Chapter 24: One More Game

More than one monocle pops at the sight of Charlie Hustle dancing and shouting in the most elegant room in the casino. He gathers up the money in both arms. “Great job, as always, kid! See you at the stadium!” He runs off.

The other bettors look down their noses at you as the ultra-elegant tuxedoed robot escorts you and Melvin out of the high stakes poker room, back out through the fancy doors, which he closes, leaving you outside the silver door, in the main room of the casino. You and Melvin head outside. Before you start walking, you look up at the large, gold-colored casino building, and think for a minute. “What is Charlie up to?” you ask.

“That’s just what I’ve been wondering,” replies Melvin. “So far, he’s been true to his word, getting us into all these baseball games, but something isn’t right.”

“Yeah. Didn’t you say that Super league is the highest league?”

“Sure, that’s right,” says Melvin.

“Well, didn’t Charlie say there were two games left to win the challenge?”

“Yeah… that doesn’t make much sense… unless they are both in the Super league? I guess we better ask him.”

“Yeah, if we see him again. I get the feeling he’s just going to take all the money and disappear.”

“But then we’d never get the baseball challenge ring!” says Melvin, alarmed.

“I know, that’s what I’m worried about.”

The two of you walk to the Super stadium, which is the grandest one you’ve seen yet. It has a gigantic sign reading “ATARI SUPER BASEBALL”, with “BASEBALL” in glowing red letters, “SUPER” in glowing blue letters that keep turning upside down, and “ATARI” in gorgeous, glowing spectronium letters. Everything looks sleek and modern. No red uniforms this time, there’s a white team and a yellow team, and you are on the white team. The robots are smaller than at the Super Challenge stadium, and much faster. As always, Melvin is there with you in the locker room, ready to be the baseball. “Super baseball is pretty much like Realsports™ baseball, actually,” he explains, “just faster and slicker.” 

A batboy runs into the locker room. "Are you the Player?" he asks.

"Yes," you answer, wondering what he wants.

"The umpire wants to know... do you want the game in easy mode, or impossible mode?"

You and Melvin look at each other. Melvin whispers, "Given those choices, I'd pick easy."

"Uh... easy?" you say, uneasily.

"Got it," he says, calling "Hey Frank, set the left difficulty to a!" as he runs out the door.

"What was that about?" you ask Melvin. You flip through the Super Baseball manual which is sitting on the bench. “There’s nothing about difficulty switches in here…”

"Beats me," he says, shrugging.

You hear the organ play a weirdly monotone version of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” as your opponent's sleek white robots all dash out onto the field. “Well, Melvin,” you sigh, “here we go again!”

Put the Super Baseball cartridge into your Atari 2600. Use game select to pick “1 PLAYER / 1^ST UP”. Set both difficulty switches to a. Play until you win. Post a link to a video in the comments section of yourself completing the challenge.

Chapter 23: Deal With It

Again, you win! Again, Melvin is excited, and again, Charlie comes out onto the field in his red jacket to shake your hand, and say “Great job, kid!”

You’re getting sick of this. “What does it take to win the baseball challenge, anyway? How many more games?”

Charlie hems and haws a little. “Just… two more.”

Melvin is exuberant. “So, the Player wins two more games, and we get the ring?”

Charlie fidgets. “Sure, sure. Right.”

“So, what game is next?” asks Melvin.

“It’s the Super league,” says Charlie.

“Wait, isn’t this the Super league?” you say, puzzled.

Charlie laughs. “No, no, this is the Super CHALLENGE league. Totally different.”

“Wow!” says Melvin. “The Super league is the best of the best! There’s nothing higher than that!”

“Wait…” you interrupt. “If there’s nothing higher than that, why are there two more games?”

Charlie breaks in. “There’s no time for that now. The Super league game is this afternoon…”

“…and we need to go to the Casino,” you and Melvin say in unison.

Charlie puts his hands up defensively. “Okay, okay, you’re right. But I promise – this is the last time.”

“Really?” asks Melvin. “This is our last trip to the casino? You promise?”

“Absolutely,” says Charlie. “See, we need $2500 to play in the Super league game, and with the money we have now, I can get you into the Stud Poker game. After watching you win the Poker Solitaire, I’m SURE you can win this!”

Melvin raises an eyebrow, not that he has eyebrows. “And you’re SURE this is our last casino trip?”

Charlie puts his hand on his heart. “Scout’s honor.”

“What kind of scout are you?” you ask skeptically.

“I scouted you out, didn’t I?” says Charlie with a smirk. “But come on! The big game starts soon!”

“The Super league game?” asks Melvin.

“No, no – Stud Poker!” says Charlie, hustling off the field.

Back at the Casino, you are met by an even more elegant robot, with a thinner mustache, and a more expensive looking tuxedo. He leads you through a set of silver doors, then a set of glittering gold doors, and finally through a set of shimmering rainbow spectronium doors into a huge room appointed with beautiful carpets, gorgeous paintings, and a spectronium chandelier over a single table. An enormous robot shuffles cards with incredible speed in absolute silence. Six men and women sit around the table holding their cards with perfect posture, wearing incredibly expensive clothes, and peering at their cards through monocles with cigarette holders clenched gently in their teeth. Charlie is there, looking out of place in his tacky red jacket and tie. The robot who brought you in dusts off your seat, and gestures for you to sit down. “Okay,” says Charlie, “this is the big time, but I know you can do it. Five card stud, standard rules. Go get ‘em!” He claps you on the back, and the other players look at you skeptically. You swallow nervously as the giant robot silently deals you each two cards, one up, and one down.

