Eighteen games were released when the NES debuted in New York back in that fateful Fall of 1985. I propose that we play them all over the coming weeks in a monster battle of video gaming wits. It'll give you a reason to take that R.O.B. out of mothballs or dust off your Zapper.

Every Monday, I'll unveil the week's game and a unique scoring system to chart your skill and intestinal fortitude. Each leg of the competition will close Sunday night at midnight PDT. Submissions will be allowed for up to two weeks after the deadline for each game, at a slight point penalty. Compete in as many of the legs as you can (or want), and whoever comes out on top at the end wins. There will be prizes for the top three finishers.

Current Standings:
nismo33 - 37
brideck - 19
TN - 10
burdger - 6
OldSchoolNES - 6

If I've done my math correctly, the theoretical top score at the end should be 400. I expect that the winner won't have much more than 220-250 points, though, unless there are some insane players out there (or my challenges aren't as difficult as I think they are).

Here's the list of launch games according to NOA's official list. They are not in the order we will play them:

10-Yard Fight
Baseball
Clu Clu Land
Donkey Kong Jr. Math
Duck Hunt
Excitebike
Golf
Gyromite
Hogan's Alley
Ice Climber
Kung Fu
Mach Rider
Pinball
Stack-Up
Super Mario Bros.
Tennis
Wild Gunman
Wrecking Crew


The first game is Baseball.

Rules:

1. You must play on a real NES
   
2. You must play as the Dodgers (Team D)
   
3. You must provide a picture of the TV with the final score on it accompanied by your NA screen name (as in the NWC challenge)
   
4. You may submit multiple scores during the week
   
5. You may not use any Game Genie codes
   
6. You do not need to beat the computer to earn points in the competition
   

Scoring:

Points are awarded for your best effort in each category

• 1-5 Runs Scored (RS) = 0 Pts
  
• 6-8 RS = 1 Pt
  
• 9-10 RS = 2 Pts
  
• 11-12 RS = 3 Pts
  
• 13-14 RS = 4 Pts
  
• 15-24 RS = 5 Pts
  
• 25+ RS = 10 Pts
  
  
• 10+ Runs Allowed (RA) = 0 Pts
  
• 8-9 RA = 1 Pt
  
• 6-7 RA = 2 Pts
  
• 4-5 RA = 3 Pts
  
• 2-3 RA = 4 Pts
  
• 1 RA = 5 Pts
  
• 0 RA = 10 Pts
  
  
• 2 Pt Bonus if you manage to get your best RS and RA in the same game
  

Examples:

Scores of 12-6 and 15-12 would net you 7 Pts (2+5)
A lone score of 6-5 would net you 6 Pts (1+3+2)
Scores of 8-6 and 12-4 would net you 8 Pts (3+3+2)
A lone score of 25-0 would net you the maximum 22 Pts

Hopefully I'm able to get some of you to spend some time on this amongst all of the NWC frenzy going on. If not, at least I'll be posting scores.

-Brian

Just got the go ahead from the man on top, so everything should be good to go.

Oh, and before anyone asks... yes, using bunnyboy's PowerPak to play is perfectly viable if you have it.

Now get crackin'.

-Brian

This is a great idea -- I actually registered www.nintathalon.com recently for a similar purpose  I'm definately in on this, should be a lot of fun.  Thanks for putting this together Brian!

I'd compete, but no Baseball cart (yet)...  I probably won't have one by Sunday unless I can be permitted to submit late.

Nintathalon... I like it. You'll have to let us know what's going on with that when you get it all set up.

As far as late submissions go... I'm leaning toward no with the reasoning that it's a marathon not a sprint, so a single game shouldn't make that much of a difference, but I'll think on it. Maybe something like a week-long grace period for half score. I don't want to leave games open for too long, otherwise this could get very messy for me.

I was going to take a first crack at this tonight, but my game was pre-empted by the All-Star Game (Go AL!) until tomorrow morning. I should be putting up a result then.

-Brian

Right... so I may need to rethink the score verification procedure for this one. I was thinking you could pause it on the final "Game Set" screen so I could see the line score, but pressing start there just makes it go instantly to the team selection screen.

Would it be too hard to remember to pause it during the last out and take a screenshot of that? You should be able to anticipate well enough what's going to be an out and what's a hit. Thoughts?

