Joust
Joust is a 1982 action game developed and published by Williams Electronics for arcades. Players assume the role of knights armed with lances and mounted on large birds. They progress through levels, which consist of a single screen filled with floating platforms, by defeating enemy knights riding buzzards and other opponents.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA, read 5 September 2026.
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- Released
- 1982
- Developer
- HAL Laboratory
- Platforms
- 2 systems
- Critics
- Not scored
- Steam Deck
- Unknown
- Download
- Not stated
The record
| First released | 16 July 1982 |
|---|---|
| Developer | HAL Laboratory, WMS Industries |
| Publisher | HAL Laboratory |
| Platforms | Nintendo Entertainment System, Steam Deck |
| Genres | platformer |
Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q1567550, seeded 30 August 2026.
How long is Joust? How long to beat it
Total play time for Joust is about 1.2 hours to do everything, and around 0.5 hours to reach the end of the main story. These are player-submitted times from HowLongToBeat, not our own, shown with the number of players behind each.
| How you play | Hours | Players logged |
|---|---|---|
| Just the main story: straight through the critical path | 0.5h | 15 |
| Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do | 1.1h | 2 |
| Completionist: everything: 100% the game | 1.2h | 1 |
Source: HowLongToBeat community submissions, read 2026-10-19.
Where Joust sits on the grid
The grid places every game in the catalogue on measured axes rather than on an opinion. This is where Joust lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.
- Year
- 31ahead of 0% of the catalogue
- Reach
- 36ahead of 77% of the catalogue
Percentiles are against the games that carry a reading on that axis, not the whole catalogue: counting a game with no figure as a zero would flatter everything that has one. How the grid works.
What readers say about Joust
Reviews written by people who have played it. These are separate from the GamingPickz Score and are never averaged into it: that score comes from thousands of Steam reviews with a sample-size correction, and a handful of unverified ratings would distort it rather than improve it.
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Where Joust appears
The ranked lists and finder pages Joust qualifies for, from its own genre and platform to what it takes to run.
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Common questions about Joust
What platforms is Joust on?
Joust is available on Nintendo Entertainment System, Steam Deck. It first released in 1982.
Who made Joust?
Joust was developed by HAL Laboratory, WMS Industries and published by HAL Laboratory.
How long does it take to beat Joust?
about 0.5 hours for the main story, 1.1 hours with the main extras, 1.2 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.