Put the Casino cartridge into your Atari 2600. Use game select 3, and set both difficulty switches to a. Play until you have at least $2500. Post a link to a video in the comments section of yourself completing the challenge.

Chapter 22: Time to Phone a Friend

“YES YES YES!” shouts Charlie. The throng of well-dressed onlookers claps politely. The croupier pushes over a neat stack of bills, which Charlie quickly scoops up and pockets. “Nice going, kid! This will get us into the stud po…” he catches himself. “I mean, the super challenge league.”

You yawn. “Please not another baseball game tonight… I’ve played a double header today already, not to mention three trips to the Casino.”

“Yeah,” says Melvin earnestly. “An exhausted Player can’t win, and we need the Player to win, for the Queen’s sake.”

Charlie seems to collect himself. “Right, right, for the Queen’s sake. Tell you what,” he says. “I have business to attend to, anyway. Why don’t you go up and get some rest, and we’ll meet at Super Challenge Stadium first thing tomorrow?”

“How many stadiums does this town have?” you wonder aloud.

Melvin laughs, “If there is one thing that this town loves, it’s baseball! There’s stadiums all over!”

“Ha, yes, right,” says Charlie, now seemingly in a hurry. He snaps his fingers, and the tuxedoed robot seems to appear from nowhere. “Please show these two to a room,” says Charlie. “And make it nice! They need their rest.”

“Very good sir,” says the robot deferentially. “If you’ll follow me…” Charlie waves a gleeful goodbye as you follow the robot to the elevators.

The hotel room is hard to believe. It has an enormous four-poster bed made of onyx, chairs and tables made of silver and gold, and a bar made of some weird metal that glows in every color of the rainbow. You stare at its hypnotic glow with tired eyes. “Melvin, what is this stuff? I’ve seen it a few places now.”

“That’s spectronium,” says Melvin. “It’s the most precious material in the entire Atariverse. It’s not only beautiful, but indestructible. It’s what the Rainbow Castle is made of.”

“But… that got destroyed.”

Melvin is irritated now. “I know, you don’t think I know that? It’s just one more thing around here that doesn’t make any sense.” He calms himself. “But… it’s okay. We’re going to fix it… somehow. If you can win the baseball challenge, and we can get the ring, well, maybe Queen Stella can fix things.”

You crawl under the covers of the giant bed. Thinking about your situation just makes you more tired. “Melvin, that’s just the second of twenty-six treasures, and I’m getting the feeling that they aren’t going to get any easier to find. Is this really going to be worth it?”

Melvin is uncharacteristically quiet now. He turns down the lights, and glides over to a velvet pillow that seems to have been provided just for him. “I love my Queen, because she represents all that is good and right in the Atariverse. And right now, I’m watching that fall apart before my eyes. Be patient Player, get some rest. Don’t worry about the quest, all you have to worry about right now is winning another baseball game.” He puts the light all the way out.

You drift off to sleep, thinking about pixelated baseballs, but in the back of your mind, you hear the laughter of Charlie Hustle.

The next morning, you find yourself back on the ball field, in your bright red uniform. This stadium is a lot like the Realsports™ one, but everything is cleaner and brighter. Your bright red robots are bigger and chunkier, like upside-down exclamation points, and they have a peculiar gait when they run.

“Okay,” says Melvin, “this is a lot like the Realsports™ league, but you’ll have better control over your pitches.” You cup Melvin in your hand, and throw out a trial pitch. An eerie sound seems to come from everywhere. “Boowoowoowoowoowoowoowoowoop!” and when the catcher catches Melvin there is a weird “Deedle-dee!” kind of sound. The catcher robot wings Melvin back to you.

“What the heck was that?” you ask.

“Ha, yeah,” says Melvin. “The Super Challenge league is big into sound effects. It’s the organist, I think. Anyway, don’t let it throw you… when you throw me!”

You take a look around the stadium again. “Hey… where’s the shortstop?”

Melvin laughs, “Yeah, no shortstop in this league. Maybe that’s the ‘super challenge.’”

You wind up for the first pitch. “Just when I think this place can’t get any weirder, it finds a way.”

“That it doooooeeeeeeesss…..” says Melvin, as he zips toward the plate, drowned out by the sound of… whatever that weird noise is.

Put the Super Challenge Baseball cartridge into your Atari 2600. For this game, you will need to find a friend to play against. You’ll play the red team, your opponent will play blue. Play until you win. Post a link to a video in the comments section of yourself completing the challenge.

Chapter 21: Solitaire-y Entwinement

“Nice job, kid!” says Charlie. “I always like seeing the red team win!” The stands are full of cheering fans. The robots all march back to the dugouts.

“What’s next?” asks Melvin.

“Well,” says Charlie, “If you are up for it, the next step is the Super Challenge league.” 