For what it's worth, don't be caught off guard by the lack of extra innings like I was. I could swear that I remember playing at least 10 before, but I just played the Astros to a 6-6 standstill in 9. If I had picture proof it would've earned me a whopping 3 pts.

Oddities in this one included a bases-clearing bloop triple and a ground rule double (I didn't know the game had them) on a towering fly to deep center by me. The Astros did all their damage in a 6-run 6th inning, scoring all of the runs with 2 outs. It's so annoying when pitch patterns suddenly stop working for an inning.

-Brian

Damn, my defense sucks, but no one else has submitted yet, so...

I just had a 9-2 win, but I forgot to pause it, damn.

Yeah, if that starts happening to too many people I might have to start accepting them. But for that to happen I'll actually need submisisons. I can't seem to get my offense untracked... I know I've scored 15 in the past, but it's just not happening for me right now.

This was one of the more brutal games I've played. I was down 5-0 in the 5th, scored 4 but ended the inning having a guy thrown out at home. Tied it at 7 in the 8th. Gave up a run on a double/triple combo in the 9th. Loaded the bases with one out, so I decided to try a suicide squeeze (Bunting is usually surprisingly effective in this game). Popped up the bunt to the catcher for a catch and tag double play to end the game.

Ach. A measly 2 pts for me. I'll have to do better later.

burdger - 4
brideck - 2

-Brian

Yes, I know the screenshot sucks ass. Crappy webcam + no experience.

Down 4-0?  That's when you hit "reset" and start over

Eh, you can score a lot of runs in a hurry in this game. Never say die!

Case in point, I put up a 10 spot in the 1st inning this time around, so I think I'll stand pat with this 19-5 win. By far my best and luckiest game ever. Tons of seeing eye hits, and the Yankees just stopped hitting after the 3rd inning. I must have struck out 12-15 batters from the 4th on.

brideck - 10 (best RS and RA in same game)
burdger - 6 (ditto, as it's his only verified score so far)

-Brian

Still looking for more entrants. Would it help interest if I told you this was Eric Dickerson's favorite NES game ca. Nintendo Power 2? I didn't think so.

I've never been much of a baseball game player, but I tried this last night. I am horrible at this game! I'm going to keep trying though...

What are your thoughts about allowing entries for past games? In other words, when you release the next game in the challenge, can we still submit for the earlier games? I swear it's going to take me a month to get any good at this damn game!

Too horrible to receive any points at all?

If it's any consolation, I find this to be pretty random from game to game. Maybe I don't really know what I'm doing, but some games I knock it all over the park and others I can't get it out of the infield. Likewise with pitching... I use the same pitch pattern in most games and sometimes it'll shut 'em down, other times I'll be crushed.

The part that is built-up skill is knowing when you can take extra bases and playing defense (such as it is) well, but those can only take you so far.

Sivak asked about late submissions, too. I don't want to leave games open for the whole competition just to make it easier on me, but I don't want to be an evil dictator either. Is two weeks too unreasonably short of a grace period? And then because my high school teachers scarred me so deeply, there'd be a 10% penalty for each week it was late.

Thoughts? Fair? Sucks? Let me know.

-Brian

I was down 7-0 after a few innings and threw the controllers across the room I can't seem to figure out how to catch the ball when they hit it and the guys run so slow that I can't get anyone out!

Yeah, two weeks sounds good.

Right, so I suppose I should mention this to possibly ease any frustration in the folk not experienced with this game. You don't control the fielders at all. It's kind of like Wii Baseball in that respect. If you look at the manual, the only controls for fielding the ball talk about where you throw it after your guy has it.

It's really amusing to read all the reviews on GameFAQs that complain about not being able to control their fielders properly. That's because you're not! Not saying that makes it any better of a game...

It's definitely to your advantage to try to figure out good ways of striking out the computer.

-Brian

Ahh... ok, at least I know now (I did read the manual, ironically, but it was cryptic LOL). I'm not the kind to give up, so I'll be at it again tonight. I did figure out a few ways to psych out the batter with pitches, but I'll need more practice.

Here's my best so far... 8-4 win.  I was up 7-1 but then the stupid Yankees hit two straight home runs.

Hurry, hurry, hurry... Only 4 hours to get a Baseball score in for full credit.
The next game will be posted tomorrow.

