History Main / PinballScoring

* In StreetFighter games you often earn anywhere from 100 to 1000 points for each hit landed on the opponent. Time and energy remaining bonuses numbered in the thousands. Later games actually exploited the powers of ten scoring scheme to sneak some information in your score: in ''Alpha 3'' at least the game would give the player 1 single point for each continue spent on the current session, meaning that one could see how many times someone on the leaderboard had continued. Assuming they did not continue 100 times or more.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'' the FictionalSport Qudditch has goals that are 10 points each rather than 1. The only other way to score (catching the GoldenSnitch) is worth 150 points, meaning the trailing zeros are totally irrelevant.

[[IdleGame Idle games]] tend to take this to the extreme, with typical games like ''VideoGame/CookieClicker'' often having counts eventually ranging from the quintillions to the decillions. Some games come very close to the 1.8e308 limit of a floating point double; other games like ''VideoGame/AntimatterDimensions'' have custom code to go beyond this limit, and even the exponent becomes subject to pinball scoring, with numbers like 1e200,000,000 becoming commonplace. Idle games released in the early 2020s have used notations that include more es to raise 10 to additional powers of 10 and then the exponent as a way or the F notation to show how many times the number is raised to the power of 10, like ''VideoGame/ExponentialIdle'' letting you gain over ee40,000 dollars (that's 10^(10^40,000)), or ''VideoGame/ThePrestreestuck'' instead making the point limit F1.8e308 (the number next to F showing that it's 10^(10^(10^(10^(10... repeat 1.8e308 times). This has the effect of undermining the "idle" component, as a year's worth of passive play might be equal to only an hour's worth of active play, as upgrades increase the rate of increase exponentially.

[[IdleGame Idle games]] tend to take this to the extreme, with typical games like ''VideoGame/CookieClicker'' often having counts eventually ranging from the quintillions to the decillions. Some games come very close to the 1.8e308 limit of a floating point double; other games like ''VideoGame/AntimatterDimensions'' have custom code to [[UpToEleven go beyond this limit]], and even the exponent becomes subject to pinball scoring, with numbers like 1e200,000,000 becoming commonplace. Idle games released in the early 2020s have used notations that include more es to raise 10 to additional powers of 10 and then the exponent as a way or the F notation to show how many times the number is raised to the power of 10, like ''VideoGame/ExponentialIdle'' letting you gain over ee40,000 dollars (that's 10^(10^40,000)), or ''VideoGame/ThePrestreestuck'' instead making the point limit F1.8e308 (the number next to F showing that it's 10^(10^(10^(10^(10... repeat 1.8e308 times). This has the effect of undermining the "idle" component, as a year's worth of passive play might be equal to only an hour's worth of active play, as upgrades increase the rate of increase exponentially.

* Taken UpToEleven in a kids' Bible game show titled "Kids on the Move." The ''first'' round was a variation of Series/HitMan (here's a short film, now answer some questions based on the film's dialogue) with questions worth ''35,000'' points each. The next round was a stunt round played by a different team outside the studio) which offered ''250,000'' points, and the final round (unscramble this Bible verse within 60 seconds) had a total of ''500,000'' points on the line (250,000 for solving the verse, 100,000 for identifying the book, chapter, and verse number, and 150,000 for solving the verse in a faster time).

* ''VideoGame/CrimzonClover'' has scores that can go as high as 13 digits long. However, the main highlight of the scoring system is the buttloads of multipliers you get--your Break Rate (which increases as you kill enemies), the lock-on multiplier (shown in green), the Break Rate doubling and quadrupling when you [[SuperMode Break]] and [[UpToEleven Double Break]] respectively, and the showers of stars you get. Each and every multiplier you get is shown when you kill enemies, and often you'll have moments where you cancel a [[BulletHell screenful of bullets]] into a screenful of numbers.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea}}'' series does this for both damage and character stats. The damage can go into the ''octillions'' range with the right setup, and stats other than HP (Which has no known limit) cap at 99,999,999 million, at least until ''VideoGame/DisgaeaD2'', where the developers decided it wasn't good enough and let them go into the hundreds of millions range. ''VideoGame/Disgaea6'' is even sillier by increasing the level cap by '''10000''' times, and your stats start in the 5 digits.