Melvin whistles, then stops himself. “But, don’t tell me, we need more money.”

“You guessed it,” says Charlie. “To get in there, you need another five hundred. And I know just how to get it. But you’re going to have to be clever.”

You look at Melvin, sigh, and look back at Charlie. “Well, we made it this far. What do we do?”

“Just meet me back at the Casino, and I’ll handle the rest!” He runs off, gleefully.

After you clean up, you and Melvin head to the Casino. It’s nighttime now, and it glitters with a million rainbow pixel lights. You walk in the main doors, into the throng of casino-goers and suddenly realize you have no idea where to go. “Melvin, where are we going?”

Melvin flies around this way and that, peering over the crowd. He flies back down. “I have no idea. Maybe the blackjack tables again?”

Just then, a robot in a tuxedo steps up, with a prim expression. “Excuse me, I believe you are here to meet Mr. Hustle?” You both nod. He raises an eyebrow. “Right this way,” he says, and wheels off into the crowd, who seem to clear a path for him.

You follow him through the crowded casino, until you arrive at a large green table with a robot croupier shuffling a deck of cards over and over, while a beaming Charlie Hustle stands nearby. “Ah ha! Here you are! Just in time!” He gleefully ushers you onto a stool in front of the table.

You look out at the table, and see twenty-five squares marked in a grid. “This… isn’t blackjack,” you astutely remark.

“No, no it isn’t! Something much better! All you have to do is it lay out the cards you get from the dealer into rows and columns, trying to make the best poker hands you can. The better the hands you lay out, the more money you’ll make! Do it right, and you could get as much as three thousand, three hundred and forty dollars!” He appears to restrain himself a little bit. “But… don’t get greedy. All you need right now is to win another five hundred bucks, and you’ll be all set. Are you ready?”

You look over the grid… it seems simple enough… maybe? People in elegant evening dress are looking on with much interest. The robot dealer shuffles the cards one last time. “Be careful,” whispers Melvin. “This game is harder than it looks.”

You take a deep breath, and press the reset button.

Put the Casino cartridge into your Atari 2600. Use game select 4. Play until you are able to win $500 or more in a single game. Post a link to a video in the comments section of yourself completing the challenge.

Chapter 20: Let's Get Real

“WOOHOO!” shouts Charlie, throwing dollar bills into the air, and doing a jig as they flutter down. Melvin whispers in your ear. “I’m kind of worried about him.” A robot attendant collects up the loose money, collates it into a neat pile, and hands it to Charlie.

“Well, Player, you did it!” Charlie says, “five hundred smackers!”

“So,” says Melvin, “we can play in the Realsports™ game now?”

“Oh,” says Charlie, suddenly coming back to reality, “Yes, right… the Realsports™ game.” He furrows his brow a little. “Let’s head over.”

The Home Run stadium seems dinky compared to this one. You change into a red uniform, and see that the locker room is filled with robots, all standing perfectly still. They stare straight ahead, eerily. “Why so many base runners, Melvin? Are they spares?”

“No way, Player! This is your team!”

You stare at the inert robots. “If I have a robot team, do I have to do anything? Do I have to control the ball like before?”

“You can’t control the ball in the Realsports™ league,” says Melvin. “I mean, it will still be me, but there’s none of that waving around. You’ll have to do actual pitching – fastballs, sinkers, risers, all that stuff.”

“Yikes, sounds tricky. But I just have to pitch?”

“No, no,” says Melvin. “You have to control the whole team. It’s like before, but you control them, instead of me. Try it now. Stare at one of them, and get him to move around.” You try staring at the robot on the end, and imagine it running back and forth in the locker room. And the robot starts doing it!

“Melvin, this is really creepy.”

“Well, get used to it. And speaking of creepy…”

Charlie walks in. “Getting used to the robots, eh? You’ll have the hang of it in no time. Which is good, because the game is about to start!” The robots spontaneously all run out onto the ball field. “Good luck, kid – I know you can do it! At least, I hope so – I got a lot riding on this game!”

Melvin flies into your mitt, and you trot out onto the pitcher’s mound. The field seems huge, and the stadium is full of fans. Melvin peeks out of your mitt at the stands and whistles. Then he looks up at you. “Don’t worry, you can do it. Just remember one thing.”

“What?”

“No spitballs! It’s gross!” says Melvin. You chuckle, and wind up, as a yellow robot steps up at the plate.

Put the Realsports™ Baseball cartridge into your Atari 2600. Choose game select 4. Play until you win the game. Post a link to a video in the comments section of yourself completing the challenge.

Chapter 19: Hit Me

“YAHOO!” shouts Melvin. “We did it!” The scoreboard makes it clear – the game is over, and you won! The blue robot stomps grimly back to the dugout.

As you head back to the locker room, Charlie is there to congratulate you. “Nice job, kid! You’re on your way!”

“That was the weirdest game of baseball I ever played,” you say. “I had to do all the pitching, all the hitting, and all the fielding, not to mention telekinetic control of the ball. I’m exhausted.” You don’t even want to think about the red robots that looked just like you that served as base runners. “And I have to play how many more games like this?”

