In the back of Easton's , Nate Thomas scrambled through dungeons, jumped over cliffs, and tossed fireballs at villanous walking mushrooms.
He did all this as Mario, star of numerous video games for Nintendo, including "Vs. Super Mario Bros.," an arcade game that dates back to 1986.
All week long, the Game Gallery -- which sells vintage video games -- is challenging customers to get the high score on the game.
As of Monday evening, that score was 210,350, held by, um, Matt Ellis, manager of the Game Gallery.
"I don't know what we're going to do if he wins," Assistant Manager Andrew Dobrow said, although he added that they'll probably go with the second-highest score, which is quite close.
The prize? A $50 gift certificate for the store -- it increases by $50 for 200 plays -- and a chance to claim some form of mastery over an extra-difficult version of a Nintendo classic.
When the first Nintendos were sold in 1985, Super Mario Bros. came with the system. It's a pretty simple story: Mario -- along with his brother Luigi, if it's a two-player game -- has to rescue Princess Toadstool from King Koopa, who's like a cross between a turtle and a fire-breathing dragon.
To do this, you need to run, jump, and sometimes even swim through 32 progressively more difficult levels.
All of this became much tougher when the arcade version of the game -- the one that's in the back of the Game Gallery -- was developed, said Dobrow.
"It's definitely more complex," he said. "It's harder. The later worlds are definitely harder."
As he talked, the game's theme music played over and over and over. Wasn't he getting tired of it?
"Oh, no," said Dobrow, who displayed two Mario-related tattoos on his right arm. "Even if it slipped into my dreams, I wouldn't mind."
