Play Paperboy Online

Summary

Paperboy puts you in the shoes of a suburban bike courier who must toss newspapers onto the porches or mailboxes of ten bright‑colored subscriber houses while being encouraged to smash windows, knock over garden ornaments and even fling papers at a stray tombstone for extra points. The road is crowded with construction workers, rogue tires, skateboarders, dogs, cats and the occasional tornado, turning each delivery into a timing challenge.

Before you start you choose Easy Street, Middle Road or Hard Way, which adjusts obstacle density and your initial paper supply. You restock by grabbing bundles on the pavement, and after each route a training course with unlimited papers lets you rack up “breakage bonuses” by hitting moving targets. Crashing on the main street costs a life, while a crash on the training course simply ends the run without penalty, and perfect deliveries double your bonus and may add a new subscriber.

The Game Boy version, released by Mindscape in 1990, faithfully reproduces the arcade’s core loop but suffers from blurry scrolling, finicky controls and a muted sound palette. Critics still praised the portable adaptation for preserving the frantic paper‑throwing gameplay, making it a nostalgic way to experience the chaotic charm of a paper route gone wild.

Storyline

Paperboy (Game Boy) puts you in the shoes of a suburban newspaper deliverer in the United States. You ride a bicycle and toss copies of the fictional Daily Sun to the houses lining the street. The game is divided into seven levels, each representing a day of the week from Monday through Sunday. On the Sunday level the papers are heavier, so they travel more slowly when you throw them. The goal is to make each delivery while avoiding obstacles.