Charlie claps you on the shoulder. “Ha, yeah, Home Run baseball has a lot of… character. But don’t worry about that – you’ve graduated to the big leagues now! I’ve got you lined up for a Realsports™ game.” 

Melvin is excited. “Wow! That’s great, when?”

“Just as soon as we come up with the $500 entry fee.”

Melvin looks skeptical. “So, more slot machines?”

“No way!” says Charlie. “You’re moving up to the big time. Blackjack is our game! You get cleaned up, and I’ll see you back at the Casino!” He briskly heads out the door.

“That guy seems to really like the casino,” says Melvin.

“You’re telling me.” You shower and change, and then you and Melvin head back to the casino. The blackjack tables are in a more elegant part of the casino.

“Hey!” says Melvin, pointing at an excited woman with a rounded bob haircut. “Is that… Carol Channing?”

You shrug, looking for Charlie, who is already there and playing. You arrive just in time to watch him bust. He seems disappointed, but he sees you, he is all smiles. “Hello, Player!” he beams, and gestures to the seat next to him. “You know how to play, right?”

“Yeah, more or less.”

“Alright! Then place your bets! Here we go!” Charlie rubs his hands together, as the robotic dealer sends two cards your way.

Put the Blackjack cartridge into your Atari 2600. Set the left and right difficulty switches to a or b, depending on your rules preferences. Play until your total is $500. Post a link to a video in the comments section of yourself completing the challenge.

Chapter 18: Take Me Out to the Ballgame

“Alright!” shouts Charlie, as coins come gushing out of the slot machine. He runs his hands through the pile of coins gleefully.

“So… that’ll be enough?” you ask.

“Sure, sure!” he says. “Enough to get you into the Home Run league, anyway.” He counts out the money. “198, 199, 200. Okay, you’re all set. Head over to Home Run stadium. You’ll be on the red team, naturally.” He proudly brushes off his bright red jacket. “If you head over now, you’ll have time to warm up. See you there!” He disappears into the Casino crowd.

“I don’t like that guy,” says Melvin, brooding.

You don’t much like him either. “I don’t get it,” you say. “If he’s lying about the ring, why is he letting us do the challenge at all?”

“Beats me,” says Melvin. “But I guess we’ll find out. That is, if we can win. You ready to play some ball?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” you shrug.

“Home Run baseball is a little… weird,” explains Melvin.

“Weird how?”

“It’s hard to explain. Only two players, but also ghosts, and you can control the ball with your mind.”

“Okay, yeah, that does sound weird.”

“Yeah,” says Melvin. “It has a bad rap, but it’s really fun. Come on,” he says, “You pitch and hit, and I’ll be the ball.” He’s excited now. “Baseball and helping the Queen at the same time? This is gonna be great!” He zips out towards the door, and you thread through the crowd after him.

When you get to the stadium, Charlie is there to meet you, and points you to the locker room, where you change into your red uniform. Melvin meets you out on the mound. “Okay, let’s warm up a little. Pitch me right over home plate.” The blue robot you are going to play against is still in its dugout. You wind up, and pitch Melvin towards the plate. ZIP! He goes in a perfectly straight line. He zips back to you and says, “That was pretty good, but that’s not how it’s played here at Home Run stadium. Here, the ball can wiggle all over the place.”

“Okay,” you say, “so start wiggling.”

“No, no,” says Melvin, shaking his head, not that he has a head, “you control me with your mind. Try again.” You wind up again, and pitch the ball toward the plate, but this time imagine it veering left, and then right back over the plate. And it works! Melvin zips back. “Alright! You’ve got the hang of it! Now all you have to do is get it past this guy.” A large blue robot with gritted teeth comes lumbering out of the dugout and stomps up to the plate. A mechanical umpire calls out “Play Ball” in a robotic voice, and the game begins.

Put the Home Run cartridge into your Atari 2600. Use game select 1, and set the difficulty switches to b. Play until you are able to win the game. Post a link to a video in the comments section of yourself completing the challenge.

Chapter 17: You Don't Know Jackpot

 “CLUNK.” You sink yet another ball on your ninth and final shot. Charlie’s mouth falls open in astonishment, and he almost loses his toothpick. You notice that others in the pool hall have been watching, particularly as your score started to rise. You aren’t sure how many times you hit that reset switch. Funny thing how that switch works – it seems to actually rewind time, so that bad things never happened. You know you failed at dozens of the trick shots you took, but to Melvin and Charlie, it looks like you did everything right the first time. Melvin was a big help during the game, shrinking into a little dot that helped you line up your shots.

“Well, I’ll be.” says Charlie. “That kind of playing deserves a trophy. I guess you really are a Player.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” says Melvin, exasperated. “Now, tell us about the baseball challenge.”

Charlie folds his arms. “Well, the idea is you play against a series of teams, each better than the last. Beat ‘em all, and you win.”

“Sounds good,” says Melvin. “When do we start?”

Charlie seems a little excited. “Ha, well, I guess we can start today. There’s a game at Home Run Stadium this afternoon.” He pauses, and looks at you again. “I like watching the locals play and all, but it’ll be good to see a Player playing again.”

“You won’t just see us play, you’ll see us WIN,” says Melvin.

