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Palamedes

Arcade

Arcade

The goal of Palamedes is to clear the screen which is, line by line, filling up with dice. Players control a small person situated near the bottom of the screen, who can only be moved to the left or right. The number of the dice the person is holding can be changed with the B button, pressing the...

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Developer
Taito

Released on
1990

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Puzzle

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

The goal of Palamedes is to clear the screen which is, line by line, filling up with dice. Players control a small person situated near the bottom of the screen, who can only be moved to the left or right. The number of the dice the person is holding can be changed with the B button, pressing the A button will shoot the dice upwards. If the die hits another one with a matching number, the targeted dice disappears from the playing area and is added to a column at the bottom of the screen. Pressing down after lining up at least three dice of either the same number or consecutive numbers in the bottom row will destroy up to five lines at once.

There are three modes of play: The standard single player mode, which requires the player to destroy a set number of lines in order to advance to the next stage; a tournament mode in which the player has to duel a number of CPU-controlled opponents and a two player mode.

Palamedes

Overview & History

Released by Taito in 1990, Palamedes is an inventive arcade puzzle game that blends traditional block-matching mechanics with the frantic energy of a dice-rolling casino game. Set against a whimsical ancient Greek mythological backdrop, the storyline follows a prince named Palamedes who must defeat a series of card-playing and dice-tossing antagonists to rescue the goddess of fortune. Unlike standard falling-block puzzlers of its era, this title introduces a fast-paced shooting dynamic where players actively throw dice upward from the bottom of the screen to clear advancing rows of numbered blocks.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

The core gameplay revolves around matching the number on your thrown die with the number displayed on the incoming blocks rolling down the playfield. Players can manipulate their dice by cycling through values (1 through 6) before tossing them upward. Clearing multiple rows consecutively triggers explosive chain reactions, while special power-up blocks grant game-altering abilities, such as clearing entire columns, freezing the board, or altering dice values automatically. As players progress through the stages, the descent speed increases drastically, demanding precise timing and split-second math skills to survive the escalating difficulty.

Keyboard Controls

Arrow Keys / D-Pad: Move horizontally along the bottom track and cycle dice numbers
Action Keys: Throw dice upward / Confirm selections
Enter: Start / Pause