Game guide
Ms. Pac-Man vs Pac-Man: Every Difference Between the Two Arcade Games
Key takeaways
- Ms. Pac-Man has four mazes, in changing colours, where Pac-Man has one.
- Its ghosts move partly at random, so the memorised patterns that beat Pac-Man don't work.
- The fruit bounces through the maze and leaves through the tunnels instead of waiting in the middle; the orange ghost is Sue, not Clyde.
- It began as Crazy Otto, an unofficial enhancement kit by General Computer Corporation, and sold 125,000 cabinets.
Ms. Pac-Man is Pac-Man with four mazes instead of one, ghosts that move partly at random, fruit that bounces through the maze, a new orange ghost called Sue and new cartoon intermissions. The random element matters most: in Pac-Man the ghosts always react the same way, so players memorised routes that clear every level, and in Ms. Pac-Man those routes no longer work. Here is every difference, side by side, and how the sequel began as an unofficial kit. You can play it in Ms. Pac-Man on Yes This Game.
Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man side by side
| Pac-Man | Ms. Pac-Man | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 1980 (Japan), by Namco | February 1982 (North America), by Midway |
| Made by | Namco | General Computer Corporation, as the Crazy Otto kit |
| Mazes | One | Four, in changing colours |
| Ghost movement | Always the same, so patterns work | Partly random, so patterns fail |
| Orange ghost | Clyde | Sue |
| Fruit | Appears under the ghost house and waits | Enters through a tunnel, bounces around the maze and leaves |
| Intermissions | Three short Pac-Man and Blinky scenes | Three acts: Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man meet, chase, and a stork brings their baby |
Four mazes instead of one
Pac-Man uses one maze for the whole game. Ms. Pac-Man has four layouts that take turns after the intermissions, each shown in different colour schemes, and some of them have more than one pair of escape tunnels. A route that works in the first maze is useless in the next one, so you have to read the board instead of following a plan.
Smarter, less predictable ghosts
Pac-Man’s ghosts follow fixed rules, which is why players could write down routes that cleared a level the same way every time. Ms. Pac-Man adds a random element: at the start of each level Blinky and Pinky move randomly for several seconds, while Inky and Sue keep their old habits until the first time the ghosts reverse. After that, no route is safe twice. The tricks that still work: the ghosts slow down in the tunnels, and a power pellet still turns them blue and edible for 200, 400, 800 and 1,600 points in a row.
Moving fruit
In Pac-Man the bonus fruit appears below the ghost house and waits. In Ms. Pac-Man it enters through a side tunnel, bounces through the corridors and leaves through another tunnel if you don’t catch it, so you have to decide whether the points are worth a detour.
From Crazy Otto to Ms. Pac-Man
Ms. Pac-Man was not planned by Namco. Programmers at General Computer Corporation, a small company started by MIT dropouts, wrote an enhancement kit for Pac-Man called Crazy Otto. After a legal settlement with Atari stopped them from selling kits without the maker’s consent, they showed the finished game to Midway, which owned the American Pac-Man rights. Midway bought it, and it arrived in arcades in February 1982 as Ms. Pac-Man. It sold 125,000 cabinets by 1988 and became one of the most successful American arcade games of all time.
5 tips for Ms. Pac-Man
1. Learn the maze, not a route
Know where each maze’s tunnels and dead ends are, and plan a few turns ahead instead of following a fixed path.
2. Save the power pellets
Eat a pellet when several ghosts are close, not when they are far away: their blue time is short on later levels.
3. Use the tunnels
Ghosts slow down in the tunnels and you don’t, so a tunnel is the best escape.
4. Don’t chase every fruit
The fruit moves. Catch it when it passes near you; a long chase into a corner is how lives are lost.
5. Clear the far corners early
Leaving the hardest dots for last means taking your biggest risks when the ghosts are fastest.
Ms. Pac-Man cheats on Yes This Game
The Ms. Pac-Man page has a magic wand button next to full screen. Unlimited lives keeps the game going, and Blue ghosts keeps all four ghosts blue so you can eat them whenever you catch them. For another 1981-era classic, try Galaga.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Ms. Pac-Man and Pac-Man?
Ms. Pac-Man has four mazes instead of one, ghosts with partly random movement, fruit that moves through the maze, a new orange ghost called Sue, and new cartoon intermissions.
Is Ms. Pac-Man harder than Pac-Man?
For experienced players, yes: the random element in the ghosts’ movement means you can’t clear the mazes with a memorised pattern as you can in Pac-Man.
What is the orange ghost called in Ms. Pac-Man?
Sue. In Pac-Man the orange ghost is Clyde.
Who made Ms. Pac-Man?
General Computer Corporation made it as an enhancement kit called Crazy Otto. Midway bought it and released it in North America in February 1982.
When did Ms. Pac-Man come out?
February 1982 in North American arcades. The 1981 date shown in the game is often given by mistake.
Can I play Ms. Pac-Man online free?
Yes. The arcade Ms. Pac-Man runs free in your browser on Yes This Game, with optional cheats for unlimited lives and ghosts that stay blue.