Old Pac-Man Games: Every Classic From 1980 to 1999 (and Where to Play Them)
If you're asking "what are some old Pac-Man games?", the honest answer is: more than most people think. Between 1980 and 1999 Namco and its licensees shipped a dozen distinct Pac-Man titles, and several of them played nothing like the original. Here's the full list, in order, with what each one changed.
The short list
The old Pac-Man games most people mean are the arcade titles from the early 1980s. In release order: Pac-Man (1980), Ms. Pac-Man (1982), Super Pac-Man (1982), Pac-Man Plus (1982), Baby Pac-Man (1982), Jr. Pac-Man (1983), Pac & Pal (1983), Pac-Land (1984), Pac-Mania (1987), then the 1990s console era — Pac-Attack (1993), Pac-In-Time (1995), Pac-Man Arrangement (1996) and Pac-Man World (1999). Everything below the arcade originals is covered in our complete chronological list; this article is only the classics.
1980–1983: the arcade golden age
Pac-Man (1980)
Toru Iwatani's original, released by Namco in Japan on 22 May 1980 and by Midway in North America that October. One maze, four ghosts with four different targeting rules, 256 levels before the kill screen. The closest free browser version on this site is Classic Pac.
Ms. Pac-Man (1982)
Not made by Namco at all — it started as an unofficial mod kit by General Computer Corporation before Midway licensed it. Four mazes, bouncing fruit and ghosts that don't follow fixed patterns, which is why it's harder. More on that in our Pac-Man vs Ms. Pac-Man comparison; the free tribute here is Ms. Tapman.
Super Pac-Man (1982)
Namco's own sequel went a different way: instead of dots you eat keys to open doors, and a "super" pellet makes Pac-Man huge and able to pass through walls. Many players consider it the oddest of the early games.
Pac-Man Plus (1982)
Midway's enhanced board for the original: new fruit, ghosts that sometimes stay invisible after an energizer, and a maze that can briefly turn invisible. Same layout as 1980, much nastier.
Baby Pac-Man (1982)
A hybrid cabinet from Bally Midway — a video maze on top with a pinball table underneath. Clearing the maze's energizers required dropping into the pinball section. Rare today and never properly ported.
Jr. Pac-Man (1983)
The first horizontally scrolling Pac-Man maze: bigger than one screen, with bonus items that wander the board and turn dots into slower-to-eat ones. Jr. wears a propeller beanie.
Pac & Pal (1983)
Japan-only arcade release in which a green helper called Mil (or "Chomp-Chomp" in a later revision) steals your items. You collect cards and use found weapons instead of eating ghosts.
1984–1987: the experiments
Pac-Land (1984)
A side-scrolling platformer, not a maze game — Pac-Man runs, jumps and rides fire hydrants through a cartoon town. It predates Super Mario Bros. and is sometimes cited as an influence on it. The spirit lives on in our Pac Adventure.
Pac-Mania (1987)
Isometric mazes and a jump button that lets you hop over ghosts. Jumping completely changes the strategy; the closest thing on this site is Pacmania 3.
1990–1999: consoles take over
- Pac-Attack (1993) — a falling-block puzzle game (originally Cosmo Gang the Puzzle) reskinned with Pac-Man and ghosts. SNES, Genesis, Game Boy and more.
- Pac-In-Time (1995) — a platformer for SNES and Game Boy in which Pac-Man is sent back in time; the SNES version was a reworked Fury of the Furries.
- Pac-Man Arrangement (1996) — an arcade remix with new ghosts, dash moves and co-op, released in Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2.
- Pac-Man World (1999) — the 20th-anniversary 3D platformer for PlayStation that started its own series. Covered in Pac-Man World games.
The home ports people remember (for better or worse)
The 1982 Atari 2600 Pac-Man sold over seven million copies and is still used as a case study in how not to port an arcade game: flickering ghosts, a rectangular maze, and dots that look like dashes. Its reputation contributed to the 1983 video game crash. The 2600 Ms. Pac-Man (1983) was far better and is the version many 1980s kids grew up on. Pac-Man reached the NES in Japan in 1984 and North America in 1988 (via Tengen) and 1993 (via Namco).
Where to play old Pac-Man games today
Officially, Pac-Man Museum+ (2022) bundles fourteen titles including Pac-Man, Super Pac-Man, Pac & Pal, Pac-Land, Pac-Mania, Pac-Attack and Pac-In-Time, and Arcade Archives sells the 1980 original on consoles. For free browser play, start with Classic Pac for the 1980 feel, Ms. Tapman for the 1982 sequel, Pacmania 3 for the jump mechanic and Flash Pac for a clean modern redraw — all on our games page.