Track and Field Games

The athletics games in this section are track and field events: short sports challenges that come down to reflexes, rhythm and timing. There are around 50, all free and with nothing to download, from sprints to jumps and throws.

How they play

In the races, like 100 Metres Race, Sprinter and On Your Marks, you usually tap keys or click fast to speed up. Check how each one works, because some ask you to alternate two keys and others just set a rhythm. In real track and field, the 100 meters is the headline sprint, and the start is everything: the same goes here, so don't jump the gun.

Hurdles (Summer Sports: Hurdles, Scooby Doo Hurdle Race) add the jump: you have to run and leap without losing rhythm. In the pole vault (Pole Vault Jump) and the triple jump (Animal Olympics - Triple Jump), the timing of your click matters more than power. The triple jump, by the way, has three phases: a hop, a step and the final jump. In Javelin, the throwing angle is what counts.

Multi-event games and characters

If you want several events in one game, Olympic Challenge, Summer Games, TRZ Athletic Games, Athletics and Triathlon bring different events together, and Princess Winter Olympics carries the format over to winter sports. Races with characters, like Bugs Bunny Mad Dash, Big Bird Racing and Scooby Doo, are lighter and good to play with kids. A few on the list, such as Backflip Parkour, Extreme Runners and Hang Tight, are closer to skill races than to track and field events.

Tips

• Do a practice run before the real one: a few tries are enough to get the tapping rhythm.
• Don't mash the keys without control. Steady tapping usually works better than pressing blindly.
• On jumps and throws, watch the angle or power indicator, if there is one, and release calmly.
• If you're going for records, play the events separately before attempting a full tournament.