About Paperboy
Midway's Arcade Classics : Volume 3 : Paperboy

Paperboy was released in 1984 by Atari - it's a classic game of mayhem and destruction played out on the suburban streets of Smalltown, U.S.A.

These buttons are available on the game screen :

PLAY to begin or continue a game

OPTIONS to customize the game settings, controls, etc.

GALLERY for pictures related to the games.

HELP to access help files on the selected game.

CHANGE GAME to return to the game selection screen.

EXIT to exit Arcade Classics 3 and return to your desktop.

These functions are only available on the menu bar :

Save Game...

Load Game...

Reset Emulator

Paperboy ® © 1984

Paperboy is a trademark of Atari Games Corporation.

Midway and the Midway Logo are trademarks of Midway Games Inc.

Atari® trademark for home video games used under license by Hasbro Interactive, Inc.


Play Button
The Play Button

Press P or click on the Play button to start the Paperboy Emulator.

The first time you do this after choosing a new game, you will start out in attract mode.  This is the mode the arcade game is in when it is waiting for a new player.

If you have already started the emulator it will resume where you left off.

To pause the game, press either the P or PAUSE key.

The Esc key will return you to the game's main title window.

For more information on the object of the game, see How to Play.

For more information on the controls used to play this game, see Game Controls.


Options Button
The Options Button

The Options button on the game's title window allows you to customize the game in a variety of ways.

You can:

•	vary the difficulty and game play options (see Game Settings)

•	change the keys used to control the game (see Keyboard Controls)

•	select and customize joysticks to be used to control the games (see Joystick Controls)

•	customize the mouse to control the games (see Mouse Controls) and more.


Gallery Button
The Gallery Button

Click on the Gallery button to enter a slide show of art work associated with the games in Arcade Classics 3.


Help Button
The Help Button

This button brings up help screens where you can find help on topics related to Arcade Classics 3.


Change Game Button
The Change Game Button

The Change Game button will exit any current game that you are playing and bring you back to the main Game Selection Screen.


Exit Button
The Exit Button

The Exit button will completely exit Arcade Classics 3.

To exit your current game in order to choose a new game to play, click on the Change Game button instead.


Joystick Controls

The joystick options page lets you change the joystick button assignments used to control the game.

First, select one of the installed joystick devices that are attached to your computer.

Then you can define what each part of the joystick will do in the game.

Note:  If the list of available devices is empty, then no joystick is currently detected by Windows.  Go to the Control Panel to check on the status of your joystick hardware, or to calibrate it if it's not functioning correctly. More Info

To define a joystick function select the Control and change its assignment in the Assign Buttons section (in the Game Operation box).  You may also select the Control with the right mouse button and select the assignment for the button from the list of options given.

Restore Defaults

The Restore Defaults button will reset all these options back to the game's original settings.


Keyboard Controls

The Keyboard page lists all the controls used by the game, and the current keys assigned to each.  To assign a new key to a control, click on the entry area, remove the current key selection using delete or backspace, and enter the desired key to perform the defined action.

Some additional keys, including tab and Enter are available by right-clicking within a key entry area.

Restore Defaults

The Restore Defaults button will reset all these options back to the game's original settings.


Game Settings

This page offers you control over operator settings: settings that the arcade owner could change in order to affect how hard the game was.

Difficulty

A general difficulty setting which modifies the behavior of the enemies.

Bonus Life at

After this many points the player gets an extra life.

Number of Lives

How many lives the player begins the game with

Free Play

Whether quarters are required at all.

NOTE : if you change this option you will have to "Insert Coins" by pressing Q before you can play.

Clear High Scores

This button will reset the high score table - look for the initials of the original programmers on the "cleared" High Score tables.

Restore Settings

This will change the settings back to their defaults: the way the machine would have been set at the factory.


Mouse Controls

This page lets you change the mouse button assignments used to control the game.

Each of your mouse buttons (left, right and middle if you have one) can be set to a different action.

To assign a new key to a mouse button, click on the arrow next to the button assignment and select a new assignment from the list.

Mouse Sensitivity

This options lets you adjust how sensitive the Paperboy's bike is to the movement of the mouse.

Restore Defaults

Restore Defaults will reset all these options back to their original settings.


