Play Paperboy (dos) Online

Paperboy is an arcade style bicycle delivery game released in 1988 for MS-DOS. Developed by Atari Games Corporation and published by Mindscape, Inc., the game presents a bird's eye view of suburban streets where the player takes on the role of a newspaper delivery person. The core activity involves navigating these streets on a bicycle to complete a week of deliveries while encountering various obstacles.

The player controls the paperboy using directional inputs to steer the bicycle along a predetermined route. Each in-game day, from Monday to Sunday, begins with a map showing which houses are subscribers and which are not. During the level, subscribers live in brightly colored houses while non subscribers reside in darker homes. The primary objective is to successfully throw newspapers onto the porches of subscribing customers. Concurrently, the player can choose to cause damage to the properties of non subscribers by breaking their windows with errant throws. The game is structured across seven days, and the player must avoid crashing their bicycle or running out of newspapers before the week ends to achieve a perfect delivery run.

Gameplay focuses on navigation and timing as the bicycle moves forward automatically. Players must maneuver around dynamic obstacles such as moving vehicles, animals, skateboarders, and environmental hazards like rogue tires or tornadoes. Throwing papers requires precise aiming while maintaining balance and speed on the bike. The game offers three initial difficulty settings that alter the layout and challenge of the route. Progression is measured day by day, with performance affecting the player's remaining lives and the final outcome at the week's conclusion.