Retro Game Challenge #33 (3/13-3/20)
 

Welcome to Week 33!
Each week we play 3 old video games to see who can get the highest score.
The Rules:

1. To enter, you just play one of the games and post a screenshot (F12 key in MAME) with your score.
2. The deadline to post your high scores will be Sunday 9:00 PM Eastern US time.
3. Winners must choose a new game before the deadline. If not, the high score is still up for grabs until one is chosen.
4. The games should be at least 10 years old and ones we haven't played before.
5. Any scores you submit should be played during the week of the contest using no continues or any features of the emulator that you wouldn't get by playing the actual machine.

So far we have only been using MAME to play the games, but that can change, if the winner so chooses.
New to MAME? Feel free to ask questions here or read the tutorials
I am going to host the current ROMs and list of all the past winners and high scores here.

The Games:
(click the titles for info and how to play)

Block Out (set 1) - Score to beat: D300 133152
http://img234.exs.cx/img234/1492/blockout9dr.png<img src="http://img78.exs.cx/img78/7404/bloc00029mx.png" height=288/>

Marble Madness (set 1) - Score to beat: Roto 35660
http://img234.exs.cx/img234/5583/marble8yb.png<img src="http://i145.exs.cx/img145/6601/marb00000iv.png" height=293/>

Ring King (US set 1) - Score to beat: Roto 65000
http://img223.exs.cx/img223/8440/ringking3dk.png<img src="http://img126.exs.cx/img126/4441/ring00044ky.png" height=285/>

The Prize:
Whoever gets the high score for one of the games picks the next game that replaces it, so we should always have 3 to choose from. You also get your name <s>engraved</s> permanently etched onto this eye catching trophy with a genuine Sharpie!

Last Week's Winners:
<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~dvdtalk/trophy.jpg" align="top"/><img src="http://home.comcast.net/~dvdtalk/engraving28.jpg" height="320"/>

<img src="http://img88.exs.cx/img88/5498/marb00016iv.png">

UPDATED: March 16th 11:33am
http://s89039974.onlinehome.us/Mame/marb0000.png

Looks like it may be time to extend these threads to longer than a week.

I'll be sure to pry myself away from World of Warcraft this weekend to play some Marble Madness. Not sure if it'll hold the same joy without a trackball though...

Extending it longer might not help, it seems there's no interest in playing these games. If the weekly Retrogame Challenge dies, what do you think of a Retrogame Challenge Free-for-All? Where we can play any of the past games and try to beat those scores.

Playing these games is fun, but the competition makes it more fun. Devilshalo might like another shot at my Bomberman , Mario Bros, and Space Invaders scores :)

I'm open to any suggestions. This seems like a good time to change the rules as we approach the 100th game. We definitely can go back and play games again. A free for all is fine with me, I just don't know how that would work as a thread on the forum.

I like the trophy and letting the winners pick new games. Maybe if we just did that once a month, but also let people submit scores for any of the past games. I'll keep it a weekly thread for now, but maybe after next week we'll have a new format. In the meantime, any ideas are appreciated. :)

I don't know, maybe we've just run out of good, old games. I mean, really.... Block Out? Ugh! :)

Maybe you should change the cut-off to be 5 years old?

Well, we could just rename it the MAME Challenge and lose the cutoff date entirely. I expected someone to pick an NES game by now, but it hasn't happened

I think we might have run out of good games to play too. Allowing all MAME games is a good idea.

In a Free-for-All challenge, just list all the games we played with the weekly high score in one column and the new Free-for-All score in the other column. If someone posts a higher score then they could add a new game to be played.

I couldn't get Ring King to work. :(

Is this on your Mac again? Ring King is another clone. Rename the rom file to kingofb.zip and try playing King of Boxers instead.

OK, I think the plan for next week will be to add the free-for all idea and see if that picks up the pace of the thread. I guess I may as well can the retro idea and just call it the mame challenge too. You still have to pick a 10 year old game this week though.

New reward for the winners this week: This could be the last chance to pick a console game. If everybody goes with mame again then I guess that's what we're sticking with. If I win I'm gonna pick a console game just to see if anybody plays it. :p

I still think a weekly contest is the way to go. I also like the idea of a free for all for MAME and/or console game.

~m~

I don't know if I can get 44,000 again, so i have to post the crappy screenshot.
http://img182.exs.cx/img182/3139/ring00015th.png

http://i145.exs.cx/img145/979/bloc00009eg.png
http://i145.exs.cx/img145/6601/marb00000iv.png

Still can't get Ring King to work. :(

http://img209.exs.cx/img209/4685/blockout5md.png

You suck at the MacMame -ohbfrank-

http://img126.exs.cx/img126/4441/ring00044ky.png

It's probably better for devilshalo's carpal tunnel that he can't play Ring King.

I'll pick Pole Position.

<img src="http://img78.exs.cx/img78/7404/bloc00029mx.png">

Man... Pole Position is insanely hard to control. I think you're helping me to decide to add new games monthly instead of weekly from now on. At least then there's some time to learn it.

I'm going to choose Gorf. If I have to choose two games, the second one will be I'm Sorry. If you don't want to be stuck playing a game involving S&M and Michael Jackson, you better get to playing some Ring King or Marble Madness.

I think tomorrow I will officially change this to the mame challenge. No more 10 year limit, just any game from mame that we haven't played before. Also, I plan on making the deadline for the next thread the end of the month and start the free-for-all. It can be a test run.

I'm planning on adding a 4th game for the next one. Any suggestions? You don't have to have a high score, just name some that you want to play. No more 10 year rule, so maybe Metal Slug?

Well, close but not close enough. :(

http://img100.exs.cx/img100/8374/bloc00053tp.png

Wow! I didn't think anybody was gonna compete with D300. He was chomping at the bit to play this game months ago. Nice try DH :(