Charlie laughs. “Ha, right. Maybe you will, at that.” He laughs again, “Maybe you’ll be the first players in history to beat the whole baseball challenge!” He keeps laughing.

“And if we do, WHAT will we win?” says Melvin.

Charlie stops laughing. He’s quiet, then says “You just win, that’s all.”

Melvin laughs. “What? Not even a patch? What about the ring?”

Charlie’s eyebrows raise again. He glances around nervously. “What ring? I don’t know anything about a ring.”

Melvin says, “You know perfectly well what ring. The winner of the baseball challenge wins a ring.”

Charlie looks down, “I…” he looks up again. “Look,” he says, smiling. “I don’t know anything about that. Ask anyone in here. HEY,” he shouts to the room, “anyone know anything about a baseball ring?” You see some people shrug and shake their heads. He continues. “I don’t know where you got that idea, but hey, I’m happy to enter you into the contest, if you want. If you win, you can tell everyone you beat the Atari Baseball Challenge. Easy as ABC, am I right?” he grins. “All I need from you is the $200 entry fee, and we’re all set.”

You and Melvin look at each other. “We don’t have any money,” you say. “We had some gold and diamonds, but, uh…”

“We gave them to a pirate,” finishes Melvin.

“No problem, no problem at all,” says Charlie, gesturing broadly. “Lots of Players don’t have money. Tell you what, I’ll spot you $25, and we’ll go win the rest!”

“From where?” you ask.

“Ha, follow me!” he says, and hustles up the stairs and out the door of the pool hall. You and Melvin follow him up the stairs, and see that he is heading down the street, to a large glittering building with a huge gold sign reading CASINO.

Pixelated doormen in red uniforms hold the doors open. “Good morning, Mr. Hustle,” they say. He smiles, and Charlie ushers you in. There is a huge array of gambling games of every type and description. “What do you think?” says Charlie, beaming.

“I think we’re gonna lose our shirts!” mutters Melvin.

“Right this way,” says Charlie, walking up to a row of machines. “No better way to turn $25 into $200 than the old slot machine.”

“I’m not sure about this…” you say uncertainly, looking at the one-armed bandits.

“Aw, come on,” he says. “Listen, it’s my $25. And I’ll bet right alongside you.” He sits down to your left. “And besides, if things go wrong, you’ve always got your reset button, right? So, here’s some coins – drop ‘em in, and give it a spin! You’ll have your $200 before you know it!”

Melvin shakes his head, but, you don’t see much alternative, and Charlie is right… you do have your reset button…

Put the Slot Machine cartridge into your Atari 2600. Choose Game Select 1, 3, 5, or 7. Play until you have $200 or more. Post a link to a video in the comments section of yourself completing the challenge.

Chapter 16: A Clean Break

You are starting to get into the pinball game when Melvin comes back. He’s whispering. “Okay, I think I found someone who might be able to help us. I asked around about the baseball challenge, and most people couldn’t remember anything about it. But everyone says if you want to know about baseball, ask this guy.” He gestures over to a guy wearing dark glasses and a bright red sportcoat, who is patiently chalking his cue. There’s a toothpick in his mouth. You follow Melvin over.

“Scuse me,” says Melvin. “People say you know a lot about baseball.”

“So what if I do,” he says, and leans over the pool table to take a shot.

“We’re here to do the baseball challenge,” says Melvin. “I’m a missile, and this is my Player.”

This statement blows his concentration, and he pops the cue ball right off the table, and you catch it.

He looks up at both of you. “There aren’t any more Players,” he says. “Everyone knows that.”

“Yeah, everyone that remembers,” says Melvin suspiciously. “And what am I, then, a floating cocktail napkin?”

The man in the red coat stands up straight and looks at both of you. “You can’t have a missile without a Player, I guess.” He seems to think about that for a minute. Then he extends a hand. “Name’s Charlie.”

“Just Charlie?” asks Melvin.

You shake his hand and he smiles. “Some people call me Charlie Hustle.” He leans back and looks you over. “So… a Player, after all these years.” He switches his toothpick back and forth a few times. “And somehow, you heard about the baseball challenge.”

“We heard about it from our Queen,” says Melvin, in a steely tone. “Queen Stella, who defeated Lord Tyrannus, remember?”

Charlie stares at Melvin for a long time. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” says Charlie, quietly. Then, brightly, “But I do know about baseball. We’ve got baseball games all over this town… but it’s been a long time since a Player showed up to play.” He looks at you. “So, you’re really a Player, huh?”

“Show him your reset button,” says Melvin.

You take it out and hold it up. His eyebrows go up. He shifts his toothpick around. “Yeah, that looks legit, all right. But, tell you what,” he says, “just so I can be sure, why don’t we play a little pool? I never met the Player yet who could resist a game of trick shot.”

You look at Melvin, who shrugs.

Charlie looks at your hand. “Toss me that cue ball.” He starts setting up balls on the table. “Standard rules. I’ll set up ten trick shots, you get a point for each ball you sink. Two bonus points for sinking every ball in a shot. I figure, if you really are a Player, you ought to be able to get at least 25 points.”

“Then we can talk about the baseball challenge?” asks Melvin.

“Yeah,” replies Charlie with a smile, handing you a cue stick. “Sure thing.”

