Joust

Joust is one of the wildest ideas of the early 80s: knights riding flying ostriches, dueling above a pit of lava. And it works beautifully. Flapping one button press at a time is weirdly hypnotic, and two-player is pure fun, or pure betrayal.

Joust isn't in the UsuArcade arcade yet, but it's on the wish list.

History

Williams released Joust in 1982, designed by John Newcomer. It was one of the first games to let two players share the screen at once, free to team up or knock each other out of the sky.

Its flap-to-fly controls, with no fire button at all, made it stand out from everything else in the arcade back then.

How to play

Push the joystick left or right and tap the button to flap, each tap lifts you a little. When you collide with an enemy, whoever is higher wins. The loser drops an egg, and you'd better grab it before it hatches into a new rider.

Enemy riders come in several types, each faster and smarter, a pterodactyl shows up if you take too long, and a hand reaches out of the lava to grab you if you fly too low. Some waves reward teamwork, others reward taking out the other player.

Fun facts

• Player one rides an ostrich and player two rides a stork.
• In later waves some ledges disappear, leaving fewer places to land.
• You can take down the pterodactyl, but only with a perfectly timed head-on hit.

In the arcade

Joust is coming soon to UsuArcade. It's on the wish list, and you can vote for it with the “I want to play it” button to move it up the line. Meanwhile, for two-player, same-screen action you can play Bubble Bobble and Snow Bros., or go old-school with Donkey Kong, right in your browser with friends watching.

Once Joust lands in the arcade, you'll be able to play it online two-player, each on your own phone or PC, in the same game.

FAQ