This weekend, the nation’s largest Donkey Kong tournament returns to Central Arkansas for its 16th year, and this year promises to be more than just a barrel of fun. Little Rock Public Radio’s Nathan Treece has more.
If you are of a certain age you may remember a simpler time, trading your weekly allowance at the local arcade, shoveling quarter after quarter for a chance to take down the biggest ape in video games.
You may also want to cover your ears for what I am about to say:
Donkey Kong turns 45 this year.
But for longtime fans of the arcade smash-hit, age is just a number, and the only number that matters to them…
"He still hasn't done another high score attempt since he got the high score the last time."
"Denver's beaten my high score, he killed my high score..."
Is the ‘High Score.’
Enter Kong Klash, hosted at the Vortex Arcade in Sherwood, and now in its 16th year; the tournament draws seasoned vets and beginners alike to a simian showdown unlike any other in the U.S.
For Vortex Arcade founder and owner Daniel Solis, the original Donkey Kong game is the perfect video game, and the competition is the highlight of the year.
"There's so many random elements to it, and it stays difficult, so it's really good for competition. Even the best players get really bad games, and they just walk away depressed. Where, a beginner sometimes just gets the right luck, and, 'Hey I'm gonna run on that spring,' and they make it like, 'Hey! I made it!'"
Part Mechanic, part teacher, and all gamer, Solis is the force behind Kong Klash, and a preservationist for arcade culture.
He opened The Vortex Arcade as Z82 Retrogaming in 2012. It was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.
"When I was eight-and-a-half, my dad and I sat down, and he asked me what I wanted to do, because he knew what he wanted to do when he was eight. And I said, 'I want to own an arcade!' He sat down with me and sketched... he told me we did that for four-and-a-half hours. I was eight-and-a-half, I don't remember that, but I remember he was dedicated from the start. The reason it worked is because my dad was behind me 100%. And thanks to God, I'm here and I've got a great team!"
Les Coffman is a member of the Vortex team. In 2018, a night out at the arcade turned into an obsession.
"I came and did the class with my daughter and I was like, I shouldn't've done this because I'm a pretty good gamer and when he and andy started showing me the barrel controls, I was like... 'I'm good enough to beat this game!' And when I found out at the time there was less than 100 people who had ever done it officially I was like, 'Oh! I want to be one of them!'"
Coffman achieved his goal, beating the game just a few years later. His high score stands at 867,000.
The current official world record? 1,272,000. No small feat, considering that clearing a single barrel nets you just 100 points.
Robbie Lakeman set that record in 2020.
Before that, Wes Copeland held the record with a score of 1,218,000.
Copeland is a native of Bismarck, Arkansas, and he launched his Kong Kareer under Solis.
"Daniel convinced him to play as a beginner and he scored 20,000 points and was last place. A year later he had the world record."
Copeland took home first place in the last three Kong Klash tournaments. He’ll be back this weekend — hoping to turn out a fourth consecutive victory.
Copeland holds another title of distinction. He played his first-ever game of Donkey Kong at the Vortex, and just 83 days later, he had beaten the game.
But what does it mean to ‘beat’ Donkey Kong? An arcade game that should theoretically go on forever, or at least until it has vacuumed up every kid’s lunch money in a 50-mile radius?
That’s where the ‘kill screen’ comes in. In the simplest terms, the kill screen is what happens when you’ve been playing the game so long that even the computer… gives up.
"It's keeping track of the levels, the score, the timer, all kinds of things it's keeping track of," says Solis. "So it uses up the memory faster. When it reaches 221 it just doesnt have any memory left, and when it looks back to get something, the box is empty, so it just ends the level"
As in life, arcade games typically don’t end with a fanfare. There are no fireworks, no victory celebration, no clean resolution, or even a filigreed and ambiguous marquee that leaves open the possibility of a sequel, in the end…
"All the sudden you're standing there, you just start spinning, and you die. Nothing hits ya, Nothing... you know, you're dead!"
Of course, another chance is just a quarter-drop away.
For the Vortex Arcade, however, every machine is always set free to play, and there are hundreds to try out. Admission is a one-time charge at the front counter, then you can play each machine as long as you like.
Thursday nights, the arcade hosts Kong University, its patented DK class that promises to turn you from amateur ape to primate pro.
Solis says he doesn’t play many modern games; his heart is with the classics, and with the community.
"There was the comradery, and... in-person. People love that, and that's what I like to see. All the smiles. Kids come in with their parents, their parents played, and now the kids are growing up. It's nostalgic for the parents, and it's a rewind to watch their kids enjoy it."
And it’s about keeping alive the dream he shared with his dad so many years ago.
"He passed 10 years before we opened. I'm still buying machines that he loved, Astro Blaster, Cobra Command, Terminator 2, the games that he really loved, so he's still with me."
So whatever age you’re hitting this year, don’t listen to the naysayers.
Age remains just a number, arcade games will always be fun, and the classics are always in style.
Kong Klash 16 begins Friday, October 2, 2026 and lasts through the weekend. You can find more information at The Vortex Arcade's website. The tournament will be streamed live on Twitch.com and on the arcade’s social media pages.
