Joust for the Lynx is based on Williams' 1982 arcade game of the same name. You'll control an ostrich-riding medieval knight as you try to knock fellow knights off their mounts with a lance. Yet instead of just moving along the ground, your ostrich has the ability to fly. Jousting involves guiding the mount with the pad while flapping the ostrich's wings by repeatedly tapping either button. In order to win jousts, players must position their lances above those of their opponents. Should the two lances meet at the same level, both riders will bounce back unharmed.
After losing a joust, the opponent will turn into an egg, which will either disappear into the lava at the bottom of the screen or land on one of the suspended platforms on the playing field. If the egg falls on land, you must quickly grab it before it hatches into a new, more powerful rider. The three types of opponents are as follows: Bounders, red riders worth 500 points apiece; Hunters, gray riders worth 750 points apiece; and Shadowlords, blue riders worth 1,500 points apiece. While players begin with five lives, extra riders can be earned for every 20,000 points scored.
Play continues until all of the riders on the screen are defeated, at which point a new wave of enemies will appear. Future waves will have pterodactyls flying across the screen, disappearing platforms and the dreaded Lava Troll, who'll grab any rider flying too close to the lava's surface. This version of Joust features two-player support via ComLynx, allowing both participants to compete in a Gladiator Mode without enemies. The object of this game is to be the first player to vanquish all of the opponent's mounts (either ostriches or storks). Two-player simultaneous action is also supported for the original game.