[6] Players compete in a series of events, most involving alternately pressing two buttons as quickly as possible to make the onscreen character run faster.

The game uses a horizontal side-scrolling format, displaying one or two tracks at a time, a large scoreboard that shows world records and current attempts, and a packed audience in the background.

In all multiplayer heats, however, the relative performances of the players do not affect the game; advancing is based solely on qualifying times.

As a result, arcade operators reported high rates of damage to the buttons, leading to modifications in later versions to prevent such actions.

[2] The game was subsequently introduced in North America as Track & Field at the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) show in October 1983.

Despite the initial hype surrounding laserdisc games, many operators and distributors ultimately regarded Track & Field as the biggest hit at the event.

[10] The 2600 version was among the new games to utilize Atari's "super chip" technology, enabling enhanced graphics and gameplay variety compared to what was previously possible on the 2600.

Of the original six events from Track & Field, only the hammer throw is missing; in its place, however, are skeet shooting, archery, and triple jump.

The ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC versions were released only as part of the Game, Set and Match II compilation in 1988 and are poorly regarded.

They noted that while the gameplay may not accurately reflect skill or knowledge of the actual sports, the game's appeal lies in its pure button-pushing endurance, particularly when played with four players.

[31] In 1984, Konami and Centuri jointly organized an international Track & Field video game competition that attracted over a million players from Japan and North America.

[32] The competition, officially known as the "1984 March of Dimes International Konami/Centuri Track & Field Challenge," was highlighted in the Twin Galaxies publication, which noted that more than a million contestants participated between April 30 and May 26, aiming to be among three finalists who would travel to Japan to represent the USA.

Gary West from Oklahoma City emerged as the U.S. Finals winner, while Phil Britt from Riverside, California, claimed victory in the World Championship held in Tokyo on June 10, 1984.

[33] This score surpassed the previous record of 95,040 points set by Kelly Kobashigawa from Los Angeles on June 30, 1985, during the 1985 Video Game Masters Tournament in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Following the release of Track & Field, the arcade industry began producing sports games at levels not seen since the days of Pong and its clones nearly a decade earlier.

[20] Namco's Yoshihiro Kishimoto cited Track & Field as the biggest influence on the side-scrolling platform game Pac-Land (1984).