Controls
A) Joystick: The only control that you need to play, the joystick helps you direct Pac-Man through the maze. You can hold the joystick in direction that you would like Pac-Man to go before he is able to turn that way, and he will turn as soon as possible.
B) 1 or 2 Players: Push these buttons to begin a one or two player game.
Characters
Pac-Man
The title character himself needs no introduction. You control Pac-Man as you guide him through the maze and on to victory. Pac-Man's one and only goal is to gobble up every dot (and power pellet) in the maze. He must avoid contact with the four ghosts unless they are temporarily afraid of Pac-Man as a result of eating one of the four power pellet. Pac-Man moves faster when he's not eating dots than when he is. He is also capable of turning around corners faster than the ghosts, so make as many turns as possible when the ghosts are on his tail. Pac-Man earns 10 points for every dot eaten, and 50 points for each power pellet. You typically earn one extra life when you reach 10,000 points, but this setting can be modified.
Shadow
Nickname: Blinky. As his name implies, Shadow is usually a constant shadow on Pac-Man's tail. When he's not patrolling the northeast corner of the maze, Shadow tries to find the quickest route to Pac-Man's position. And despite the fact that Pinky's real name is Speedy, Shadow is actually the fastest ghost. In Japan, his name is Oikake/Akabei.
Speedy
Nickname: Pinky. Speedy gets his name for an unusual reason. Speedy appears to try to outsmart Pac-Man and crash in to Pac-Man from the opposite direction. The truth behind this is that when Speedy isn't patrolling the northwest corner, Pinky tries to attack Pac-Man by moving to where he is going to be (that is, a few spaces ahead of Pac-Man's current direction) instead of right where he is, as Blinky does. It's difficult to use this to your advantage, but it's possible. If Pinky is coming at you and you face a different direction, even briefly, he may just turn away and attempt to cut you off in the new direction while you return to your original direction. In Japan, his name is Machibuse/Pinky.
Note: In the original arcade series, the ghosts' genders are unspecified and assumed to be male. In 1999, the USA division of Namco, Namco Hometech, developed the Pac-Man World series and declared Pinky to be female.
Bashful
Nickname: Inky. Bashful has truly earned his name. In a game of chicken between Pac-Man and Bashful, Bashful will usually turn away first. This isn't always the case, but in a pinch, it's a safe bet. Don't count on it all of the time though, as he may surprise you. He can't be scared off while he patrols the southeast portion of the maze. In Japan, his name is Kimigure/Aosuke.
Pokey
Nickname: Clyde. Pokey needs a new nickname because out of all the ghosts, Pokey is the least likely to "C'lyde" with Pac-Man. Pokey is the last out of the gate, and the loner of the group, usually off doing his own thing when he's not patrolling the southwest corner of the maze. His behavior is very random, so while he's not likely to be following you in hot pursuit with the other three ghosts, he is a little less predictable and still a danger. In Japan, his name is Otoboke/Guzuta.
Scared Ghosts
When Pac-Man eats one of the four power pellets positioned near the corners of each stage, the ghosts will turn blue for a short period of time. The higher the level, the shorter that time becomes, until Pac-Man reaches the 9th key and the ghosts don't turn blue at all (but they do change direction.) Eating consecutive ghosts while they're scared can earn you 200, 400, 800, and 1600 points if you nab all four. But watch out when they start flashing white because they're about to change back to their former ghostly selves.
The Maze
- Power Pellets: They are marked as the green dots in the diagram. They provide Pac-Man with the temporarily ability to eat the ghosts and earn extra points. After eating a ghost, the ghost's eyes will return to the ghost pen in the center of the maze and instantly regenerate. You can be killed by a regenerated ghost even though the other ghosts may still be blue. As the levels increase, the time that the ghosts stay blue (generally) gets progressively shorter.
- Tunnel: Indicated by the light blue bar, the tunnel allows the player and the ghosts to instantly travel from one side of the maze to the other. While travelling through the maze, Pac-Man moves at normal speed, but the ghosts' speed is reduced in half. This provides Pac-Man with a good opportunity to put some distance between him and his pursuers, but be careful not to get trapped by another ghost entering the opposite side.
- Bonuses: The bonuses will always appear where the white dash is beneath the ghost pen. Two bonuses appear per round, the first when 70 dots have been eaten, and the second when 170 dots are eaten. While they can help Pac-Man attain higher scores, their capture should only be attempted when the coast is clear.
- Ghost Patrols: When the board first starts, each ghost travels to their respective corners and patrols the area until they all decide to hunt for Pac-Man. After hunting him for a while, they will periodically return to patrolling for a breif period of time. Each ghost's patrol area are indicated on the map by their respective colors.
- "Blind" Alleys: The purple areas on the maze are special. In these alleys, the ghosts are allowed to travel down, but not up. For example, if you are being chased around the ghost pen, and you travel up one of the purple lines above the pen, the ghosts are prevented from following you. Be aware, however, that they can get to you from the other direction.
Scoring
| Dots | 10 |
| Power Pellets | 50 |
| 1st ghost | 200 |
| 2nd consecutive ghost | 400 |
| 3rd consecutive ghost | 800 |
| 4th consecutive ghost | 1600 |
| Bonus fruit | See Stages below. |
Intermissions
Pac-Man was one of the first games to provide players with a break from the action in the form of short intermissions, known better today as cut-scenes. Not only did the intermissions provide a chance to rest, they provided a fair bit of humor.
- Intermission I: Pac-Man enters from the right, followed closely by Shadow (Blinky). They exit to the left. Blinky reappears from the left as a scared (blue) ghost, followed immediately by a much larger "super" version of Pac-Man. This super version would official appear in Super Pac-Man.
- Intermission II: Pac-Man enters from the right, followed closely by Shadow (Blinky). This time, there is a nail sticking out in the path that Pac-Man and Shadow crosses. Shadow's "clothing" gets caught on the nail as he passes by, and the bottom right corner tears off, stuck to the nail. Shadow, whose foot is now visible, looks at the nail and then rolls his eyes.
- Intermission III: Pac-Man enters from the right, followed closely by Shadow (Blinky), whose torn "clothing" is clearly sewn back together. After Pac-Man and Shadow exit to the left, Shadow immediately reappears from the left, appearing disrobed and dragging his clothing on the floor behind him.
Stages
| Stage | Bonus | Points | Normal Blue Time | Hard Setting Blue Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
100 | Very Long | Very Long |
| 2 |  |
300 | Very Long | Long |
| Intermission I | ||||
| 3 |  |
500 | Very Long | Medium |
| 4 | |
500 | Long | Medium |
| 5 |  |
700 | Medium | Short |
| Intermission II | ||||
| 6 | |
700 | Very Long | Short |
| 7 |  |
1000 | Medium | Very Long |
| 8 | |
1000 | Short | Medium |
| 9 |  |
2000 | Short | Short |
| Intermission III | ||||
| 10 | |
2000 | Very Long | Short |
| 11 | File:PM Bell.png | 3000 | Medium | Medium |
| 12 | File:PM Bell.png | 3000 | Short | Short |
| 13 |  |
5000 | Short | Short |
| Intermission III | ||||
| 14 | |
5000 | Medium | None |
| 15 | |
5000 | Short | Short |
| 16 | |
5000 | Short | None |
| 17 | |
5000 | None | None |
| Intermission III | ||||
| 18 | |
5000 | Short | None |
| 19 & on | |
5000 | None | None |