** Both it and ''Marvel Vs Capcom 2'' measure scores in the same overinflated manner.

* ''[[Pinball/WHODunnit WHO dunnit]]'' is another good example, as even ''a billion points'' is not good enough for a Replay. Solving a case and catching the criminal starts a four-ball multiball where pretty much any shot scores up to 100,000,000 points. The Roulette BettingMiniGame can be worth up to 2,500,000,000 points. It's not hard at all to get a score in the billions.

There is a practical variant of this technique, in which the smaller digits, meaningless for scoring as many points as possible, are used to count something specific. Examples include number of combos hit, or times you continued after a game over. When used this way, the score is really more like two scores placed end to end.

* Many video games with a continue feature, starting with ''1941: Counter Attack'' on the Arcade, increment your score by one point whenever you continue. Thus, high scores that end in low numbers show more efficient gameplay than those that do not.

[[IdleGame Idle games]] tend to take this to the extreme, with typical games like ''VideoGame/CookieClicker'' often having counts eventually ranging from the quintillions to the decillions. Some games come very close to the 1.8e308 limit of a floating point double; other games like ''VideoGame/AntimatterDimensions'' have custom code to [[UpToEleven go beyond this limit]], and even the exponent becomes subject to pinball scoring, with numbers like 1e200,000,000 becoming commonplace. Idle games released in the early 2020s have used notations that include more es to raise 10 to additional powers of 10 and then the exponent as a way or the F notation to show how many times the number is raised to the power of 10, like ''VideoGame/ExponentialIdle'' letting you gain over ee40,000 dollars (that's 10^(10^40,000)), or ''VideoGame/ThePrestreestuck'' instead making the point limit F1.8e308 (the number next to F showing how many times 10 has been raised to the power of 10). This has the effect of undermining the "idle" component, as a year's worth of passive play might be equal to only an hour's worth of active play, as upgrades increase the rate of increase exponentially.

[[IdleGame Idle games]] tend to take this to the extreme, with typical games like ''VideoGame/CookieClicker'' often having counts eventually ranging from the quintillions to the decillions. Some games come very close to the 1.8e308 limit of a floating point double; other games like ''VideoGame/AntimatterDimensions'' have custom code to [[UpToEleven go beyond this limit]], and even the exponent becomes subject to pinball scoring, with numbers like 1e200,000,000 becoming commonplace. Idle games released in the later part of the 2010s introduced notations that include more es as a way to show how many times the number is raised to the power of 10, like ''VideoGame/ExponentialIdle'' letting you gain over ee40,000 dollars (that's 10^(10^40000)), or ''VideoGame/ThePrestreestuck'' instead making the point limit F1.8e308 (the number next to F showing how many times 10 has been raised to the power of 10). This has the effect of undermining the "idle" component, as a year's worth of passive play might be equal to only an hour's worth of active play, as upgrades increase the rate of increase exponentially.

[[IdleGame Idle games]] tend to take this to the extreme, with typical games like ''VideoGame/CookieClicker'' often having counts eventually ranging from the quintillions to the decillions. Some games come very close to the 1.8e308 limit of a floating point double; other games like ''VideoGame/AntimatterDimensions'' have custom code to [[UpToEleven go beyond this limit]], and even the exponent becomes subject to pinball scoring, with numbers like 1e200,000,000 becoming commonplace. Idle games released in the later part of the 2010s introduced notations that include more es as a way to show how many times the number is raised to the power of 10, like ''VideoGame/ExponentialIdle'' letting you gain over ee40,000 dollars (that's 10^10^40000), or ''VideoGame/ThePrestreestuck'' instead making the point limit F1.8e308 (the number next to F showing how many times 10 has been raised to the power of 10). This has the effect of undermining the "idle" component, as a year's worth of passive play might be equal to only an hour's worth of active play, as upgrades increase the rate of increase exponentially.

* [[Main/IdleGame Idle games]] tend to take this to the extreme, with typical games like ''VideoGame/CookieClicker'' often having counts eventually ranging from the quintillions to the decillions. Some games come very close to the 1e308 limit of a floating point double; other games like ''VideoGame/AntimatterDimensions'' have custom code to [[Main/UpToEleven go beyond this limit]], and even the exponent becomes subject to pinball scoring, with numbers like 1e200,000,000 becoming commonplace.
** This has the effect of undermining the "idle" component, as a year's worth of passive play might be equal to only an hour's worth of active play, as upgrades increase the rate of increase exponentially.

