Pac-Man

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 4 decades or so, you’ve probably heard of the legendary Pac-Man! In this classic 2D arcade action game, the objective is to eat all the white dots in the labyrinth, but the 4 pesky ghosts chasing after you make this easier said than done.

Pac-Man Games

This HTML5 tribute comes with 3 different Pac-Man game versions:

• Pac-Man: The classic 1980 original arcade by Namco
• Ms. Pac-Man: 1981 Pac-Man modification by GCC/Midway
• Cookie-Man: a brand new version of Ms. Pac-Man with a sophisticated procedural map generator

Each game also features an alternate "Turbo" (alias "speedy" mode) - which was a popular modification done to the Pac-Man gaming hardware to make Pac-Man move about twice as fast and not slow down when eating pellets.

On top of the 3 different Pac-Man game versions, you can also play the "Learn Mode" or "Practice Mode":

• Learn Mode: In this mode you get to visualize the behaviors of the ghosts, with the colored square representing the ghost bait
• Practice Mode: Allows you to use slow motion and rewind time in order to practice the different games better. You can also turn on invincibility and ghost visualizers from the in-game menu! You'll find all the controls for these down below

Modern games are in debt to this all-time classic because, back in the 1980s, incorporating unique movement patterns for all the NPCs was groundbreaking. And while nowadays we take it for granted, it was this legendary title that was among the first to establish the inseparable and ever-evolving bond between AI and video games.

How to play Pac-Man

This old-school game would be extremely difficult if there weren’t big glowing dots placed in each corner of the maze. Eating them will turn all ghosts blue and slow them down, enabling you to become the chaser for a brief period. When the ghosts are about to return to their original role, they’ll start blinking so don’t get overly excited about your newly gained powers.

It’s a good strategy to clear a single quadrant of the maze at a time to avoid running back to eat those pellets you’ve left behind. You should also be mindful of timing your transformation into a chaser. Keep your archenemies close and just when they’re about to get to you, eat the big dot and run them down. Every 10,000 points scored grants you a new life, so don’t beat yourself up if you make a couple of misplays early on.

What are the controls for Pac-Man?

Desktops:

• Arrow keys to steer Pacman
• End: pause the game
• Escape: open in-game menu

Controls for practice mode:

• SHIFT: Hold down to rewind (a la Braid)
• 1: Hold down to slow down the game to 0.5x
• 2: Hold down to slow down the game to 0.25x
• O: Toggle Pacman turbo mode
• P: Toggle Pacman attract mode (autoplay)
• I: Toggle Pacman invincibility
• N: Go to next level
• Q, W, E, R, T: Toggle target graphic for Blinky, Pinky, Inky, Clyde, and Pacman, respectively.
• A, S, D, F, G: Toggle path graphic for Blinky, Pinky, Inky, Clyde, and Pacman, respectively.

Mobile devices: Swipe on the screen to steer Pacman

Features

• Classic maze chase gameplay
• Increasing difficulty levels
• Iconic characters: Pac-Man and the four ghosts
• Power Pellets for turning the tables on ghosts
• Simple and intuitive controls
• Playable on various devices and platforms
• Always a higher score to strive for!