Man Named Knucklez Doubles Space Invaders World Record

On October 7, 2011, Flemington, New Jersey’s Richie Knucklez catapulted himself into the video game record books by racking up 110,510 points in the original 1978 arcade hit Space Invaders, more than doubling the previously held record. How did he do it? Owning his own arcade certainly didn’t hurt.

Richie Knucklez Arcade Games isn’t just a New Jersey institution; it’s a place where video game legends go to make their names. It’s where veteran professional gamer Steve Sanders set the tandem record for Joust with his son last year. Where some of the most famous arcade gamers converged this year for the Donkey Kong Kong-Off.

Now it’s home to the highest score Space Invaders has ever seen.

Knucklez generated the 110,510 points on October 7, the score verified by the record keepers of Twin Galaxies, the accepted authority on all things video game record-related. The previous record, set back in 2003 by classic gaming champ Donald Hayes, was only 55,160.

It also didn’t hurt that Knucklez learned some moves from Hayes himself.