1. The original maze design was circular: The famous square grid was nearly a circle, but designers found squares were better for pacing and ghost AI.
2. Ghosts’ AI changes after 30 seconds: Ghosts have different AI, but also they switch modes after 30 seconds, for example, Blinky will speed up.
3. Pac-Man’s name was a Japanese pun: In Japanese, the character is called Pakku-Man, which describes the sound he makes when he moves and chomps.
Fire up Google today and you might find yourself in the same trap I did: caught by a spooky, Halloween edition Pac-Man Google Doodle, and suddenly, hours have vanished down the maze. Seriously, this might be one of the best Google Doodles ever, and I’ve spent all morning trying (and failing) to conquer it.
The 8-bit icon returns with a Halloween twist, fun pixel mazes built around a crooked haunted house, a spooky theme park and there's even room for a wizardly cat. Every level feels like a pixel-art haunted house, complete with fun nods to horror favourites and even a redesigned Pac – I love Pumpkin-Pac and Pac-Mummy. It’s pure nostalgia, calling back the best video games of the 1980s and all the playful retro games I grew up loving.
Gameplay is classic and unchanged: eat the dots, dodge the ghosts, and power up to turn the tables. Ghosts Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde remain frustratingly sneaky. If, like me, you grew up playing on the best retro game consoles and loved Pac-Man in all his incarnations from the classic coin-op to Pac-Land to Pac-Mania, this is the ultimate throwback.
If you want to play classic Pac-Man, then check out the Namco Museum Vol. 1 on Evercade or sign up to retro game streaming service AntStream Arcade. I'd also suggest playing Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac on Nintendo Switch for a fresh take.
Pac-Man turns 45 this year, and this Halloween Doodle doubles as a playful birthday bash. There's a little more insight on Google Blog, but basically it's Pac-Man, but a little spooky, a little kooky… and apparently, dangerously addictive. I can’t stop.
So go ahead, click the logo. But don’t say I didn’t warn you: one minute you’re scrolling for Halloween ideas, the next you’re lost in a maze of nostalgia, just like me.
