Pac-Man
The 1980 arcade maze: eat every dot, avoid four ghosts with four different personalities, and use the power pellets well.
Pac-Man is the most recognisable arcade game ever made and the maze has not changed since Namco shipped it in 1980. You clear a board of dots while four ghosts chase you, and four power pellets in the corners briefly reverse that relationship.
What keeps it interesting decades later is that the ghosts are not random. Blinky chases you directly, Pinky aims at the square ahead of you, Inky uses Blinky position to flank, and Clyde alternates between chasing and wandering. Once you know that, the maze becomes a problem of manipulating four predictable opponents rather than a game of luck.
Controls
Arrow keys to change direction
Tips
- Pinky aims where you are going, not where you are, so turning toward her at the last moment makes her overshoot.
- Save the power pellets until two or three ghosts are close. Eating them in sequence is worth far more points.
- The side tunnels slow ghosts down but not you, which makes them the safest place to break a chase.