Put the Trick Shot cartridge into your Atari 2600. Select game “1T”. Play until you get 25 points. Post a link to a video in the comments section of yourself completing the challenge. 

Chapter 15: A Sporting Chance

It almost breaks your brain, but somehow you manage to remember twenty numbers in a row. Suddenly the grid vanishes, and the Queen seems to come out of her trance. She blinks and puts a hand to her head. “Thank you Player, and you too, little missile.” With effort, she sits up proudly. “I cannot thank you enough for returning my crown.” She looks back at the delicate golden crown you restored to her, now resting peacefully in its alcove. “I did much computing while you were away, and have a better understanding of the gaps in my memory… in the gaps in everyone’s memories. Now that the crown has returned, some of those memories are coming back to me. You see, each treasure stores part of the memory of our kingdom. With so many treasures missing, much memory of what was is missing as well. But you have returned the first of the twenty-six treasures, and so, perhaps there is hope of restoring all of them.”

Melvin does a sort of a bow. “My Queen, if I may ask, did your computation reveal how this all happened so fast? I’m sure there were thousands of players here just a few days ago.”

The Queen looks at him sadly. “Oh, little missile, that is not so. I know there was a time when there were so many Players that your services were required constantly. But what I now recall is that gradually, the number of Players declined, putting our land in peril, because Players have always protected us from great dangers. I believe that eventually, Players stopped coming altogether for many years. During that time, little missile, your services were not required, and so you were not in active memory.”

“Wait a scan line,” says Melvin, “are you saying that the kingdom fell apart, and I slept through it? How long did it take? Weeks? Months?”

“What year is it now, little missile?” asks the Queen.

“Why, it’s 1984, of course!” pipes up Melvin.

The Queen looks at you. “But it isn’t, is it, Player?”

You look down at your blocky shoes. “No, your majesty.”

“WHAT?” says Melvin, “Then what year is it?”

You shift uncomfortably. “It is decades after that.”

“WHAT? What am I, Rip Van Pixel?” says Melvin, astonished. “Were you asleep too, my Queen?”

“No, I was not. Missiles are special, because they only appear with Players. There have been no Players for a very long time.”

“So, what happened to the kingdom? How come no one remembers you?”

She shakes her head. “I was not asleep, but I don’t know what happened, either. Too much of my memory is missing. All I have are some fragments of memory, much like the fragments of rubble that litter this throne room,” she says looking around sadly. “However, now that you’ve returned the crown, helped me to reconnect to it, I have new fragments that did not exist before.” She looks at you. “Player, are you willing to help recover another treasure for us? You are under no obligation.”

You find yourself surprised to remember that you’re supposed to be wanting to go home. Just as you used to get lost in videogames when you were young, you realize that you are becoming lost in this one. But nothing feels bad about that. Gradually, this strange world is becoming more real for you, and you realize how much you want to help Melvin and the Queen.

With a mixture of pride and surprise you hear yourself say “I would like to return home sometime. But right now, I see that your kingdom is in need, and I would like to help any way I can.” Melvin zips around you in an excited circle.

The Queen says, “Your bravery and loyalty are much appreciated, Player. It is enough to make one wonder if you could indeed be the Player of legend, said to have the power to restore our fallen kingdom.”

Inwardly, you shake your head. You were just a goof at a yard sale. “I appreciate your confidence in me, but I have no idea where we should go, or what we should do to recover the other treasures.”

She looks down sadly. “My memory fragments don’t amount to much, but they do tell me this. Some of the treasures were stolen by villains and other evil forces that have long existed in our world. The lack of Players emboldened them. I have a vague memory of some of them… but not enough to be useful.” She sits quietly, brooding.

Melvin breaks the silence. “So… can we help you remember, somehow…?”

“No,” she says, sounding almost angry. “No, I don’t think I’ll be able to recall them without more treasures. However, I have other memories.” Another long pause.

“Such as…?” asks Melvin, nervously.

“Memories of discord in the Kingdom. When the Players stopped coming, some people panicked. People lost faith in the kingdom.” She pauses. “People lost faith… in me.” If she wasn’t so regal, you think she’d probably start crying. “They lost faith in my leadership, and they had all kinds of ideas about how to use the treasures to lure players back into our world. I can’t really remember everything that happened, but I do know that one treasure was to be the prize of a sporting contest. Here is what I see.” Her eyes start projecting again, and in the blue light you see a hologram of a baseball, a bat, and a shiny ring hovering in the air.

Melvin says, “This is great! All we have to do is win a baseball game, and we can get the next treasure!”

She shakes her head grimly, “I don’t think it will be so easy. I recall that the contest was quite difficult, which is why no Player ever achieved it.”

“Have no fear, my Queen!” says Melvin boldly. “We shall win the contest, and recover the treasure!” You smile a little seeing how much he likes playing up this “servant to royalty” stuff. But you suppose it makes sense – he is sort of a squire, and you realize that makes you… a knight?

You look around at the rubble again in the sad, gray castle. “Your majesty,” you venture, “are you sure that we should leave you here? The castle is in such ruin, and, well, will you be safe here?”

