Paperboy

You couldn't miss Paperboy at the arcade: instead of a joystick, it had actual bicycle handlebars. You hopped on, steered, and flung papers at subscribers' mailboxes, and at non-subscribers' windows, which was the fun part.

It was so suburban that anyone got it after one look over somebody's shoulder.

History

Atari Games released it in 1985. The handlebar cabinet and its sense of humor, somewhere between sleepy American suburbia and total chaos, made it a big arcade draw.

It got ported to just about every home computer and console of the late 80s, and later got a sequel.

How to play

You ride down a street shown at an angle, one day at a time, Monday through Sunday. Deliver to every subscriber's house by hitting the mailbox or the doorstep. Miss a subscriber and they cancel the next day; pull off a perfect week and you win them back.

Non-subscriber houses are fair game: breaking windows and knocking stuff over scores points. Along the way you dodge cars, dogs, construction workers, runaway tires and even tornadoes. Each day ends with a training course full of ramps and targets for bonus points.

Fun facts

• You could pick one of three routes of rising difficulty: Easy Street, Middle Road and Hard Way.
• The handlebars didn't just turn: tilting them forward or back sped you up or slowed you down.
• Every morning a newspaper front page summed up how your last day went.

In the arcade

Paperboy is on the UsuArcade wishlist, coming soon to the lounge. If you want to throw papers again, vote with the 'I want to play it' button.

In the meantime you can hop on a motorcycle in Hang-On, take the convertible out in Out Run or sling root beers in Tapper, with chat, live spectators and arcade high scores.

FAQ