In Activison's Decathlon up to four players can compete in the 10 classic events of the Decathlon. The events can be played individually as single events or the players can opt to play through all ten. The athletes, as in real life, are given points according to their performance in each event. In this manner a player who has a weak event can still win the over all decathlon on points alone.
The ten events are as follows. The 100 meter dash, the long jump, the shot put, the high jump, the 400 meter, the hurdles, the discus, the pole vault, the javelin and the 1500 meter dash. Located at the bottom of the screen is a meter that measures the speed of your player. By rapidly alternating the joystick from side to side you will increase your player's speed. Speed is obviously needed to win the running events, but also to gain enough momentum to be successful in the throwing and jumping events.
Once the event is completed, your player is given a point total and that point total is added to their overall score. Players all compete against the computer and so, in that effect, are only competing for points against one another, as head-to-head competition is not possible. The player with the most points at the end of the competition is declared the winner.