Machine Guides

Game History

Pac-Man is an iconic arcade game developed by Namco and released in 1980. Created by Toru Iwatani, it became a cultural phenomenon and one of the most successful arcade games of all time.

The gameplay features a yellow, circular character named Pac-Man who navigates through a maze, eating dots while avoiding four colorful ghosts named Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde. When Pac-Man eats all the dots in the maze, he advances to the next level. The game also features "Power Pellets" that temporarily allow Pac-Man to turn the tables and eat the ghosts for bonus points.

What made Pac-Man revolutionary was its departure from the prevalent space shooter games of the era. It appealed to a broader audience, including women, with its non-violent, maze-chase gameplay and charming character design. The game's simple yet addictive mechanics, combined with its distinctive characters and sound effects, created an enduring legacy that spawned numerous sequels, merchandise, and even an animated television series.

Pac-Man generated over $2.5 billion in quarters by the 1990s, establishing it as one of the highest-grossing video games in history and cementing its place in pop culture.

How to Play

Objective

Navigate through a maze, eating all the pellets to advance to the next level while avoiding the four ghosts that chase you. The game ends when you lose all your lives.

Controls

• Joystick: Move Pac-Man up, down, left, or right through the maze
• Start Button: Start game

Gameplay

• Navigate the maze using the joystick to eat all pellets
• Avoid the four differently colored ghosts (Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde) who move through the maze
• Eat the four larger Power Pellets located in the corners of the maze to temporarily gain the ability to eat ghosts
• When powered up, eat ghosts for bonus points before they return to the center box and regenerate
• Occasionally, fruit appears below the ghost box for bonus points
• After eating all pellets, the screen resets with a new maze layout
• Each level increases in difficulty with faster ghost movement and shorter power-up durations
• You start with three lives; lose one life each time a ghost catches you
• The game ends when all lives are lost

The game features 256 levels, though due to a programming bug, the final level is unplayable with half the screen appearing as jumbled symbols.