LUNAR LANDER · CHALLENGE OF 2026-10-07

HOW THE DAY WENT

Wednesday, October 7 brought LUNAR LANDER, at level 5, and 14 people played.

Nobody scored a single point: all 10 runs ended on zero. LUNAR LANDER gives nothing away.

THE SCREEN

It started on screen 2 of the 3 that LUNAR LANDER has; clearing it leads on to the rest, in an order that depends on the day. It was played at level 5, with the same seed for everyone: the same enemies and the same pieces in the same order.

THE MUSIC

Brindis («Libiamo ne' lieti calici») de La Traviata, Giuseppe Verdi, 1853.

The drinking song from the first act of La Traviata: Alfredo and Violetta raise their glasses at a party in Paris. It is among the most sung duets in opera.

It is in the public domain, transcribed to chiptune with square and triangle waves, the way it would sound on an Atari 2600.

ABOUT TODAY'S GAME

Bring a ship down on little fuel and set it on a pad. Gravity always pulls; the engine pushes along the nose, which turns through 16 positions.

Landing demands three things at once: touching down on a pad rather than rock, arriving slowly (under 0.35 sideways drift and 0.75 descent) and arriving upright, nose up. Miss any one of them and it is a crash.

· Brake early and high. Close to the ground there is no room left to kill your speed and the engine works no miracles.

HOW TO PLAY LUNAR LANDER →