Pac-Man

Toru Iwatani designed Pac-Man for Namco in 1980, and the character shape came from a pizza with one slice removed. The game sold over 400,000 arcade cabinets within its first decade. Iwatani wanted to appeal to women and couples, so he built a game about eating rather than shooting. A 2014 study in Computers in Human Behavior showed that playing action games like Pac-Man improves visuospatial attention and reaction time in adults. Your goal is simple. Eat every pellet in the maze while four ghosts chase you. Power pellets flip the script and let you eat the ghosts. Start a game in your browser right now.

1. Use the arrow keys, WASD, or swipe on a touchscreen to steer Pac-Man through the maze corridors.
2. Eat every small pellet to clear the level. Each pellet adds 10 points to your score.
3. Grab the four larger power pellets in the corners to turn ghosts blue. A blue ghost is worth 200 points.
4. Avoid the four ghosts when they are not blue. One touch costs you a life. You start with three lives.
5. Use the side tunnels to wrap around from one edge of the maze to the other. Ghosts can follow you through tunnels.
6. Clear all pellets to advance to the next level. Each level increases ghost speed slightly.

• Pac-Man moves on a tile grid. You can only change direction at intersections and corridor openings.
• Four ghosts patrol the maze. Each ghost has a distinct targeting strategy that determines where it heads.
• Power pellets make ghosts edible for about 7 seconds. Eat them quickly before the effect wears off.
• Ghosts flash white before the power pellet effect ends, signaling that they are about to turn dangerous again.
• If a ghost catches Pac-Man, you lose one life. The game ends when all three lives are gone.
• Eaten ghosts return to the ghost house as eyes and respawn. You can eat them again after the next power pellet.
• The side tunnels connect the left and right edges of the maze. Both Pac-Man and ghosts can pass through.

• Learn the four ghost personalities. Blinky (red) chases directly. Pinky (pink) targets four tiles ahead of you. Inky (cyan) uses Blinky's position to calculate an ambush point. Clyde (orange) chases when far but retreats to his corner when close.
• Save power pellets for emergencies. Eating a ghost is worth 200 points, but the real value is clearing a crowded corridor when ghosts surround you.
• Use the tunnels to escape. Ghosts slow down inside the tunnel, so you gain a small speed advantage when you enter first.
• Clear pellets in clusters. Sweep one quadrant of the maze before moving to the next. This prevents you from backtracking into ghost paths.
• Watch the scatter periods. Ghosts periodically stop chasing and return to their assigned corners. Use these windows to grab pellets in dangerous areas.

• Snake: Another classic arcade game where you eat items and grow longer. The challenge is avoiding your own tail.
• 2048: A sliding tile puzzle that shares the grid based movement concept but focuses on number merging instead of maze navigation.
• Breakout: A brick breaking arcade game from the same era. Use a paddle to bounce a ball and destroy every brick on screen.

• The four ghost personalities create unpredictable chases. Each ghost behaves differently, so you must adapt your route constantly.
• Power pellets offer a satisfying reversal. The hunter becomes the hunted, and the score multiplier rewards aggressive play.
• Rounds are short. A single level takes one to three minutes, which fits a quick break.
• The maze layout rewards memorization. Experienced players develop routes that minimize ghost encounters and maximize pellet efficiency.

Play Pac-Man online for free on Clasica Games. The game runs directly in your browser with no downloads or signups. Use keyboard, mouse, or touch controls. Chase high scores across multiple levels with increasing ghost speed. Start eating pellets now.

Pac-Man remains one of the most recognized arcade games ever built. The maze, the ghosts, and the power pellets create a loop that never gets old. Learn the ghost personalities, save your power pellets, and sweep each quadrant methodically. Start a free game in your browser and chase a new high score.

• Pac-Man History and Development
• Action Video Games Improve Visuospatial Attention (Computers in Human Behavior, 2014)