Pac-Man

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About

Pac-Man is a 1980 arcade game developed and published by Namco in which players guide a circular character through an enclosed maze, consuming every dot on the board while evading four colored ghosts. Clearing all the dots advances the player to the next stage. Scattered throughout the maze are larger flashing items called Power Pellets; eating one temporarily turns the ghosts blue and vulnerable, giving the player an opportunity to consume them for additional points. Simple in concept but demanding in execution, the game requires players to balance aggressive dot collection against the constant threat posed by the ghosts' patrol patterns. Pac-Man became one of the most recognizable titles in arcade history and a defining symbol of both the medium and 1980s popular culture more broadly.