, follow us on Twitter and on Facebook to get updates throughout the day.

And please, don’t forget to donate what you can to help out Child’s Play. We’re shooting for $1,000 by the end of the day…every little bit helps, thank you!

Game Schedule

All times are EST

12 PM – Introduction

12:15 PM – Resogun 45 min run for high score (Brian)

1:05 PM – Resogun 45 min run for high score (Jared)

1:50 – Break

2:00 PM – Nidhogg (head to head) most matches won in 45 min

2:45 PM – Break

3:00 PM – Windjammers (head to head) most matches won in 45 min

3:45 PM – Break

4:00 PM – Pinball 45 min run for high score (Jared)

4:50 PM – Pinball 45 min run for high score (Brian)

5:35 PM – Break

5:50 PM – Tekken 6 (head to head) most matches won in 45 min

6:35 PM – Small break and closing ceremonies

We’ll update our site tomorrow, and make sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

And most importantly make sure to bookmark our Twitch page which is where we’ll be broadcasting from.

Final Game Annoucement

Mean Game of Pinball

The time is nearly upon us for the showdown of smackdowns. Keeping in the spirit for a battle of the highest score, we’ll be flipping out like that deaf dumb and blind kid on pinball. But what table will we be playing? We’re going to pull it litterally out of a hat. Both Brian and Jared will pick three tables from either Zen Pinball which is a modern video game take on pinball or from The Pinball Arcade which are real pinball tables simulated in a video game.

When it’s time to play pinball tomorrow a the table will be pulled from a hat then Jared and Brian will have 45 minutes to get the highest score.

pinball

_{Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/modofodo/15173804580}

A new tradition, a new trophy

The coveted Golden Joystick has been the trademark trophy of 4S7P since the first battle back in 2011. That won’t change this year as the winner will take the Golden Joystick home to enjoy for the entire year.

But this year we’re adding a new tradition with a new trophy.

This trophy doesn’t replace the Golden Joystick. Nay, nothing could ever live up to that demand. No, instead we’re adding a trophy to the ceremony. This trophy is slightly less posh and by all rights, pretty boring, but it will be given to this year’s champion for them to keep.

Chasing the Golden Joystick is drives us. Motivates us. It infiltrates our dreams at night. This new trophy is just a momento, really…a souvenir for the victor. Something that isn’t handed back and fourth, year after year. This one’s a keeper.

Who will be the first to receive this new trinket? Will it be Jared, the defending 2-time champ and captain of Team Jarbo? Or will Brian of Team Toast bring the gold back home where it started in 2011?

It’s going to be a long, grueling day of battle for video game supremacy this Saturday. With this year’s new format, having the stamina and endurance is just as important as playing the games. Choose your team and place your bets.

But wait…lets not be too selfish here. Lets not forget this year, Four Score & 7 Pongs Ago is about the children. Help us reach our goal of $1000 in donations for Child’s Play so we can share the gift of gaming with those who need it most. Please, donate what you can.

Don’t forget to watch it LIVE on Twitch, this Saturday, Janurary 16 starting around 12PM ET. Follow @4score7pongs for updates and like us on Facebook.

Game Announcement: Players Poll

It’s time for you to vote for the fourth game we play. FIGHT!

We’re opening up the flood gates to you for our fourth game. We’re going to go head-to-head with a fighting game. But what game? That’s up to you.

We’ve created a poll for you to vote. There’s also an option to write in a vote. We will consider write in votes, but they may not necessarily be the game we play.

We’ve listed a bunch of modern fighting games, but do you want us to go retro? Write in your vote!

So go ahead and VOTE already.

_{Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/deepsphotos/8627284099}

Game Announcement: Windjammers

The third game for the 4S7P day-long battle is a head-to-head arcade classic, Windjammers.

I first discovered Windjammers in my early days of emulators. I never saw or played Windjammers in the arcades but I probably would have overlooked it since it didn’t have guns, spaceships or robots. Although, being a NeoGeo game is definitely a check in the right column.

At its core, Windjammers is Pong. Two players face each other trying to throw their Frisbee into the other’s goal. Simple enough, right? Sorta…

The characters in Windjammers are along the lines of those you might find in any random pre-2000 volleyball game. Each has their own balance of speed and power, and each come from a different country.

While I’ve played Windjammers quite a bit, I’ve never played against another human so going head-to-head with Jared should prove a worthy test. Prior to now, he had never played it at all, so I have a slight advantage but playing the AI is rarely good practice for a human opponent.

I expect Windjammers to be fast, furious play with some very close matches. I don’t think it has the spectator excitement of Nidhogg but should be far from boring.

Since Windjammers has some play options, here are the ones we’ll be using:

30 second time limit
Stadium arena

…and it just hit me right now that Super Dodgeball would have been a great title for this year. Someone remember that for next year…

Game Announcement: Resogun

Resogun made it’s 4S7P debut last year. It was a new game to me but it’s mechanics were well known.

Resogun is a 21st century Defender, and they’re not hiding it at all. Thing is, I love Defender. I love it because it’s extremely hard…I’m a glutton for punishment. Resogun is much easier, and looks much prettier, but it’s still a blast to play.

Jared and I squared off in a nail-biter last year, and while I lost the bout, I was happy with my performance for a first-time player.

I’m looking forward to this rematch. I still don’t have Resogun at home, so I can’t practice at all, but it should be another close feud to watch.

Game Announcement: Nidhogg

Last year on a whim Brian suggested we play Nidhogg and boy howdy it was fun and entertaining for all. So we’ve decided to bring it back again this year.

For those unaware, Nidhogg is a 2D fencing platformer. I think that pretty much says it all. I think you’ll enjoy watching the hectic pace of this one.

Stay tuned for more game announcements, format changes and more soon.