The story goes that PAC-MAN came to be during a moment of creative block for designer Toru Iwatani. On a lunch break one day, he glanced down at his pizza with a slice missing and was suddenly inspired—imagining it as a hungry creature with an open mouth.
Iwatani has since admitted it’s only partly true: PAC-MAN is also an adapted version of the Japanese character for “mouth”. In Japan, in fact, it was originally known as Puck Man, thanks to its hero’s resemblance to a hockey puck.
The renamed PAC-MAN was an instant hit for maker Namco. With a strong focus on sport or combat, arcade gaming had become a predominantly male pursuit, but Iwatani had deliberately created the game to appeal to everyone.
If its influence on modern games is obvious, PAC-MAN’s combination of colourful characters and exciting maze-based chases still feels timeless in its own right. Its short bursts of arcade action make it perfectly suited to iPhone and iPad, with swipe controls making it as accessible as it’s ever been to players of all ages.
Beyond the Classic mode—which comes with easier variants if you want to practice before tackling the credit-munching challenge of the original—there are plenty of new and exciting alternatives.
My Mazes really freshens things up with a wide range of new level themes, from the self-explanatory Volcano to the multi-lane motorway that is Traffic. For each stage you survive, you’ll get a score boost as the difficulty ramps up, while bonus levels give you the chance to boost your tally even further by plotting the fastest path through a trail of fruit or cheese against the clock.
And if you’ve had enough of beating your own best scores, it’s time to take on the world in online tournaments. Updated regularly, these ask you to take on a series of challenging stages, as you compete with other players to top the rankings and earn yourself a prize.
With daily Pac-missions to keep you coming back, and a special Adventure mode to celebrate his 40th anniversary, that part-eaten pizza won’t ever go out of fashion.