Chapter 25: Horsin' Around

Incredibly, you win again.

“Wow!” shouts Melvin. “I can’t believe it! You won a game in the Super league! There’s no baseball challenge any greater than that in the entire Atariverse!” You look around, and see stands full of cheering fans, and your yellow robots are taking elegant bows. But you don’t see Charlie anywhere.

“I knew it,” you say to Melvin. “Charlie has disappeared.”

But as you head back to the dugout, suddenly he comes running up, winded. “I knew you could do it!” he shouts, pounding you on the back. “You’ve really made it, kid!”

You’re angry now. “Made it, huh? Made what? Made YOU a bunch of money. Melvin tells me there aren’t any more baseball leagues. I’m starting to think that the ‘Atari Baseball Challenge’ is all a scam.”

Charlie looks petrified. “No… no… listen, it’s not anything like that,” he says, in a calming voice. “You’ve… made it to the last level. No one’s done that before. If you can win one more game, I promise you, you’ll get the ring.”

You and Melvin look at each other. “Well, when is this game? And where is it?” you ask, suspiciously.

“It’s… tomorrow,” says Charlie. “In the cornfield.”

“The cornfield?” laughs Melvin. “What is this, Field of Dreams?” You start wondering how Melvin knows so much about movies.

Charlie looks down, and blushes. “Listen, I know it sounds crazy, but, yes, the cornfield. The final game will be there. It will. But there’s one thing…”

“NOT THE CASINO!” you and Melvin both shout.

“No, no, I told you, we’re done with the casino,” says Charlie.

“Then what?” you ask.

“Well, this final game… it has a REALLY high entrance fee.”

“How much?”

Charlie blushes again. “A hundred thousand dollars.”

Melvin pretends to faint. Then he shouts “Where are we going to get that kind of money? DON’T YOU DARE SAY AT THE CASINO!”

“I’ve entered you in a race,” says Charlie.

You and Melvin look at each other. “What kind of a race?” you ask.

“A horse race. You are going to ride Absent Mind in the third race today. Since you’re a new jockey, the odds are forty to one. So, if we put down $2,500, we’ll win a hundred grand!”

“But I don’t know anything about riding horses!” you say.

“I know,” says Charlie, pleadingly. “But you don’t know anything about slot machines, or blackjack, or poker, or even baseball, and look how far you’ve come. And I know why, Player.” He looks at you meaningfully. “It’s because you’re lucky. If there’s one thing I know, it’s luck. And from the first moment I laid eyes on you, I could tell that you were lucky.”

Melvin loses it. “This is nuts! You can’t fool us! I know a long con when I see it. You’ve been stringing us along, and if we win this horse race, you’re going to take the money and disappear, and we’ll be stuck here with no ring, watching the kingdom turn gray and crumble to pixels! Why should we trust you?”

Charlie turns solemn. “Look, I know it’s hard to understand. I’ve done some terrible things, things I really regret. But if you can win the race, and win the last game, I promise you, you’ll get the ring. Because you’re right, the Queen needs the ring. I didn’t understand it before, but I understand now.” He looks at his watch. “But there’s no time! We need to get you to the racetrack! They’re on the second race right now. Come on!” He hops on a little golf cart, and you ride with him toward the exit. Fans are waving, some seem to want autographs. Reluctantly, you wave back as the cart zips out to the street.

Before you know it, the cart arrives at the racetrack. Charlie pulls up at a low building with a sign that reads “Video Arcade™ Stables.” Charlie hops off, and dashes inside. You and Melvin follow him in, and see four horses, munching away at pixelated hay. Four signs read “Little Dictator”, “Just Missed”, “Lucky Devil”, and then, the horse Charlie runs up to: “Absent Mind.”

“Here’s your horse,” Charlie says proudly. You look the horse over and have to admit that the vacant expression on its face doesn’t give you a lot of confidence. It looks like a better bet than Just Missed, but doesn’t have the fire and energy of either Little Dictator or Lucky Devil. But you don’t really seem to have any choice in the matter.

“So… I just ride the horse around the track, right? And, uh, try to stay in front?” You take a look out at the track, and are alarmed to see an array of fences and other obstacles on the track.

“No,” says Charlie, “This is a Steeplechase. You will need to signal the horse to jump, with light taps of your heel. A light tap and he’ll do a short jump, a heavier tap, and he’ll do a longer jump.”

“So… longer jumps are safer?”

“Yes, right, but they are slower.” He strokes Absent Mind who has a goofy, cross-eyed expression, which isn’t easy for a horse. “Anyway, I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it. At least I hope you will. The race starts in two minutes!”

You scramble into your jockey gear, and mount the horse. “Melvin, what will you do?”

“You’re on your own with this one, Player… there’s not much I can do. We’ll root for you from the stands!” The horses are led to the starting gate, and as you look over the purple, blue, and yellow horses, and of course, your own red horse, you think, “I’ve been in this place too long. It’s starting to seem normal.” The starter pistol sounds, and Absent Mind rockets out of the gate!

Put the Steeplechase cartridge into your Atari 2600. Use game select 2. Choose the paddle that controls the red horse, which is the third from the top. Play until you are able to win the race. Post a link to a video in the comments section of yourself completing the challenge.