A key bashing athletics game for PC

Key-bashing athletics in an 8-bit style is what Track Champ offers, on the Retro arcade shelf of Games by Zaweba. You sprint, jump and throw your way through five events, from the heats to the semi-final and the final. It is an original game, free and offline, with no adverts or account.

Expect sore fingers. Speed comes from bashing two keys as fast as you can, and that is half the fun.

Five events

The five events are the 100 metres, the long jump, the javelin, the 110 metres hurdles and the high jump. Each one uses the same basic controls in a different way, so once you've learned to run, you've learned the start of every event.

Running fast

Bash the two run keys alternately to build speed. The keys are Left and Right, or Z and X. The word that matters is alternately: hitting one key over and over does nothing useful. A steady left, right, left, right rhythm is what builds speed.

Find a way of bashing that you can keep up. Some people use two fingers of one hand, some use one finger of each hand. Whatever works, keep it steady rather than frantic, since a broken rhythm loses speed.

Jumping and throwing

In the jumps and the javelin, you run up and then press Space to jump or throw. Hold Space to set the angle, then let go. The angle matters a lot. Too flat and the jump or throw falls short; too steep and it goes up rather than along.

The hurdles mix running with jumping, so your key bashing has to pause for Space at the right moments. Watch the track ahead rather than your fingers.

From the heats to the final

Beat the qualifying mark in every event to go through. Clear the heats and you reach the semi-final, then the final. Points add up as you go, so a strong performance in one event helps your total, but you still need to qualify in every event to keep going.

That gives each event a clear target. In the early rounds, qualifying is what counts. In the final, chase the points.

The qualifying marks give every attempt a purpose. Even when you are not chasing a record, you are trying to get through, and the step up from heats to semi-final to final gives the game a shape that a single event could not.

Getting to the track

Track Champ is drawn in the style of a 48K home computer, with chunky athletes and simple, cheerful sounds. Find it on the Retro arcade shelf of Games by Zaweba, or press Ctrl+F and type track. The title card explains the events and controls, F1 explains them again, Esc pauses and F11 fills the screen. The game pauses itself if you switch windows, which is handy if you need to rest your fingers.

Your best score and plays are kept on the game's tile in a scores file on your own PC. There are no adverts and no accounts, and nothing goes online. It's a great one to play with friends or family taking turns, each trying to beat the best score on the tile, though it is a one-player game, so you'll be passing the keyboard.