Hack81.Learn the Patterns of Pac-Man

Hack 81. Learn the Patterns of Pac-Man

Smash your high scores and become a Pac- maniac .

When Pac-Man descended on the world's arcades in 1980, it was responsible for the loss of more quarters and hours than any game before it. The colorful maze game with its iconic characters and catchy music was simple to learn but impossible to master.

Or was it? Not long after the game became popular, Pac-Man addicts started to realize that the behavior of the dastardly ghosts that populated the dot-filled maze was not random. The ghosts moved according to certain rules, and if the player followed specific patterns through the maze he would not be hurt. This led to the rise of Pac-Man masters who could spend hours on a machine for a single quarterand to the rise of "How to Win at Pac-Man" paperbacks that sold millions.

You can't find those paperbacks on sale in your local supermarket anymore, but you can still learn the secrets of the Pac-Man patterns on various web sites like http://www.hanaho.com/ pacman and http://www.upcweb.com/D3B/Downloads.aspx, where you can download a PDF version of the book How to Break a Million at Pac-Man .

In this hack, I'll cover some of the general rules for patterns, peculiarities of ghost behavior, and other tidbits you'll want to know. Then, I'll take you step-by-step through a pattern, described at the Hanaho web site, that will take you unharmed through the first half of the first Pac-Man board.

9.2.1. General Pac-Maneuvers



Never hesitate

This is one of the most important things you need to knowpatterns don't work if you slow down, stop, or accidentally go the wrong way while trying to execute one. If you make a wrong turn, the pattern will no longer work. To make sure you always maintain top speed, remember to hold the joystick in the direction you want Pac-Man to turn before he reaches the intersection. Pressing it after he hits the corner and comes to a stop may be just enough time to ruin the pattern.



The bottom of the screen is death

It's no coincidence that every Pac-Man pattern starts off by collecting most if not all of the bottom row of dots. You don't want to be down in the bottom two rows with ghosts on your tail; there are few exits. Clear them while Pinky and pals are safely inside the pen.



Go up the staircases and around the T

When building your own patterns or just trying to stay alive , the " staircase " pattern as shown in Figure 9-1 is an excellent way to keep the ghosts guessing. Just tromping down one long hallway will make you a sitting duck. Also, note the T-shaped maze piece in the upper middle of the board. Ghosts will almost never go up the stem of the T, so if you're being chased, that's a good place to lose them.

Figure 9-1. A sample "staircase" path



Find the safe spot

Figure 9-2 shows a spot where Pac-Man will be safe from ghosts for an unlimited amount of timeperfect if you need to wipe sweat off your hands, go to the bathroom, or eat a sandwich in the middle of a high score attempt. There are two caveats, howeverfor the space to be safe you must enter it from the south, and only when none of the ghosts are looking directly at Pac-Man (watch the pupils of their eyes). Note that in the picture Pinky is looking at Pac-Man, so he is actually not safe.

Figure 9-2. The "safe" spot

9.2.2. A Sample Pac-Man Pattern

The following patterns work only on the original arcade version of Pac-Man! The home versions of the game, like the ones on the Namco Museum discs [Hack #16] are completely reprogrammed, and arcade patterns will rarely work. The general tips mentioned in the previous section should still be helpful, but don't come crying to me if the patterns won't work on your Game Boy Advance Pac-Man Collection.


The pattern described forthwith will bring you through the first half of the first level of any standard Pac-Man coin-op. It's easy to learn, 100% effective, and very impressive to onlookers (you'll see why in a bit). Here's the first and easiest part:

  1. Start out by moving left. Head down the second corridor, then left again. Grab the whole bottom row, then come back to the starting position in a mirror image of the way you came, as shown in Figure 9-3.

  2. Head "up the staircase" in a zig-zag pattern alternating up and left. Circle around to the right side of the T, then come down it. Circle around the ghost pen. At this point you should be where Pac-Man is in Figure 9-4. Now it gets exciting, because the ghosts will be closing in on you. Head down past the energizer

  3. Then circle back up and left to grab it. If you've done the pattern perfectly you will have performed a crowd -pleasing escape from the ghosts. Now do the "double staircase" as shown in Figure 9-5 and you should easily catch between three and four ghosts as they run away.

Figure 9-3. The opening pattern

Figure 9-4. Circling around

You're on your own from here on out, but with three energizers and all "safe" dots left, you should have no trouble completing the level.

Figure 9-5. Setting yourself up for success



Retro Gaming Hacks
Retro Gaming Hacks: Tips & Tools for Playing the Classics
ISBN: 0596009178
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 150
Authors: Chris Kohler

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