Joust Champions is a pixel-art jousting game with a life simulation between tournaments. Each pass down the lists lasts eight hoofbeats: the player spurs the horse on the first three, chooses where to aim, re-aims once after the rival shifts his guard, braces against the incoming lance and strikes on the eighth beat, with timing judged in milliseconds. Twelve named rivals each follow a rule that changes the pass. Between tourneys the player lives out the week in town, training, working shifts, visiting the tavern and chapel, buying horses, armor and lances, and hiring a posse. A seven-chapter career climbs across five venues from a village green to the King's tourney, alongside Daily Tourney and Gauntlet modes.