Side Trak

About

Side Trak is a 1979 arcade game where you drive a train trying to collect passengers while dodging a computer-controlled enemy train. Play in single or two-player modes as you navigate switching tracks with a joystick and hit the speed button to temporarily boost your pace. Each loop around the track adds a car to your train, making it harder to avoid the killer engine that hunts you down. The more cars you carry, the more points you earn per passenger. The scoring scales with both track placement and train length, outer tracks give 10 points, while inner tracks and extra cars add bonuses. It ran on a custom Exidy platform later used for bigger hits, though early versions had simple sound effects and short musical sequences. A minimalist but tense early example of competitive arcade design.