If you follow this blog and hang out on our Discord, you probably already know that Beubeud regularly organizes challenges where the community competes on a selection of arcade games.

This summer, get ready for a brand-new format, organized together with our friends from The Challenge (their story is shared at the end of this article).
The concept is simple: the The Challenge and Recalbox communities will face off over six games (three in July, three in August).

How to participate?

Anyone can join the event: just play and post your best score on the Discord server of the community you’re supporting.

The top 10 scores from each community will be counted for each game, using the points system detailed below:

Points system

Bonus: +15 points for each 1CC (clearing the game with one credit).

Game schedule:

• First round: from July 1st to July 31st, 2025
• Second round: from August 1st to August 31st, 2025

The list of the 3 games for July will be revealed on Tuesday, July 1st.

👉 If you're playing as a member of The Challenge, post your score on their Discord.
👉 If you're playing for Recalbox, post your score on our Discord.

Goal

At the end of all six games, the points from each community will be totaled to determine the overall winner!

Everyone is welcome—from joystick pros to curious newcomers discovering arcade games. Every point matters, so we’re counting on you!

Of course, while neither community will accept defeat lightly, this challenge is above all about fun, gaming, discovery, and sharing our passion (along with a few friendly tips... but not too many!).

The story of The Challenge, by Angelfred (co-organizer with Beubeud)

The story begins in spring 2020, during lockdown, on the Discord server GAME THEM UP (GTU), which I wasn’t even part of at the time.
To bring a bit of community spirit in those strange times, a group of enthusiasts came up with the idea of challenging each other on arcade games.

The first host was Wildpumpk1n. Several others took over as their availability allowed. In October 2022, I offered to help organize, with the goal of adding more structure and a real competitive spirit.

My idea: bring in what I knew from sports—like an overall ranking, voting to choose games, a points system, and anti-cheat rules.

We called it Season 0, a friendly but competitive setting. With WiLLY, a key pillar of the project, we reached out to Meth from the HFS PLAY association at the end of that season.
Meth had launched the Smallcab Challenge on the HFS forum, which was later run for nearly 10 years by Ukogans.

With the merging of our two communities, we wanted to create a strong identity: THE CHALLENGE, sponsored by Smallcab (thanks Erwan!), well known among arcade cabinet fans.

Today, we’re celebrating our third champion, with an average of 25 participants per challenge, a season that runs from September to June with 22 challenges, and even monthly tournaments by popular demand.

This summer, for the SUMMER CAMPS, the idea of a community battle with Recalbox was born—especially thanks to the arrival of the RGB JAMMA in our members' arcade cabinets.

The goal isn’t to prove who’s best, but to continue sharing our passion.
That’s the spirit in which Beubeud and I imagined THE CHALLENGE x RECALBOX event.

Ready to take on the challenge?

Plug in your sticks, post your scores… and may the best community win!