Hello everyone and welcome to the latest installment of the Weekly Contests!

Alas, it is very true,
That on this day, April 1, I have fooled all of you.
If you really thought that Barbie was the game we were going to play,
I want you to remember that it is April Fool's Day.
I can here it all quite clearly now,
As you all stare at me angrily with a furrowed eyebrow.
“Bimmy, that joke was super, freaking lame!”
“So why don't you tell us all the real game!”
Boy, oh boy, it was so much fun to jest,
And watch you all stew over a game that most detest.
Okay, now I will reveal the game of the week,
And it is none other than the immortal Bubble and Squeak!
“But Bimmy” you say, “I've never heard of that game on the NES,”
“So, I'll have to go out and buy it, I guess.”
Hahahaha, I have tricked you all once again,
That's a Sega game, but I assure you, this week's contest features the nefarious Saddam Hussein.
That's right, this week we play Operation Secret Storm,
And yes, it's actually on the NES platform.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, before you drop a couple hundred bucks on ebay,
You all need to know that I have lied to you once again on this day.
The game we will play is a personal favorite, True Lies.
Bahahaha, I lied again, and instead, we will play 8 Eyes.
Hehehe, it's fun to mess with you all,
But I will now reveal the real game, Looney Tunes B-Ball.
Okay, okay, I didn't tell the truth and I know you think it's getting old,
But I will now tell you the real game, so behold!
This week, we play the awesome and underrated Palamedes.
Um, uh, crap, I have nothing to rhyme that with except Archimedes.
So, I hope you all can flop down on your keister,
And play lots of Palamedes on this Easter.
I may have tricked you all on this April Fools,
But without further ado, I present to you the rules:
 

• Choose 1 player
• Start on Level 1
• Play until you lose
• To get your score after you lose, select 1 player mode, Level 1, and immediately pause the game.  Your score will be in the high score spot.
• Highest score wins
• Participation: 50,000
• GENRE: Puzzle

The contest ends Sunday, 4/8/18 at 11 PM NA time.  Your user name MUST be written or typed on a piece of paper and be in the picture for your score to be valid.  The entire TV screen, or computer monitor if you are playing on an emulator, MUST be in the picture for the score to be valid.  No partial screenshots will be considered or accepted.  No screenshots by hitting "print screen" on a computer will be allowed.  You must take a picture of your computer monitor.  There may be instances where this will be acceptable, but it will be at the discretion of myself and the contest organizers.  Also, the use of turbo controllers is forbidden, as well as any cheat codes, Game Genies, slow motion functions, or save states if playing on an emulator.  Also, we will only be using NTSC systems for the contests.  The use of PAL systems will NOT be allowed.  Good luck everyone and have fun  

1st	tablew/chairs	967,070
2nd	mbd39	956,150
3rd	Krunch	844,730
4th	skinnygrinny	824,000
5th	bertsampson	771,000
6th	arnpoly	768,940
7th	laddersandcakes	512,960
8th	Yoshi	470,440
9th	Mega Tank	359,570
10th	Seppatoni	257,160
11th	smick	192,780
12th	the tall guy	76,160
13th	SuperJimtendo	54,280

Thank you all for participating on this social experiment.
The content below is for archiving purposes:

I want to apologize to everyone in advance about the schedule change. After thinking this over quite a bit over the last two weeks, I have decided to remove Palamedes and Mega Man from the schedule this year. We have played Palamedes and Mega Man quite a bit over the years and I felt we needed to try out some new stuff. I haven't decided what game will replace Palamedes, so keep your eyes open for a schedule update in the coming days. I decided to go with Barbie so we could try something different. I've played through it a few times and it's not that bad once you get past some of the crappy controls. I decided to start this grouping of games with a platformer since we haven't played one since mid-February and I felt we needed to start things off after the break with a platformer. Again, I apologize for any inconvenience.

Original post:
 

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest installment of the Weekly Contests!  It's 1:38 AM and you're lying in bed and can't sleep.  Your heart beats in double time.  Your throat is tight, you can't breathe.  Your body shakes, your teeth grind.  Another play is all you need.  You think that you're immune to it, but you can't be saved.  You throw back the covers and fumble for the TV remote.  You turn it on and you're immediately basked in the dull glow of the TV screen.  Your shaky hands grab the NES controller and you power on your Nintendo.  It's closer to the truth to say you can't get enough.  You know you're gonna have to face it, you're addicted to Barbie on the NES!  It's time for you to play the game that no boy in the 90s dared to play!  You're a Barbie girl in a Barbie world and you need to help the iconic blonde-haired, rail-thin, air-headed bimbo find a dress to wear on her date with the equally stereotypical Ken.  But how are you going to figure out what dress she wants to wear?  By going into her dreams, Inception style!  That's right, you're going to invade Barbie's dreams and find out what she wants to wear on her date (just watch out for any creepy looking men wearing a dirty red and green sweater).  You'll start off at the mall, where they have the neatest miniskirts, but you need to get Barbie some ridiculously overpriced dress that she will only wear once and then throw in her closet to forever suck up the stench of mothballs.  Whew, all that shopping has made Barbie hungry, so it's time to get that bimbo some food.  But first, you have to cross through the dreaded Galleria.