Current Standings:
brideck - 10
burdger - 6
OldSchoolNES - 6

-Brian

Here is my entry.  I think this is the first time I have ever played a full game of baseball.  Kind of painful to tell you the truth, but I am all about the black box games.  Bring on 10 Yard Fight.  I will not be playing another game of this.  This is my final score. 

Hey Brideck.  Thanks for getting this going.  One thought, you might want to let people know what games we will be playing so they will have time to pick them up (locally or via trade or Ebay) before the scoring week starts.  I think that might help if you just list out all the games that will be played (some, including myself am not sure which 18 were first released).  I guess it would give others time to practice up, but might be worth the trade off to ease participation for those who want to play but don't have all the black box games yet.  Just a thought, I see how it could kind of mess up your element of suprise though.

Hopefully not too late. What's the next game?

Edit: Duh...Add image first thing tomorrow!

   

You're never too late to join, nismo33. You can even still play Baseball for 90% credit this week or 80% credit next week. I know Dain's working up a fantastic score as we speak.

That's a good point, TN. This obviously isn't the order that we'll be playing them in (as I'd like to keep that secret), but here are the 18 games that NOA considers to be their launch titles.

10-Yard Fight
Baseball
Clu Clu Land
Donkey Kong Jr. Math
Duck Hunt
Excitebike
Golf
Gyromite
Hogan's Alley
Ice Climber
Kung Fu
Mach Rider
Pinball
Stack-Up
Super Mario Bros.
Tennis
Wild Gunman
Wrecking Crew

I'll add this list to the first post for latecomers, and I'll keep updated standings there, too.

The only real barriers to entry should be owning R.O.B. and all his pieces and having some of the tougher CIB games (i.e. Clu Clu Land, DKJr Math) if you're a collector of completes like me.

-Brian

It's time to hear those collective groans because...

Game #2: Donkey Kong Jr. Math

Description:
This week it's time to put you through your paces with a timed math test. Play Calculate A for an easier time, or play Calculate B for a chance at the big points. In keeping with the educational theme, you can score extra credit by completing a Math or English assignment.

Rules:

1. You must play on a real NES
   
2. You may submit multiple scores during the week, but only the best one counts
   
3. You may not use any Game Genie codes (as if there are any)
   
4. For the main challenge, time starts when you press Start and ends after collecting your 5th apple
   
5. You may time yourself. We're on the honor system here.
   
6. You must provide a picture of the TV with the score and your final problem on it accompanied by your NA screen name (as in the NWC challenge) to receive the Math Option Bonus
   

Scoring:

Points are awarded for your best effort during the week

Calculate A

• < 4:00 = 1 Pt
  
• < 3:00 = 2 Pts
  
• < 2:30 = 3 Pts
  
• < 2:00 = 4 Pts
  
• < 1:45 = 5 Pts
  
• < 1:30 = 10 Pts
  
  Calculate B
  
• < 10:00 = 1 Pt
  
• < 8:00 = 2 Pts
  
• < 6:00 = 4 Pts
  
• < 5:00 = 6 Pts
  
• < 4:00 = 8 Pts
  
• < 3:30 = 10 Pts
  
• < 3:00 = 20 Pts
  
  2 Pt Bonus
  
• Math Option
  Score a perfect 1000 on the --- X -- option in Exercise mode
  
  
• English Option
  Find an 8 to 12 year old willing to play this and write a 3-5 sentence "essay" about their experience. Please include their prior exposure to edutainment software and to the Donkey Kong franchise. (I've always been curious what the target audience thinks of this game.)
  

Unfortunately, I won't be able to defend my lead this week as this is the only game of the 18 that I don't own yet. Time to rack up some points, those of you that have it.

Don't forget, you can also still submit scores for Baseball this week.

-Brian

Ok, image added but... 

I don't think it's a valid entry because it doesn't show two strikes on the opposition. Brideck...it's your call? Im sure I finished on this score but was caught out thinking I could take a photo on my final innings. Stupid me, of course there was no need for a final innings because I was already in the winning position. Ah well...

I'll accept it, but I'll dock you a point for not meeting all of the entry criteria. That's a seriously good score, though. It matches my all-time best. At least my best since I started recording game scores in January.

So that would give you 9 pts with the late penalty and for an improper picture. [(11*.9)-1] Sound good?

Nobody willing to take the math test to get a leg up on the competition? We're practically giving away free points here.

-Brian