* ''Mysterious Stones'', a 1984 ''Franchise/IndianaJones''-inspired treasure-hunting [[ShootEmUp arena shooter]]. Levels are littered with items worth between 10 to 150,000 points. Each level has a treasure room at the center with a selection of three treasures, and the treasure grabbed from there is appraised at the end of each level - this can be worth up to 10,000,000 points. If the correct treasure is grabbed from each level [[note]]Hints can be found which reveal the correct treasure to take[[/note]], a colossal ''100,000,000'' points is awarded, and the player is also presented with either a phone number to call or a mail address to write to, to get a special prize.

* ''Mysterious Stones'', a 1984 ''Franchise/IndianaJones''-inspired treasure-hunting ShootEmUp. Levels are littered with items worth between 10 to 150,000 points. Each level has a treasure room at the center with a selection of three treasures, and the treasure grabbed from there is appraised at the end of each level - this can be worth up to 10,000,000 points. If the correct treasure is grabbed from each level [[note]]Hints can be found which reveal the correct treasure to select[[/note]], a colossal ''100,000,000'' points is awarded, and the player is also presented with either a phone number to call or a mail address to write to, to get a special prize.

-->--[=RinkWorks=], [[http://rinkworks.com/lights/ "Lights and Noises"]]

* ''Mysterious Stones'', a 1984 ''Franchise/IndianaJones''-inspired treasure-hunting ShootEmUp. Levels are littered with items worth between 10 to 150,000 points. Each level has a treasure room at the center with a selection of three treasures, and the treasure grabbed from there is appraised at the end of each level - this can be worth up to 10,000,000 points. If the correct treasure is grabbed from each level [[note]]The player can find hints that reveal which treasure is correct[[/note]], a colossal ''100,000,000'' points is awarded, and the player is also presented with either a phone number to call or a mail address to write to, to get a special prize.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea}}'' series does this for both damage and character stats. The damage can go into the ''octillions'' range with the right setup, and stats other than HP (Which has no known limit) cap at 99,999,999 million, at least until ''VideoGame/{{DisgaeaD2}}'', where the developers decided it wasn't good enough and let them go into the hundreds of millions range.

* The pinball ''Total Nuclear Annihilation'' uses the ones digit for the number of reactors destroyed.

-->--[[http://rinkworks.com/lights/ Lights and Noises]]

** A very obscure, and now defunct, rock-climbing flash game called Peg Climber played much like Winterbells. As you climbed, your score counter would count up the numbers in the Fibonacci sequence. One peg was 1 point, six pegs was 8 points, 44 pegs was 701,408,733 points...

** One amusing bug in the American version of ''VideoGame/GranTurismo 2'' is that not all the displays were changed - so a simple car wash supposedly costs 5,000Cr.

* The ''[[VideoGame/BubbleBobble Puzzle Bobble]]'' clone ''Puzzle de Pon'' fits into this trope many ways. Matching bubbles gives you some multiple of 1,000 points depending on how many are in the group (with no points for dropped bubbles), and time bonuses are given out in multiples of 5,000 (for the most part). There are secret spots in some levels that give out an instant ''1,000,000'' points (given that this is worth about as much as 10 stages played normally, this is nothing short of a GoldenSnitch). The bottom three digits are basically the sum of continues, arrow power-ups used, and wasted star bubbles (each adding 1 point). Curiously enough though, the maximum time bonus is 99,999 points, effectively adding 100,000 points and cancelling out one increment of the lower digits...

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'' the FictionalSport Qudditch goals are 10 points each rather than 1. The only other way to score (catching the GoldenSnitch) is worth 150 points, meaning the trailing zeros are totally irrelevant.

* The SAT is scored in multiples of 10 on a scale from 200 to 800 for each section, for a total score range from 600 to 2400 (400 to 1600 before the addition of the writing section). This means that even if you [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080610072004/http://www.colinfahey.com/oldpages/2003apr5_sat/original_2003apr5_sat.htm get every single question wrong]] and submit [[Series/HowIMetYourMother a bunch of drawings of boobs]] as your essay, you'll still get an index of 600.

