What is Pac-Man?
Pac-Man is the 1980 Namco arcade game that turned a maze, 240 dots and four ghosts into the most recognizable video game ever made. There is nothing to shoot, only a yellow circle to steer, dots to eat and four ghosts to stay ahead of. The rule that makes it a game rather than a chore is the power pellet in each corner — eat one and, for a few seconds, the ghosts turn blue and you are the one doing the chasing.
The ghosts are why it still holds up. Blinky, the red one, follows you directly. Pinky aims four tiles ahead of you and cuts you off. Inky's target is a mirror of Blinky's position, which makes him the erratic one. Clyde chases until he gets within eight tiles, then wanders off to his corner. Every so often they all break off to their own corners — seven seconds of scatter, twenty of chase — and knowing which color is behind you is most of the skill.
How to play
Press play above, wait for the loading bar, then hit PLAY on the game's own menu. You start with two spare lives, shown bottom left. Small dots are worth 10 points, power pellets 50, and all 244 have to go before the maze flashes and the next level begins on the same layout. Ghosts get a little quicker each level, and Blinky speeds up at 40 dots left and again at 20, after which he hunts you even during scatter.
Ghosts eaten on one power pellet are worth 200, 400, 800 and 1,600 points in a row. A pellet lasts six seconds on level one, plus about two seconds of flashing while the ghosts are still edible, and loses a second per level — from level seven they do not turn blue at all. Fruit appears under the ghost house twice per level, after your 70th and 170th dot, for ten seconds: 100 points on level one, rising to 5,000 from level eight. Reach 10,000 points and you get one extra life; there is no second one.
Controls
Pac-Man moves on his own; you only pick the next turn, and he takes it at the first junction where it is legal. On a phone held upright, four on-screen arrow buttons appear under the maze; they are hidden in landscape, so play in portrait on touch.
| Action | Keyboard | Touch |
|---|---|---|
| Turn up / down | ↑ ↓ or W S | Up / down arrow buttons |
| Turn left / right | ← → or A D | Left / right arrow buttons |
| Pause / resume | Esc | Pause button, top right |
| Sound on / off | Q | Speaker button, top right |
| Start a game | PLAY button on the game's menu | |
Tips and strategy
- Queue turns early. Press the direction before the junction, not at it. The turn is taken the moment it becomes legal; a late press is a wasted tile.
- Save the power pellets. Clear the open middle first and keep the corner pellets for the end, when the last dots are the ones the ghosts guard.
- Eat a pellet with the ghosts bunched. The 1,600-point fourth ghost only happens if all four are close when you take it.
- Use the tunnels. Ghosts crawl through the side passages at 40 percent of your speed; you are not slowed at all.
- Plan the last 40 dots. Blinky's speed-ups at 40 and 20 make him a genuine threat. Know which dots are left before you get there.
- Respect the level-seven wall. Once pellets stop turning the ghosts blue, the game is pure evasion. Bank the extra life at 10,000 well before then.
- Pause with Esc. It freezes everything, including the fruit and pellet timers.
A brief history
Namco released the game in Japan in 1980 as Puck Man; the name became Pac-Man for the North American release by Midway later that year. Toru Iwatani led the design, and the eating theme was a deliberate attempt to reach players who had no interest in the shooters that filled arcades at the time. The original board has a famous flaw: on level 256 an overflow in the level counter draws garbage over the right half of the maze, the so-called kill screen. Ms. Pac-Man followed in 1982 and became an arcade hit in its own right.
About this version
This is a fan-made JavaScript remake, not the arcade code and not an emulator. It uses the original 28-by-31 maze with the same 240 dots and four power pellets, the same scatter and chase rhythm, the same four ghost targeting rules, the arcade fruit values and the 10,000-point extra life. The siren rises as the dots run out, the ghost box releases Pinky, Inky and Clyde one at a time, and the maze flashes white when a level is cleared. What is not here: the animated intermissions between levels, the fruit row that marks your level (the bottom-right row shows the last seven fruit you actually ate), a two-player mode, and the level-256 bug — this version simply keeps going. Your high score and sound preference are kept in the browser's local storage. If it stalls on the loading bar, the images or sounds were blocked by the network; a reload usually fixes it. For more from the same era, try Galaga, Space Invaders or the rest of the retro collection.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pac-Man free to play here?
Yes. The game runs entirely in your browser on this page — no download, no install, no account. Press play, wait for the loading bar, then hit PLAY on the game's own menu.
What are the controls?
Arrow keys or WASD turn Pac-Man; he keeps moving on his own, you only choose the next turn. Esc pauses, and Q toggles the sound. On a phone held upright, four on-screen arrow buttons appear under the maze.
How many dots are in the maze?
240 small dots worth 10 points each, plus four power pellets in the corners worth 50. Eat all 244 and the maze flashes and the next level starts with the same layout.
How long does a power pellet last?
Six seconds on level one, then about two seconds of flashing during which the ghosts are still edible. Each level trims a second off the six. From level seven on, a pellet is only worth its 50 points — the ghosts no longer turn blue at all.
How do the ghost points work?
Ghosts eaten during one power pellet are worth 200, 400, 800 and 1,600 points in that order. The combo resets when the pellet wears off, so the 1,600 only happens if you get all four on a single pellet.
When does the fruit show up?
Twice per level, after your 70th and 170th dot, under the ghost house for ten seconds. It is worth 100 points on level one and climbs through 300, 500, 700, 1,000, 2,000 and 3,000 to 5,000 from level eight on.
How many lives do I get, and is there an extra one?
You start with two spare lives, shown bottom-left under the maze. One extra life is awarded the first time your score reaches 10,000 points; there is only ever one.
Is my high score saved?
Yes. The best score is kept in your browser's local storage and shown as HIGH SCORE at the top of the game. It stays until you clear the site's data, and it is not shared with other devices.