Sound
Sound Options

Sound Enabled

This option allows the user to turn the sound effects and music of the game on or off.  (The sound is on when the box is checked.)

Volume

This option allows you to adjust the volume of the game, both sounds and music.  This is done by dragging the slider between Lion (the loudest setting) and mouse (the quietest setting).

During the game the sound can be manipulated by using:

ALT+NUMPAD PLUS:	Increased Volume

ALT+NUMPAD MINUS:	Decreases Volume


How to Play
How to Play Paperboy

Controls:

Steer the bike left and right

Watch out for the many obstacles that will knock you off your bike.

Steer into the flashing newspaper bundles to replenish your supply.

Pedal and brake

Slow down to avoid obstacles in front of you, and time your throws more easily.

Speed up to go faster and escape angry neighbors and their pets.

Throw Paper

Every paper is tossed to the left - try to hit the mailboxes and porches of your customers. Everyone else's windows and yards are fair game! Don't smash your customer's property or you'll be sorry.

The number of papers you have left to throw is shown in the upper left corner of the screen.

You can hold 10 at a time; if you run out, pick up more by running into the flashing bundles of papers that are placed on the sidewalk.

Game Play:

You begin the game with ten customers and ten non-customers.  Your customers live in brightly colored houses; non-customers live in dark colored houses.  To deliver to a customer you must throw a paper either on their porch or into their mailbox.  Failure to deliver a paper to a customer results in the loss of that customer on the next day.  Any damage done to a customers' property also results in the loss of that customer.  Losing all ten of your customers will get you fired and your game is over.  However, each time you deliver to all of you customers you will receive a Perfect Delivery Bonus for that day.  And, if you have previously lost any of your ten customers, you will get one of them back as a re-subscriber.

Non-customers' houses and yards are loaded with targets at which to throw your extra papers (windows, lamps, statues, etc.).  Upon hitting any of these targets, its respective point value goes into the Breakage Bonus, which is displayed at the top center of the screen.  The Breakage Bonus is awarded to the player at the end of each day (or at the end of the game - whichever comes first).

If you lose a customer, that customers' house will be dark colored the next day.  As a non-subscriber, this house now presents more targets at which to throw for building up your Breakage Bonus.

PAPERBOY can carry a maximum of ten papers at a time, but can restock his supply by riding over paper bundles placed here and there on his route.  A papers supply indicator is displayed underneath the players' score.

While riding down the street, PAPERBOY must avoid collisions with all stationary objects and other characters moving about the neighborhood.  To avoid collisions, PAPERBOY can ride his bike anywhere - on the sidewalk, in the street, or into front yards.  A collision with anything results is the loss of a life.

The large cast of colorful characters makes it increasingly more difficult for PAPERBOY to make his way down the street.  Eventually, the player must develop great skill in maneuvering PAPERBOY to avoid street traffic, dogs, cats, various pedestrians, etc.  In addition, many of the houses have certain characters associated with them.  Non-subscribers are hostile to PAPERBOY and will attack him and try to knock him down.  If you damage subscribers' property, that character may also attack.  So the more customers you lose, the more hostile the neighborhood gets toward PAPERBOY, and the tougher it becomes to avoid all the characters that are out to get PAPERBOY.

At the end of each delivery day, you have a chance to sharpen you skills by guiding PAPERBOY through the PAPERBOY Training Grounds.  The obstacle course is filled with various targets at which to throw and jumps to make.  You can not lose lives in this bonus round - any collision just ends the training course segment, after which you move on to the next delivery day.  You must move fast through the course and try to cross the finish line before the time at the top of the screen runs out.

At the start of each day, a map of your route is displayed to indicate subscriber and non-subscriber houses.  This map is helpful in reminding you of what customers you may have lost on the previous day and the locations of your remaining customers.


Troubleshooting

Joystick input not being recognized:  Go to Options button, Joystick tab.  Click on the Control Panel button.  Select Game Controllers.  Make sure that your joystick appears on this list.  If it does not then you should add it.


About this Game

Paperboy(R)(c)1984 Atari Games Corporation.

All Rights Reserved.

Paperboy is a trademark of Atari Games Corporation.

Midway and the Midway Logo are trademarks of Midway Games Inc.

Atari(R) trademark for home video games used under license by Hasbro Interactive, Inc.