* TI-89 calculator game "Drifter" had a problem with this. It was essentially a game of moving the player object left and right to avoid the ever-shrinking walls of a tunnel. The problem came in with the scoring system for the Classic mode. "Drifting," or not hitting the left or right keys to change your horizontal velocity, would give your entire score multipliers. Drifting one screen would add 25% of your current score to itself, two 50% (of the NEW score after the first screen), and each screen drifted 3 and after (consecutively) would double your score. You can already see where this is going if you drift for ten screens straight or so, but add to that the fact that each "level," for which the tunnel shrinks one pixel or so every 5-15 screens, increases the number of points added for each tick. Stage 1 gives you one point for each tick, stage 2 gives you two, etc. On a particularly good run, you can get up to stage 15-20. One level is about 100-200 ticks by the way, considering that the first level gives you about that many points if you do very little drifting. tl;dr, the game can crash your calculator due to some massive memory overflow. Certainly nowhere near Giga Wing's and MvC2's scores, but it probably could get that ridiculous with absolutely no inflation if the calculators were actually Windows XP computers. Fortunately, the mode that scored by only drifts, given arbitrary numbers of points instead of multipliers, did not have this problem. There were multipliers in the form of chaining multiple drifts together, but they only affected the points being earned, not total score, and chaining drifts is near-impossible in higher levels.

The point-value equivalent of RankInflation. Compare MoneyForNothing, where this applies to currency instead of points. The same reasons apply, though; we feel special and powerful if we can casually buy something that costs 1500 (whatevers)... even if the relative value would make it equivalent to a 15 point item using a reduced currency count. See also {{Trope 2000}}, another area in which extra 0s are added for the RuleOfCool.

* A simple comparison for collectible card game fans: In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', creatures' powers and toughnesses are generally in the single digits; a 10/10 creature is a big deal. A ''TabletopGame/{{Pokemon}}'' with 10 HP, on the other hand, is a OneHitPointWonder; the highest HP featured on any legal card is 230, and the biggest attack deals 300 damage. ''TabletopGame/{{Digimon}}'' creatures have stats in hundreds, and ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'' cards have stats on the order of 2000, with some exceptions. ''TabletopGame/DuelMasters'' creatures are in the thousands, with 1000 belonging to the weakest creatures and [[UpToEleven 39000 to the strongest (to-date)]].
** People have tried to make [[RulesConversions conversion systems]]. It ends in madness.
*** ''InQuest'' made an AprilFoolsDay joke about a new anime version of Magic, which multiplied every creature's power and toughness by 1,000.
** TabletopGame/YuGiOh [[PowerCreep sort of built up to this]]. While the lowest ATK any monster in the game that has an ATK at all is 100, there are still times where the other digits are used (like an 850 ATK monster gets its strength cut in half to 425). Now, it's uncommon to see any low-level monster (4 or lower) with an ATK of less than 1500 in most player's decks, and a deck with only "vanilla" (no effect monsters) will have them all around 1900. Old, weak cards are mainly used for special strategies or, more commonly, packing material.

** The same thing happens even when playing for money, in an elimination tournament. A casino tournament with a $15 buyin will rarely give the player $15 in tournament chips; $1500 is a far more likely starting amount. The chips are useless outside of the tournament, and a player's winnings are determined only by how long they last, so there isn't a need for a "tournament dollar" to correspond to real money in any way as long as all players start with the same amount.
* In TabletopGame/{{Bridge}}, the lowest possible additive to your score is 20 (for each trick bid and made/overtrick made in a clubs or diamonds contract), with 30, 40, and 50 being the other less-than-100 additives.
** That's in the most commonly played (pretty well universally played, actually) scoring system; older scoring systems involved game at thirty points, with contracts scoring six, seven, eight, nine or ten per odd trick. (if that doesn't make much sense to you, don't worry, it just means that you don't play)

* In pinochle, the scoring is often prone to this. Some versions give 10 points for Aces around, while some versions it is worth 100 points. All other values work the same. In a game with 10 for Aces, game is usually played to 500, but in the other version, game would be 5000.