GALAGA · CHALLENGE OF 2026-10-20

HOW THE DAY WENT

Tuesday, October 20 brought GALAGA, at level 5. Nobody has finished a run yet: the first to play takes the top spot.

THE SCREEN

It started on screen 2 of the 4 that GALAGA 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

Vals op. 64 n.º 1 («Vals del minuto»), Frédéric Chopin, 1847.

It lasts more than a minute: the nickname means minute as in small. In French it is known as the little dog waltz, after a dog chasing its own tail.

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

The formation comes from the day's map: enemies worth 10, 20, 30 and 50 points, plus rows of shields that wear down. The yellow ones are the elite: they take two shots (turning orange after the first) and fire three times instead of once while diving.

From wave 3 everything that dives shoots twice, and from wave 5 there can be two dives at the same time.

· Killing a diver is worth double. Shooting the still formation is safe and cheap; letting them come down and hunting them in the air is where the score is.

HOW TO PLAY GALAGA →