For the first time in show history, the Midwest Gaming Classic will feature a Friday Night, multi-game tournament in the Classic Gaming & Computing Museum wing called the Friday Night Up to Par tournament. The event will cover more than a dozen games across several different genres and video game eras that may be found in the Classic Gaming & Computing Museum from year to year.
One thing the games will hold in common, however, is fairly basic controls so that even if you aren’t familiar with a particular game you may still fare well without having to memorize cumbersome button layouts and techniques.
The tournament will play out with each participant being given a score card much like you would have in golf. Participants will choose up to nine different games to play out of selection of games, each with a “par” score to shoot for. If participants hit the par score they will finish with a ‘3’ or a ‘4’ swing for that game depending on its difficulty level. As you might suspect, though, if participants surpass the score they will be given a better, lower swing like a ‘2’ or even a hole in one. On the flip side if they do not hit the par score they will be given worse, higher swing for the game. After nine ‘holes’ the player with the lowest swing total wins a grand prize that will be announced at a future date.
The games have yet to be announced for the tournament and some may stay unannounced until show time, but you can be sure that some longtime show favorites like Super Mario Bros. will likely make an appearance as part of the tournament. In general, however, games will be limited to time runs, single stages, or carnival modes if possible.
Finally, some may wonder just why the museum has never hosted an event like this in the past. The simple answer is that for the first time in show’s history the area will be done in time! The event will likely be held in the area of the museum commonly known as the “modern wing.” In the past this area has been largely provided by just one collector, but in 2012 the room will be opened up to a variety of collectors that in the past have contributed to other areas including the popular Turbo Fest. As they say, many hands make light work which means that the room should be largely finished by the time the Friday Night series of tournaments begin.
$20 entries in the Friday Night Up to Par tournament may be pre-ordered now along with the other recently announced ticket pre-sale bundles.