List of Pac-Man Games

The Original Pac-Man

• Pac-Man got his start when developed by Namco and released in Japan in 1979. The original Pac-Man game has Pac-Man moving through a maze eating dots ("pac-dots"). The designer of the game, Tohru Iwatani, was inspired by a pizza missing a slice when he created Pac-Man. Players advance to the next stage by eating all of the dots on the screen. The maze is guarded with ghosts that Pac-Man must avoid; if they touch him the player loses a life. Super pac-dots, called power pellets, are in the corners of the maze and allow Pac-Man the chance to gobble up the ghosts for points. Bouncing fruit also randomly appears in the maze that gives bonus points when gobbled up.

Ms. Pac-Man

• The first follow-up to the original Pac-Man game was Ms. Pac-Man, which was released in 1981. The game is similar to the original, with the notable exception of there being a Ms. Pac-Man moving around the maze instead of Pac-Man, as well as some other improvements. Ms. Pac-Man was identifiable by her red bow atop her head. There are more mazes, more bonus items and faster game play. Also in Ms. Pac-Man, the ghost named Clyde, which was the off-yellow one, was renamed Sue.

Pac-Man Vs.

• For a multi-player version of Pac-Man there is Pac-Man Vs. It can't be played alone--one player is Pac-Man while the other player is the ghosts. When a player loses a life, the players switch roles. This game was designed exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube.

Pac-Man Championship Edition

• As of January 2010, the Pac-Man Championship Edition game is the latest Pac-Man game installment. It was released in June 2007 and is available for the iPhone and for the Xbox Live Arcade. Pac-Man Championship Edition is very similar to the original Pac-Man. The most notable difference is that it features high definition sound and graphics. Mazes in Pac-Man Championship Edition also have a time limit.