Track Champ: sprint, jump and throw to the final

Key-bashing is at the heart of Track Champ, an 8-bit athletics game 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, and the faster you bash the keys, the faster your athlete goes. It's drawn in the style of a 48K home computer, and it plays very much like the athletics games of that time.

Five events, two kinds of key

There are five events: the 100 metres, long jump, javelin, 110 metres hurdles and high jump. Each uses the same keys, but in its own way.

Bash the two run keys alternately to build speed. The run keys are Left and Right, or Z and X if you prefer. Alternately is the important word: it's left, right, left, right, as fast as you can manage while keeping the pattern clean.

Some people find Z and X more comfortable to alternate quickly than the arrow keys. Try both and use whichever lets you keep up the fastest steady rhythm.

Jumping and throwing

In the events that need it, use Space to jump or throw. Hold Space to set the angle. Getting the angle right matters: in the long jump, the javelin and the high jump, a run that builds great speed can still come to little if the angle is wrong.

So each of those events has two parts: the run-up, where you build speed, and the moment of the jump or throw, where you hold Space and set the angle. Practising the second part is just as important as being quick on the run keys.

Qualifying through the rounds

Beat the qualifying mark in every event to go through. The competition runs from the heats, to the semi-final, to the final. Points add up as you go, so a strong performance in one event adds to your total even as you're working on the next.

Missing the qualifying mark in an event stops your progress, so a safe, decent attempt that clears the mark is better than a risky one that might fail. In the heats especially, getting through comes first.

It helps to know which events you find hardest. If the javelin angle keeps catching you out, a steady, ordinary throw that clears the mark is worth more than a heroic one that doesn't, and your stronger events can carry the points total.

The 110 metres hurdles combines both halves of the game: bashing the run keys and using Space, the jump key, as each hurdle comes up.

Practice and progress

Track Champ rewards practice. The more comfortable you get with the alternating rhythm, the faster you run, and the more consistently you set your angles, the further you jump and throw.

Esc pauses, F11 gives you the whole stadium, and the title card and F1 explain the controls. Games by Zaweba keeps your best score, plays and wins on your PC, and shows your score against your best when the competition ends. It runs offline, with no adverts.

Find a rhythm on the run keys that you can keep up, take your time setting the angle, and make sure of the qualifying mark before going for a big score.