From smoky 80s pizza parlors to massive high-definition social hubs in modern bar-arcades, Pac-Man has remained the undisputed king of the coin-op. While console spin-offs are numerous, the true “Waka-Waka” experience belongs to the arcade cabinet. Here is the definitive chronological guide to every single Pac-Man arcade game ever released.
1. Pac-Man (1980)
The legend that started a global fever. Originally “Puck Man,” it was renamed for the US market to prevent vandalism.
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Unique Feature: The first game to feature “Power Pellets,” turning the hunter into the hunted.
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Levels: 255 playable levels. Level 256 is the famous “Kill Screen” where the game crashes due to an 8-bit integer overflow.
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High Score Data: Billy Mitchell recorded the first “Perfect Game” in 1999: 3,333,360 points. This requires eating every dot, fruit, and ghost across all 255 levels without losing a life.
2. Ms. Pac-Man (1982)
Originally an unauthorized mod called “Crazy Otto,” Namco eventually adopted it as the official sequel.
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Unique Feature: Introduced four distinct mazes (compared to the original’s one) and moving fruit bonuses.
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Levels: 256 levels (ending in a kill screen).
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Fun Factor: The ghosts had “semi-random” AI, making it impossible to win using the memorized patterns that worked in the original.
3. Super Pac-Man (1982)
The first sequel developed entirely in-house by Namco.
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Unique Feature: Instead of eating dots, you eat fruit behind locked doors. Eating a “Super Pellet” makes Pac-Man double in size, allowing him to fly over ghosts.
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Levels: Infinite (repeats after 16), though the difficulty peaks early.
4. Pac-Man Plus (1982)
An “authorized” upgrade to the original board designed to challenge expert players.
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Unique Feature: Ghosts turn invisible when a power pellet is eaten, and bonus items (like Coca-Cola cans) have unpredictable effects.
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High Score: Higher than the original because bonus items are worth up to 5,000 points.
5. Baby Pac-Man (1982)
A unique hybrid between a video game and a physical pinball machine.
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Unique Feature: You start in a maze (video), but to earn power pellets, you must drop the ball into a physical pinball table below and hit specific targets.
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Levels: Infinite, though extremely difficult as the ghost speed increases rapidly.
6. Jr. Pac-Man (1983)
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Unique Feature: The first “scrolling” maze game. The maps are twice the width of the screen, and dots are replaced by “heavy dots” that slow Jr. Pac-Man down.
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Levels: 7 unique scrolling mazes.
7. Pac & Pal (1983)
A quirky departure where Pac-Man has a friend named “Mil” who helps (or hinders) by carrying items around.
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Unique Feature: No power pellets! Instead, Pac-Man eats special items to shoot tractor beams or smoke screens at ghosts.
8. Professor Pac-Man (1983)
The “black sheep” of the family—a trivia-based arcade game.
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Unique Feature: No mazes. It was a visual quiz game meant to capitalize on the 80s “edutainment” craze. It was a commercial failure with fewer than 400 cabinets made.
9. Pac-Land (1984)
The series moved from mazes to side-scrolling platforming.
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Unique Feature: Introduced jumping mechanics and secret items hidden in the background scenery. It heavily influenced the creation of Super Mario Bros.
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Levels: 32 distinct stages (8 “Trips” with 4 levels each).
10. Pac-Mania (1987)
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Unique Feature: The first 3D (isometric) Pac-Man. Pac-Man can now jump over ghosts, but the ghosts can jump back in later levels!
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Levels: 19 levels across 4 worlds (Block Town, Pac-Man’s Park, Sandbox Land, Jungly Steps).
11. Pac-Man Arrangement (1996)
Part of the Namco Classics Vol. 2 collection.
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Unique Feature: A modern remake with 3D-rendered graphics, jump pads, and boss fights.
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Levels: 23 levels, including a final confrontation with a massive “Kinky” ghost robot.
12. Pac-Man VR (1996)
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Unique Feature: A rare Virtual Reality experience where players wore a “Virtuality” headset to experience the maze from a first-person perspective.
13. Pac-Man Battle Royale (2011)
Designed for the series’ 30th anniversary, this changed Pac-Man into a competitive “last man standing” game.
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Unique Feature: 4 players compete to eat each other. If you eat a power pellet, you can eat the other players’ Pac-Men!
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Levels: Single-screen rounds that reset until a champion is crowned.
14. Pac-Man Chomp Mania (2013)
A “Redemption” game found in ticket-based arcades.
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Unique Feature: Features a “Ghost Chamber” where you can win a progressive jackpot of tickets.
15. Pac-Man Dash! (2014)
An arcade port of the mobile runner.
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Unique Feature: It’s a high-speed “Endless Runner” where the goal is to eat as many ghosts as possible within a time limit using a giant physical “Jump” button.
16. World’s Largest Pac-Man (2016)
Created by Raw Thrills, this cabinet stands nearly 9 feet tall.
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Unique Feature: Uses a massive LED billboard for a screen. Two players can play simultaneously (co-op) to clear the maze.
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High Score Data: Because of the “Continue” feature, scores can reach into the millions more easily than the 1980 original.
17. Pac-Man’s Pixel Bash (2018)
The modern “official” multi-game cabinet found in many bar-arcades today.
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Unique Feature: Includes 31 classic Namco games in one unit, but features a “Bash” mode with high-definition pixel art.
18. Pac-Man Cash Bash (2018)
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Unique Feature: A ticket-redemption game that adds a physical spinning wheel. Landing on certain spots triggers “Frenzy” modes.
19. Pac-Man Power Pellet (2020)
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Unique Feature: A physical ball-toss game. You throw physical balls into a giant mechanical Pac-Man mouth to “score” pellets on a digital screen.
20. Pac-Man Battle Royale CHOMPionship (2022)
The latest major competitive arcade entry.
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Unique Feature: Expands the battle to 8 players on a massive linked screen. It includes new power-ups like “Lightning” and “Speed Boosts.”
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Status: This is currently the most popular competitive Pac-Man game in modern arcade chains like Dave & Buster’s.
21. Pac-Man Baller Jr. (2025/2026)
The most recent addition to the “physical-digital” hybrid era.
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Unique Feature: Aimed at younger players, it’s a basketball-style game where “shooting hoops” translates to Pac-Man eating ghosts on a high-res screen.
The Hall of Fame: World Records
While the modern games are about tickets and multiplayer fun, the 1980 Original remains the true test of skill. As of 2026, the community still tracks “Fastest Perfect Games,” with world-class players finishing all 255 levels in under 3 hours and 30 minutes.