Melvin seems worried too. “My Queen, there are things you should know about our quest for the crown.” He proceeds to tell her about it in much detail. The jumping car, the pirate, the boys, the igloos, the dangerous spaceship, and the pirate again. The Queen listens to it all, and pronounces, “The pirate you mention does our kingdom a great honor, helping with the crown quest when he could not even remember his own Queen.”

“Yes,” says Melvin, “but what worries me is that spaceship. Who is it? And what if they come for you?”

The Queen is stern now. “You have not lost your memory, little missile. You know I cannot leave the castle. I will be safe here – everyone has lost so much memory, they don’t even know I exist.” She now sounds angry with herself. “And if something does happen to me, it is my own fault for letting the kingdom fall, and nothing can be done about it.”

Melvin objects, “But, my Queen…”

“Enough. I know what I have done. I appreciate your help to make things right, but if I have put myself at risk, I must accept that. We all must be brave if the Kingdom is to rise again.” She looks tired, and now speaks quietly. “I will rest now, and later compute some more. There are great dangers we will have to face, but for now, they cannot find us. If you can recover the ring from the baseball challenge, it might be enough for me to remember more that we can use.”

Melvin bows. “We will do our best, my Queen.” She closes her eyes. You bow as well, and you both turn and exit.

As you walk from the gray castle into the gradually more colorful town, Melvin explains where he is taking you. “There are a lot of baseball stadiums around here, but I don’t know which one has the challenge… if the challenge even still exists. But I know a place where people will know.” You turn a corner, and see some steps going down under a building. A pixelated sign reads “POOL” with two crossed cues underneath. Melvin explains, “These guys bet on every game in town. If there is some baseball challenge around, they’ll know about it.”

You walk down the stairs into the smoky pool room. Various shady characters are playing pool and otherwise loitering. Nobody really seems to notice you. Melvin says, “I need to chat with some of these guys to find out what is going on. Since people are suspicious about Players right now, maybe you should stay out of the way until I know what is going on.”

“Should I leave?”

“No, no, I might need you. Hey, I know – how about you play that pinball machine?” He points to a game labeled “BUMPER BASH.” You shrug, and saunter over to give it a try.

Put the Bumper Bash cartridge into your Atari 2600. Play until you get 50,000 points. Post a link to a video in the comments section of yourself completing the challenge.

Chapter 14: A Crowning Achievement

 Using the flags you planted on the way up the mountain as a guide, you ski down the mountain at incredible speed. Finally things level out, and you find yourself running out of snow, your skis skidding onto the grass below the ice line. You stop and turn, and see the spaceship circle the mountain once, and then zip off into the sky. You get the feeling it didn’t like being seen in the daylight.

Still looking up at the mountain, you see Melvin zipping down the mountain toward you. He arrives, and plunks down on the ground next to you, panting. “I’ve never seen anyone ski so fast!” he says, still out of breath. “We sure showed them,” he says triumphantly. “Take that, space jerks!”

You take off your skis, and your winter coat, and pack them up, since it is warmer here, especially with the sun shining on you. “Melvin, what was that spaceship?”

Melvin looks serious. “I don’t know. But I think they didn’t like us taking the crown back.” 

Behind you, suddenly, a voice. “Har har, har har, so ye got the crown, eh?”

You both turn to see the pirate, holding up his pistol.

“That’s right!” shouts Melvin. “And no two-bit pirate is going to take it from us!”

“Har har, har har,” says the pirate. “I have no interest in crowns, especially ones that aliens be looking for.” He holsters his pistol. “Besides,” he says. “I’m out of bullets. But I have two items of business to discuss with ye. First,” he produces a small patch with a picture of a skier on it, and flips it to you. “That was some mighty fancy skiing. I believe ye have earned membership in the Activision Ski Team.” He goes on. “Second, it seems you two had quite an adventure. I watched the whole thing with my spyglass.” He holds up his brass telescope. “And while I don’t want yer crown, there is one thing I do want from ye.”

You and Melvin look at each other. “Ice diamonds?” you ask. He shakes his head.

“Gold nuggets?” asks Melvin.

“Har har, har har,” he laughs. “Of course I’d be glad to have some of that treasure, but no, what I want is more valuable than that.” He draws the pistol again.

“I thought you were out of bullets?” says Melvin. BANG! A warning shot grazes the top of Melvin’s pixel.

“Har har, har har,” he laughs. “I was just joking about that. No, it’s about the flags.”

There is a long silence.

“The flags,” says Melvin.

“The flags,” you say, wondering what he could possibly want now.

“They were ‘elpful, waren’t they?”

You look up at the trail of flags that guided you back down the mountain, and realize that, yes, they actually were.

“In fact,” says the pirate, cocking his pistol, “you could say they saved your life.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” you admit.

“THEN SAY IT!” shouts the pirate. “SAY THE FLAGS SAVED YOUR LIVES!”

You both stare him, and repeat in unison, “The flags saved our lives.”

“Thar,” he says, holstering his flintlock again, “was that so hard? Now, if I might inquire, where are you two adventurers heading next?”

“Yeah, Melvin, how are we getting back? Our car exploded all over the beach, remember?”

Melvin hesitates. “Yeah, well… uh...”

