So, with a certain degree of practicepracticepractice, and observing what worked, I finally managed to finish level 8 of advanced skateboarding. With 72 seconds to spare, for a total of 232...

So, what was the trick that took me from just short of enough time to more than a minute left?

SPOILER SPOILER

First, try to skim the benches near where you start. Each bench fully skimmed is worth 3 points, for a total of 9 if you get all three.

Second, don't work too hard to hit all the benches on the first platform, lest you miss the ramp to the next platform.

Third, and probably most important, there are two rows of platforms, and it is possible to use the half-pipes to jump between them. In fact, this is the key, as the scoring density is higher on the platforms than on the ground. You trek down to the first on-ramp, then bounce from platform to platform, jump using the half-pipes, and work your way back down the platforms in the other direction...

Presto!

Congratulations!

Just to let you know - bettering your top score in Free Skate is my new goal for the summer. I will probably die trying, but at least I have a goal.

I never did get to jump from platform to platform in advanced level 8 - I made all 40 points on the ground level. I KNOW I burned more calories than the Wii gave me credit for, but at least I finally got to Free Skate. So, go rack up some more points, or I might catch up!

If you check the score spreadsheet, you'll see that I have already upped the game somewhat. How I do it remains my little secret, though...

Holy Guacamole!

Okay, my new goal is to better my OWN score.

I think your secret is that you import the chicken into the arena and fly!

Well, I beat my old score, but I am pretty sure your record will stand, maybe for all time. At this point, I have a lot more muscle on my right leg (I would have thought my left, from pushing off, but apparently holding my weight up on my right leg is building more muscle). I do not see how I will get into the 1200's much less the 1400's!

Thank you for giving me something to work for though, at least until summer when I get a new game - I did not want to backslide but it was getting hard to turn on the wii every morning, there for a while. I can definitely keep trying until the end of May. I think I have reached my physical limit for an ahem, middle aged person, and for doing the same games over and over. BMI is not optimal, high 22's but that is a lot better than 8 months ago! To get any stronger is going to take weights or something.

Thank you WiiFit, WiiFit Plus, and this forum!

SPOILER!

If you just want to score points, the secret is to work the half-pipes at the other end of the arena, i.e. the ones that are behind you when you start. Go around the set against the wall, avoiding the cones of course, and then back along the outside of the double-sided set. I do the outside because the manoeuvre to get there is easier, at least for me, that is, and also because that way I avoid the blasted cones in one direction...

No, he rents the plane from Wii Sports Resort.

**SPOILER - kinda******

Yep, been doing that - going to the triple row of half pipe and racking up points. Keeping the skateboard glowing. Unfortunately, this is so gawd-awful boring I actually zone out or get mesmerized or something. I am usually shocked when the time ends, because I have not be paying attention. Never thought of myself as attention deficit, but somehow this game just turns my brain off. I do know I have a very low tolerance for boredom. Sigh, I will try for a while longer - at least it burns up the calories, apparently. I will order Walk It Out tomorrow, hopefully that will not put me to sleep! I am hoping the kids get hooked on the Walk It out game, and will join me this summer, no one else in the family wants to do wii fit with me.

I've raised the game again: this morning I broke the next psychological boundary by getting 1560 points. And there is still room for improvement!

The trick to keeping it interesting is to challenge yourself to improving your technique - make sure you get a trick manoeuvre on every jump (not there yet) and that you stay off the blacktop surface except at the ends of each pass (you score nothing while you are on the blacktop, and likewise while you are catching air) (not there yet either). Unfortunately, these two goals conflict somewhat, as improved success in one makes the other harder...