Hello everyone and welcome to the latest installment of the weekly contests!  I'm posting the contest early again because I have to work late tonight and I don't want you all to have to wait.  And here we are, the final weekly contest of 2013.  In just two weeks we will be starting our big winter tournament where the top competitors of the second half of 2013 will compete for three weeks for some really cool prizes!  More details about the tournament will be posted after the newest contests ends.  Speaking of which, our final contest of 2013 is going to be a Black Box classic.  That's right, this week's game is going to be Clu Clu Land.  Here are the rules:

• 1 player only
• Play until Game Over
• Take your picture on the Title Screen
• If you loop the score, take a picture right before the score loops and right after
• Highest score wins
• GENRE: Puzzle

The contest ends Sunday, 12/22/13 at 10 PM NA time.  Your user name MUST 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, 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

22,190

  Kicking off the last competition before the tournaments. Pretty weak starting score. I've never been very good at this game even though I really like it.

Yeah I played 3 game overs last night and my highest was just north of 14k. The controls are a bastard to get used to. I'll try again and post scores.

Yeah the controls are tough for me too. Lots of times I fling myself right into one of those holes or into an urchin. I know one of the puzzles has a really cheap death trap in which two rubber bands make the eyes in the puzzle so they are running north/south and are right beside each other. If you turn east/west into that area and have not uncovered either band you will get stuck and the only way out is to die. Pretty cheap.

I'll get better...

94,470 [Updated]

Nothing like the last week of a contest to jump right in!

I'm sure I can do better but I probably won't get a chance to.

16590

Participation score, the controls on this game are just too frustrating for me.  Good luck everyone

55,630 update

got even better

i still think i can beat this one as well

I was looking forward to this game, but it's probably my least favourite of the contests I've taken part in so far. Frustrating and tiring.

Just keep at it. You put the time in and then all of the sudden you get the hang of the controls without even realizing it. I went from having like ten sub-5000 point runs in a row to having a decent 25,000 in one shot. It gets fluid after a while.

Not gonna lie though, I did try to break my controller over my knee a few times during those first runs.

Here's my contribution this week:

88,150

I can't imaging putting this kind of number up.  I'm plateaued right now, and I need some kind of break through.  Great work!

I know she can do better!!!

Didn't realize this was in the puzzle category. No wonder I suck at this game.

143,700 (updated)

So I made it to level 24... You have to start hitting the coins so they stay shiny side up in order to complete the level (usually more than once)... and that is when I called bullshit on Clu Clu Land.

arnpoly- I don't know whats more impressive your score or the picture quality of your T.V.! That shit is hot! lol

24,900

I think it'll just be a participation point this week. I didn't have a lot of time this week to get used to the controls but still, it's better than nothing. I still may be able to post a better score before I go back to work but I doubt I'll have the time.

68,560

I played this game for the first time last summer, and it's now one of my favorite black box games.  Who would have thought non-intuitive controls could be so fun?

babywuchki - 44,480 

116,760


Not much time for playing this week with the last Holidays preparations, but I achieved a decent run nonetheless.

113,610



I think I just needed a break from the game, it felt a lot smoother when coming back to it after a few days. I'd put it with Popeye for games that I enjoy, but couldn't play for long periods.

Sorta took the week off,so a PP for me this week. Great scores everyone.

26,710



Clu Clu Land is a game I wanted to like, and while not bad it just doesn't hit that gaming sweet spot for me.  WIth that said, it is a beloved addition to my collection as part of the Nintendo Black Box series that breached the console gaming chasm between the Atari 2600 and the NES, so from a contextual perspective it gets a pass.

Let the games begin.

Great job on this game. Glad to see people reach the hard part with the 2-sided rupees. That is where the game really gets interesting!