Yes, the Galleria.  And there's some hungry, flesh-eating...er, I guess that would be plastic-eating in Barbie's case, fish living in the fountains.  She's made of plastic and those fish think it's fantastic, so don't let them sink their teeth into her.  Once you've turned those fish into tuna steaks or fish tacos or whatever seafood dish you prefer, you can finally get Barbie some food.  But watch out, someone in the food court is going to assault you with deadly pizzas!  The person's identity is a mystery, but some eyewitness accounts say he looks like this:



Once you've finished in the food court, Barbie's dream takes an unexpected turn: she becomes a mermaid!  So, you will travel unda da sea with Barbie in a Little Mermaid ripoff that the creators of Mystery Science Theater 3000 would drool over to get the rights to riff.  Once you've saved the undersea kingdom from the giant, killer jellyfish (yeah, that's best underwater villain the game makers could come up with), you'll be whisked away to another part of Barbie's dream: the soda shop and hamburger restaurant, all in a style of the fabulous 50s.  Here, you'll encounter...killer drinks...killer food...all in a restaurant setting...wait a second, haven't we played this game before?  Oh, that's right, we have:



Well, the only thing you can do, Daddy-O, is take out those squares trying to ruin your day.  Once, you've done that, you'll be made in the shade and can go back to your pad and chill with Ken.  So, beat feet through the soda shop and give all that killer food a huge knuckle sandwich, cuz, you know, they're all just cruisin' for a bruisin'.  Once you're done, throw a quarter in the jukebox, crank up the volume, and listen to some Buddy Holly.  Man, he is one hip cat.  If he isn't your style, you can rock around the clock with Bill Haley and His Comets.  Or, maybe you can listen to...whoa, holy crap, you're not going to be listening to anything because you and Barbie just got sucked into the jukebox!  Man, what kind of crazy ass, deadly dreams does she have?  It will take a strong will and lots of determination to make it all the way through the jukebox to get to Barbie's date with Ken.  Only then will you become a true Jukebox Hero.  I wish I could tell you how to get through, but you're the one obsessed with Barbie on the NES, not me.  What do you mean “what am I talking about?”  Don't you remember the beginning of the intro where it talked about your obsession with Barbie on the NES?  Well, if you don't remember, then I suggest you go back and re-read the intro.  Or just give in to your temptations and play some Barbie.  Speaking of which, here are the rules:

• Play until you only have one “Z” remaining.  Do not lose the last “Z” or you will be given the choice to continue and lose your score.
• If you get to the final jukebox boss, take a picture while fighting it.  If you beat it, take a picture of your final score on the bonus screen (the soda shop level and jukebox levels have the same bonus screens, so a picture of the jukebox boss will be necessary to determine if you beat the game.  If you beat the game, be ready to take your picture after it tallies up your bonus points. The screen doesn't stay up long and you can't see your score after that).
• Highest score wins
• Participation: 5,000
• GENRE: Action/Platformer

The contest ends Sunday, 4/8/18 at 11 PM NA time.  Your user name MUST be written or typed on a piece of paper and be in the picture for your score to be valid.  The entire TV screen, or computer monitor if you are playing on an emulator, MUST be in the picture for the score to be valid.  No partial screenshots will be considered or accepted.  No screenshots by hitting "print screen" on a computer will be allowed.  You must take a picture of your computer monitor.  There may be instances where this will be acceptable, but it will be at the discretion of myself and the contest organizers.  Also, the use of turbo controllers is forbidden, as well as any cheat codes, Game Genies, slow motion functions, or save states if playing on an emulator.  Also, we will only be using NTSC systems for the contests.  The use of PAL systems will NOT be allowed.  Good luck everyone and have fun  

359,570

The glow in the dark on my tank doesn't show well, so I posted a second score pic with the tank perler.

Silly me, I forgot it is April Fool's. I don't look at the schedule ahead, so i was unaware if the change in game. Either way, if it is this game we have to play eh...  

Bimmy you dirty dog

It is most unfortunate that we couldn't inform you guys of the schedule change before.
Sadly it fell on this most annoying day so people will think it is a prank.

But this is serious! And I am looking forward to see some great Barbie scores this week!
Now game on!  

Well then....

Ah, come on, man. I've been looking forward to Palamedes all week.

Damn you April Fools Day.  

Arnpoly is gonna be so happy. 😍👠💄👙💍👗👜💞💦💦💦

Oh man I love Barbie! Such a classic!

Wwwwwwwaaaaaahhhhh...   
 

 

Sonofa, I was gonna do this again too, but I'm sick and spaced it

Thank you all for participating on this social experiment.  

956,150
931,580


 

Good luck everyone.

I've come close to getting 17 perfects but never have. Maybe this week.

Excited. This is one I've never played!

You'll love it. It's like Yahtzee crossed with Space Invaders.

I recommend reading previous Palamedes contest threads from the archive for tips on how to play if you need them.
 

Will do! Thanks man.
 

And here I was finally ready to have a reason to play this NES hidden gem.   
 

So I’ve been playing Barbie for nothing? 

Seriously i I just beat the dancing clothes boss
 

Mbd has a pretty good shot of getting another win. I think I can do better than I did the last time. I think I might have reached double digit perfects but not much more than that.

Yep    I've played so much Palamedes that getting perfects is easy until level 15 or 16.

16 perfects playing on level 1 is about the same difficulty as 8 perfects playing on level 5. Krunch and rdrunner can get 17 perfects. I've come very close but I always mess up when I try for 17. Fortunately I'm also good at doing combos.