[1] The player takes the role of a paperboy who delivers a fictional newspaper called The Daily Sun along a street on his bicycle.

The player assumes the role of a paperboy on a bicycle delivering newspapers along a suburban street, which is displayed in an oblique projection view.

At the start of the game, the player is offered a choice of three difficulty settings: Easy Street, Middle Road, and Hard Way.

[9] The primary goal is to deliver papers to subscribers by throwing them either onto the front porch or into the mailbox, while avoiding obstacles such as cars, skateboarders, and rolling tires.

After completing the route, the player moves onto a training course and can earn points for hitting targets and using ramps to jump over walls/ditches/holes, with an unlimited supply of papers.

The game ends once all lives are exhausted, all subscriptions are canceled, or the player completes the Sunday training course, whichever comes first.

The controls consist of a bicycle handlebar (a modified Star Wars yoke)[9] with one button on each side, used to throw papers.

[17] In the United States, a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) version was developed by Eastridge Technology and published by Mindscape in December 1988.

[28] In Japan, Game Machine listed Paperboy on their November 1, 1985 issue as being the fifth most-successful upright arcade unit of the month.

[42] The ZX Spectrum port topped the UK monthly sales chart in September 1986,[43][44] and the release of the Commodore 64 version took the game to the number one position again in November.

[21][22] Computer Gamer gave the ZX Spectrum version a rating of 16 out of 20, considering it to be a faithful conversion of the arcade game, while noting that some people may find the gameplay to be repetitive.

[50] Richard Leadbetter of CVG reviewed the Lynx version and stated, "Looks good, but simply isn't enough fun to play.

"[30] STart's Clayton Walnum similarly praised the Lynx version's graphics and sound effects but deemed the game "just another shoot-em-up without the shooting.

"[25] AllGame's Kyle Knight criticized the Lynx version for its simple sound effects and music, as well as its repetitive gameplay.

[25] Mean Machines was critical of the NES version for its graphics, sound, and controls, and concluded that it was, "A highly offensive product which weighs in as a sadly derisive conversion of a classic coin-op.

"[28] Brett Alan Weiss of AllGame stated that Mindscape did a good job of porting the game to the NES.

[18] Raze considered the Game Boy version to be "Excellent",[24] while Mean Machines criticized its controls, blurry scrolling, and the lack of colorful graphics, which could not be produced by the system.

Dean Austin of IGN criticized the retro 3D look of the Nintendo 64 version, but praised the gameplay and considered it to be a "great game.

[71] Robert Amsbury of GameRevolution praised the sound effects in the Nintendo 64 version, but considered the music to be repetitive, while noting that the game "isn't really all that fun.

[67] Tarryn van der Byl of Pocket Gamer criticized the iPhone version for its poor controls, and stated that the game's optional 3D graphics mode was "ugly and feels clumsy and inaccurate.

[72] Mark Langshaw of Digital Spy reviewed the iPhone version and stated that it would likely appeal most to fans of the original game.

[76] Jeremiah Leif Johnson of Gamezebo gave the game three stars out of five, praising the story mode and the 1980s-style graphics, but criticizing the poor controls.

[58] The Game Boy Color version, developed by Digital Eclipse Software and published by Midway, was released in the United States on May 30, 1999.

[78] In August 1998, Midway announced that it would be publishing the Nintendo 64 game, which was still in conceptual stages and was expected for release in late 1999.

[77] A port of Paperboy can be accessed in the 2015 video game Lego Dimensions by using the Arcade Dock in the level "Painting the Town Black".