Pac-Man Arcade Machines, Tables, Consoles and Board Games: What's Actually Out There

Searches for "Pac-Man arcade game" are split between people who want to play and people who want to buy something — a cabinet for the games room, a mini machine for a desk, a board game for family night. This page is for the second group. It covers every category of physical Pac-Man product that exists today, what each one is good for, and the questions to ask before spending money. If you only want to play, every game here is free.

Quick answer: which type for which situation

Full-size and ¾-scale arcade cabinets

The most common "Pac-Man arcade machine" people buy today is a ¾-scale home cabinet from Arcade1Up, the company that makes licensed, flat-pack arcade cabinets. Their Pac-Man models have changed names over the years (Legacy, Deluxe, Customizable editions) but the pattern is the same: a 17-inch screen, genuine Bandai Namco ROMs, and a bundle of a dozen or so Namco classics alongside Pac-Man — typically Pac-Man Plus, Super Pac-Man, Pac & Pal, Pac-Mania, Pac-Land, Galaga and Dig Dug. Some versions add a riser, light-up marquee and a stool. Bandai Namco itself sold a home cabinet called Pac-Man's Pixel Bash with over 30 games, in both stand-up (upright) and cocktail-table form.

Genuine 1980 Midway cabinets still change hands on the collector market, restored or not. They are heavy, need an arcade monitor that may be decades old, and cost many times what a modern home cabinet does. Unless you specifically want the original hardware, the home cabinets are what most buyers mean.

Countertop and mini machines

For a desk, shelf or bar there are three sizes. A countercade (Arcade1Up's bartop format) is a cabinet with no legs, roughly knee-high, with the same screen and controls as the big versions. One step down, My Arcade's Pac-Man Micro Player is about 7 inches tall with a working joystick and a small screen, playable but closer to a collectible. Smallest of all, Tiny Arcade Pac-Man is a keychain cabinet — a working Pac-Man keychain game that actually runs the game on a screen the size of a postage stamp. When a listing says "mini Pac-Man arcade game", check which of these three it means — the price difference is large.

Cocktail and head-to-head arcade tables

A "Pac-Man table game" is a cocktail-style cabinet: the screen faces up under glass and two players sit opposite each other, the screen flipping for whoever's turn it is — exactly how many 1980s bars ran Pac-Man. Arcade1Up makes a Pac-Man Head-to-Head Arcade Table in this style, and Pixel Bash came in a cocktail version. The appeal is that it works as furniture between games. The trade-off is a smaller, horizontal screen and a sit-down position that some players find awkward for fast levels.

Plug-and-play consoles and joystick units

If "Pac-Man game console" means a dedicated device rather than a PlayStation or Switch, the answer is a plug-and-play unit: a joystick with the games built in that connects straight to a TV. Bandai Namco's own Pac-Man Connect & Play (a joystick shaped like Pac-Man, 12 games) is the best-known; Jakks Pacific sold similar TV-games units earlier. These are the cheapest way to get the real arcade code onto a big screen, with the caveat that the included games and video output (often composite rather than HDMI) vary by model and year.

Handhelds and modern consoles

My Arcade's Pocket Player is the main dedicated Pac-Man handheld — a Game-Boy-shaped device with a few Namco titles built in. For most people, though, a Nintendo Switch is the better buy: it runs Pac-Man Museum+ (14 games including Pac-Man, Super Pac-Man, Pac-Land, Pac-Mania and Pac-Attack), Arcade Archives Pac-Man (the 1980 arcade version alone) and Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus. The same titles exist on PlayStation and Xbox. We cover which are worth it in Old Pac-Man games and New Pac-Man games in 2026.

Board games and tabletop

There is a proper Pac-Man board game from Buffalo Games: players move around a maze board collecting dots while one player controls the ghosts, with a chomping Pac-Man mover. Hasbro's Monopoly Arcade: Pac-Man edition replaces the banker with a small working arcade unit that plays a Pac-Man round on each turn. And for display rather than play, the LEGO Ideas Pac-Man Arcade set (2023) is a buildable cabinet with a hand-cranked maze mechanism. If you search "Pac-Man tabletop game" you'll also see the cocktail arcade tables above — the word is used for both.

What to check before you buy

• Licensing. Arcade1Up, My Arcade, Buffalo Games, Hasbro and LEGO sell officially licensed Bandai Namco products. Unlicensed "Pac-Man" cabinets and multi-game boards exist; the games on them are usually not the real ROMs and the build quality is unpredictable.
• Which games are included. Bundles differ by edition and year. If you specifically want Ms. Pac-Man, note that it's absent from recent products because of a rights dispute — look for older "Class of '81" style bundles or Pac-Mom instead.
• Screen and controls. Home cabinets use LCDs, not the original CRT; the game looks sharper and slightly different. Joystick quality is the most common complaint in reviews of any budget cabinet.
• Space and assembly. ¾-scale cabinets are flat-packed and take an hour or two to build. Measure the spot first.
• Used originals. Ask for the board revision, monitor condition and whether it's a conversion. Original Pac-Man boards were widely converted to other games in the 1980s and back again since.

Or just play first

Before buying anything, play the games the cabinets bundle. Classic Pac is the 1980 original, Ms. Tapman is the Ms. Pac-Man tribute, Pacmania 3 is the jumping variant — all free, in the browser, with a full-screen button. The full list has 34.

Related reading

• What systems is Pac-Man on?
• Human Pac-Man: play it in real life
• Pac-Man Arcade Games: the original titles
• Old Pac-Man Games, 1980–1999
• Every Ms. Pac-Man Game
• New Pac-Man Games in 2026