In Atari Games’ arcade game Paperboy, the player delivers newspapers.
Paperboy was released in 1985 and places the player in the role of a newspaper delivery rider. The route runs through a suburban neighborhood, where the player must throw papers toward subscribers’ homes while avoiding traffic, obstacles, animals, and other hazards.
A distinctive feature is the contrast between customers who subscribe and houses that do not. Delivering successfully to subscribers can preserve or increase the player’s route, while breaking windows or missing deliveries can reduce performance. The game ends with a training-course-style obstacle section.
The title refers directly to the occupation represented by the player character. Although the game uses a bicycle and a residential route, its central objective is specifically newspaper delivery, not general postal or grocery delivery.