This became an instant hit when the game reached the arcades, and though it translated well to the 8bit machines a couple of years later, it's the game's arcade incarnation that we remember most fondly.

As the name suggests, you're a paperboy who spends his time delivering papers, American-stylee - i.e. you throw the newspaper at the house as you cycle past it, rather than popping it nicely through the letterbox in the door. Points were scored for hitting various targets - front doors, mailboxes and the like, but an errant paper that smashed through a client's window caused them to cancel their delivery, although you could still earn points by hitting various targets in non-customers' gardens and the like. Along the way the paperboy had to avoid all manner of obstacles, including a fabulous wandering drunk returning from a night on the tiles. At the end of each round the paperboy got to enjoy himself on a small BMX course at the top of the street before starting in on the next day.

Simple gameplay that rewarded skill and fast reactions made Paperboy a wonderful game, although possibly not one of the most successful arcade games because after a few goes you could get a whole lot more play out of your 10p than the designers bargained for. We loved it and think it's well deserving of its place in this hallowed section of Future Gamer.