So this past Tuesday (12/8), I finally got the time and spare change to swing by Speedy’s again for the first time in months. Greeting me was a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles machine, which I had heard about but had not had the chance to actually play. Until now, of course.

The very first game I play, barely knowing what the heck I was doing, I managed to put up a cool 23.67M exactly, good enough for high score #1, the spot right below grand champion (by a little less than a million at that), as well as Leonardo champion (a high score slot specifically for the players picking that turtle at the start of the game). I’m starting to like this game. I wouldn’t do as well for the rest of the games I played, and would in fact put up some downright lousy scores. I would move over to Star Wars, put up an 81.7M+, and call it an evening.

But I would be back the following day (Wednesday 12/9). I wouldn’t post too many remarkable scores until after I dropped in on the video game section and put up an even 21K on Q*Bert. After going back to pinball, highlights would consist of 130.8M+ on Batman, 189.5M+ on Iron Maiden, 15.06M+ on Turtles (good for the high score #3 slot and Donatello champion, replacing some schmuck who apparently forgot they were playing in a family arcade and entered their initials as ASS, which gave me even more personal satisfaction).

I would return the following evening (Thursday 12/10) and try out Jurassic Park again, a game I had trouble getting into the first few times I played it. My willingness would pay off as I’d post a 109.3M+ and a T-Rex Chase champion total of 58M. I’d follow that up with another good run on Iron Maiden, highlighted by a 152.8M+ and a 33M Hallowed Be Thy Name champion, then a 136.7M+ with a 39.33M Trooper Multiball champion. I’d try Quick & Crash again (which I had played on previous visits but did not take pictures of my times), posting a 6.621 second time, and wrap up with a surprisingly decent 77K+ on Millipede.

Friday (12/11) brought with it a work-related trip to Port Arthur, and on the way back I decided to take a detour to Beaumont and get in a couple more rounds of Ghostbusters. Someone left a credit on the machine (!) which I promptly turned into 173.6M+ good for high score #3 and a Terror Dog champion of 10.15M+. I would later post a 525.6M+ good for high score #1 and an absolutely scorching Storage Facility champion total of 205.95M. Not bad for someone who used to hate the stuffing out of this game. A rather limp score of 37 on Lane Master would end the evening. I cashed in 120 tickets from my balance for four small packages of M&Ms, all of which I ate before leaving Beaumont city limits.

All in all, a fairly good week. I’m looking forward to really mastering TMNT which so far looks like perhaps the most fun and challenging game Stern has put out in a long while, outdoing even Black Knight: Sword of Rage and Guardians of the Galaxy. With scores like this, I’m looking forward to ending 2020 on a high note and starting 2021 off with a bang, including getting back to tournament play.