Joust | Classic retro game for the Commodore PET Computer (1980)

JOUST is not the familiar arcade game with flying ostriches and buzzards flapping around platforms, but a more traditional simulation of two knights on horseback trying to unseat each other with lances. (The arcade game wasn't released until 1982, and this CURSOR tape was issued in 1980.)

As the horses (slowly) rush towards each other, the two players adjust the vertical positions of their lances and shields from opposite ends of the keyboard, with the left player using Q / Z / E / C and the right player using 7 / 1 / 9 / 3 on the numeric keypad. You'd need to play this game on a machine with a full keyboard; the right-side player would be at a serious disadvantage if they had to use the top-row numbers to make their adjustments. While I don't see JOUST getting a lot of playtime today, it is exactly the sort of game that we would have played over and over at school when I was a kid.