Joust — Knights on Flying Ostriches in Mid-Air Combat
Category: Arcade / Action | Developer: Williams Electronics | Year: 1982 | Play: Browser (Arcade Emulator) | Price: Free
Powered by Internet Archive — Play instantly in your browser
About This Classic
Knights on flying ostriches battling buzzard-riding enemies over lava pits. This is Joust (Williams, 1982, John Newcomer). Genuinely bizarre premise, beautifully executed gameplay.
Control a knight on an ostrich. Flap to gain altitude, glide to descend. Higher knight always wins the collision. Defeated enemies turn into eggs that float downward — collect before they hatch into new enemies.
Two-player simultaneous co-op or competitive jousting for points. Pterodactyl appears if you take too long — nearly unbeatable. Finish waves fast.
Flight Combat Mastery
- Altitude Wins: Constantly flap to maintain height advantage. The physics-based flight feels amazing once mastered.
- Pterodactyl Panic: Appears when you stall. It’s nearly invincible — finish waves quickly to avoid it.
- Egg Management: Collect eggs, but don’t tunnel-vision while enemies fly. Dead knights collect no eggs.
- Lava Troll: Hand reaches from lava if you fly too low. Stay above mid-screen.
- Two-Player Tactics: Co-op: one clears enemies, one grabs eggs. Competitive: well-timed joust = big points.
Why Joust Endures
Spawning Joust 2 and appearing in Williams compilations, Joust’s flapping flight mechanic was patented by Williams. Inspired Balloon Fight (Nintendo). In an era of space shooters, Joust stood out by being genuinely weird — and it paid off. Flying ostriches, lava troll hands, pterodactyls. Pure golden age madness.
Ready to Play?
Scroll up and hit play on the embed above to jump right in. No download, no sign-up, just instant classic gaming in your browser.