The pirate speaks up. “I thought ye might be in need of transport, and though I don’t remember our Queen, I very much like the idea of doing a favors for royalty. To that end, my pirate ship is at your service.” He makes a sweeping gesture with his feathered hat, and makes a surprisingly deep bow for someone with a peg leg.

Melvin hesitates. “Do you promise you won’t shoot at me again?”

The pirate makes a strange salute. “Pirate’s honor.”

Melvin asks, “And what will you charge us for the trip?”

The pirate smiles. “Well, now that ye ask, some gold and diamonds would help me cover… expenses.”

You pull Melvin aside. “Can we trust this guy?”

Melvin shrugs, not that he has shoulders. “Maybe? He’s definitely crazy, but I don’t think he’s dangerous, and I believe him about the Queen. Besides, what other choice do we have? I wanna get out of here before that spaceship comes back.”

“I guess you’re right.” You return to the pirate. “Okay, I guess we have a deal.” You shake his hook.

“Arr, ye won’t regret it. I’ll have ye back to yer castle before the next vertical blank.” You follow him over a sand dune, and see his ship. It is a small pirate ship, but you have never seen anything so festooned with flags in all your life. It has pirate flags, flags of all nations, and flags of all colors. You both climb aboard, and you both fall asleep on the deck, caressed by warm ocean breezes. By the time you wake up, the ship is already at the port near Queen Stella’s gray castle. The pirate lets you off, and you pay him with gold nuggets and the diamonds you collected inside the mountain. “Much obliged, me hearties! Give my regards to yer Queen, and perhaps I’ll see ye again one day.”

You both wave to him as he sails off. “That guy was nuts,” says Melvin.

You make your way back to the castle, which is still in a gray gloom. You clamber over rubble as you enter through the hole you made a few days ago. Inside, the Queen still sits amongst wreckage, her glowing blue eyes in some kind of a trance.

“My Queen!” says Melvin. “We have returned, with your crown!”

She makes no movement, no response. Her eyes are lit, but appear to be closed. After some awkward time goes by, Melvin whispers, “I think she’s computing. Try putting the crown on her.”

You take the crown from your backpack, unwrap it from the treasure map, and reverently place it on her head. Like when you blew the whistle, there is a sudden pulse of color and warmth in the cold, gray room, and a large “1/26” floats in the air for a moment. Also, you could swear that some of the rubble has vanished, that the room looks less ruined than before. Electric currents seem to be pulsing through her crown, which floats up into one of the alcoves behind her. The Queen’s electric hum rises in pitch until it is more of a whine, and suddenly, with a chord of musical notes, her eyes project out a grid of nine squares. One of them lights up and makes a tone.

“Is this more tic-tac-toe?” you ask Melvin, a little confused.

“No,” he says, “this is more like… what do Players call it? Oh yeah, ‘Simon.’ Just do what she does. I think this will help her access the memories in the crown. I hope that your memory is better than everyone else’s around here.”

Insert the Brain Games cartridge into your Atari 2600. Use game select 2 for the “Touch Me” game, and set difficulty switches to b. Play until you are able to get a score of 20. Post a link to a video in the comments section of yourself completing the challenge.

Chapter 13: Going Downhill Fast

Things aren’t looking good. Most of the canyon is now covered with space ice, and you are intensely cold. Suddenly you hear Melvin shout “Over here! I found something!” With intense effort, you fight against the freezing cold to stagger towards the south wall of the canyon. “This spot, right here!” says Melvin excitedly. “I think this spot is just ice, no rock. Melt it and see!”

You raise your heavy, frozen arm, and with incredible difficulty, pull the trigger of the heat ray. The wall starts to melt. You look up and see that there are only one or two spots left that aren’t covered by the ice ceiling, and those have packages drifting down towards them. The wall keeps melting, though, and you start to see a small opening, which is gradually growing larger.

“There’s no time!” shouts Melvin. “Kick it open!” There is only one open spot in the ceiling now. You kick at the small hole, and crack open a large enough hole to squeeze through. You immediately find yourself rolling down the mountain face, and catch yourself, just before you tumble over a cliff. You look up, and see that the intense cold has already refrozen the hole you came through. No more packages are coming from the spaceship, but now it has a spotlight and is casting it around. “They’re looking for us!” shouts Melvin. The sun has just started to come up, and as you look down the cliff face below you, you see a familiar sight in the orange light of sunrise. “Our flags!” shouts Melvin. “This is where we climbed up the first time!” You notice that fortunately there seem to be no deadly animals or Abominable Snowmen in sight this time. The spaceship’s spotlight is headed your way. You start looking for handholds to climb down. “We’ll never make it if you climb,” says Melvin. “Put on the skis! It’s the only way!” You realize that he’s probably right, and unfold them and strap them on your feet. Skiing down such a steep mountain seems insane, but that spaceship doesn’t seem friendly, and its spotlight is just a few yards away.

“Geronimo!” you shout, and leap over the cliff edge, hoping you can ski to the bottom before the spaceship can find you.

Put the Skiing cartridge into your Atari 2600. Choose game select 3, and set the difficulty switches to b. Play until you can ski down the mountain, through all 30 gates, in less than 28.2 seconds. Post a link to a video in the comments section of yourself completing the challenge.