# Pac-Man Ghost Behavior: How Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde Chase You

> How each Pac-Man ghost chases you: Blinky targets you, Pinky 4 tiles ahead, Inky uses Blinky, Clyde turns away within 8 tiles. Plus scatter timing and tips.

- Source: https://yesthisgame.com/blog/pac-man-ghost-behavior/
- Published: 2026-11-02, updated: 2026-11-02
- Author: Yes This Game (the team that makes the games on the site)

## Key takeaways

- Blinky (red) targets Pac-Man's tile, Pinky (pink) the tile four ahead of him.
- Inky (cyan) doubles the line from Blinky to the tile two ahead of Pac-Man; Clyde (orange) chases until he is within 8 tiles, then heads for his corner.
- Level 1 starts with 7 seconds of scatter, then 20 of chase, twice; after the fourth scatter the ghosts chase for good.
- Ghosts stay blue for 6 seconds on level 1 and are worth 200, 400, 800 and 1,600 points.
- Ghosts move at 40% speed in the side tunnel; Pac-Man does not slow down there.

**The four Pac-Man ghosts chase you in four different ways. Blinky (red) aims straight at Pac-Man. Pinky (pink) aims four tiles in front of him, to cut him off. Inky (cyan) aims at a spot worked out from both Pac-Man and Blinky, so he is hard to read. Clyde (orange) chases Pac-Man until he gets within eight tiles, then turns away to his corner.** On top of that, all four take short breaks called scatter mode, when they go back to their own corners. Below: each ghost's rule, the timing of chase and scatter, how long they stay blue and how to use all of it. The rules are those of the 1980 Namco arcade game, as worked out by Jamey Pittman in [The Pac-Man Dossier](https://pacman.holenet.info/).

## The four ghosts and their names

In Japan each ghost has a character description and a nickname. The English names that most players know came with the Midway release.

*Pac-Man's ghosts*

| Ghost | Colour | Japanese character | Japanese nickname | How it plays |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Blinky | Red | Oikake ("chaser") | Akabei | Follows you |
| Pinky | Pink | Machibuse ("ambusher") | Pinky | Gets in front of you |
| Inky | Cyan | Kimagure ("fickle") | Aosuke | Unpredictable |
| Clyde | Orange | Otoboke ("feigning ignorance") | Guzuta | Wanders off when close |

## How each ghost chases you

The ghosts do not look for the shortest path. At every crossing, a ghost picks the direction that brings it closest, in a straight line, to one **target tile** , and it never turns back on its own. The only thing that differs between the four is how they choose that target.

- **Blinky** targets the tile Pac-Man is on. That is why he is so hard to shake once he is behind you.
- **Pinky** targets the tile four tiles ahead of where Pac-Man is facing. Because of a bug in the original code, when Pac-Man faces up the target is four tiles up *and* four tiles to the left.
- **Inky** takes the tile two tiles ahead of Pac-Man, draws a line from Blinky to that tile, and doubles it. When Blinky is close behind Pac-Man, Inky closes in from the other side; when Blinky is far away, Inky's target is far away too.
- **Clyde** targets Pac-Man while he is eight tiles or more away. Within eight tiles he switches to his scatter corner at the bottom left, so he often turns away just as he reaches you.

![Diagram of the four ghost targets: red to Pac-Man's tile, pink four tiles ahead of him, cyan at double the line from the red ghost through two tiles ahead, orange heading to its corner when close](https://yesthisgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/pac-man-ghost-targets.png)

So the ghosts are not random. Pinky and Blinky together form a pincer: one behind you, one in front. Pinky's target also means that turning to face her as she comes at you can make her turn off: her target is now behind her.

## Chase, scatter and blue

The ghosts switch between three modes. In **chase** they use the targets above. In **scatter** each one heads for its own corner (Blinky top right, Pinky top left, Inky bottom right, Clyde bottom left) and circles there. In **frightened** mode, after Pac-Man eats a power pellet, they turn dark blue, slow down and wander, and you can eat them.

*Scatter and chase, in seconds*

| Phase | Level 1 | Levels 2 to 4 | Level 5 and up |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Scatter | 7 | 7 | 5 |
| Chase | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Scatter | 7 | 7 | 5 |
| Chase | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Scatter | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Chase | 20 | 1,033 | 1,037 |
| Scatter | 5 | 1/60 | 1/60 |
| Chase | for good | for good | for good |

From level 2 the third chase lasts more than 17 minutes and the last scatter only one frame, so in practice the ghosts never rest again. Every switch between chase and scatter, and every power pellet, makes all the ghosts turn around at once, which is a handy warning. The clock pauses while they are blue and starts over when you lose a life or finish a level.

- **How long they stay blue:** 6 seconds on level 1, and they flash five times before they recover. The time gets shorter on later levels, and on level 17 and from level 19 on, a power pellet no longer turns them blue at all.
- **Points for eating them:** 200, 400, 800 and 1,600 for the first, second, third and fourth ghost on the same power pellet. All four ghosts on all four pellets adds up to 12,000 points.
- **Cruise Elroy:** when only a few dots are left (20 on level 1), Blinky speeds up, and at half that number he speeds up again. In that state he keeps chasing you even during scatter.

## Who is faster

*Speeds on level 1 (share of the top speed)*

| Who | Speed |
| --- | --- |
| Pac-Man on empty paths | 80% |
| Pac-Man while eating dots | about 71% |
| Ghosts | 75% |
| Blue ghosts | 50% |
| Ghosts in the side tunnel | 40% |

Eating dots slows Pac-Man down, so a ghost behind you gains on you in a row of dots and loses ground on a path you have already cleared. The side tunnel slows the ghosts but not Pac-Man.

## Seven tips that use the ghost rules

1. **Clear dots away from Blinky.** He follows you exactly, so lead him onto empty paths where you are faster than he is.
2. **Use the tunnel.** Ghosts move at 40% inside it; a chasing ghost falls well behind.
3. **Turn toward Pinky.** Her target is in front of you, so facing her as she comes often sends her off in another direction.
4. **Do not trust Clyde, but do not fear him either.** Close up he turns away to his corner, so he is rarely the one that traps you.
5. **Watch for the turnaround.** When all ghosts reverse at once, a mode has changed; on level 1 the first chase starts after 7 seconds.
6. **Save power pellets.** Eat one when three or four ghosts are close, for 200 + 400 + 800 + 1,600 points.
7. **Learn the red zones.** In two small areas of the maze, which the Dossier calls red zones, ghosts cannot turn upward during chase and scatter. Paths that run up out of them are safer escape routes.

## Where to play

You can play [Retro Games Pacman](https://yesthisgame.com/retro-games-pacman/), an HTML5 remake of the maze chase, free in your browser. It plays the same game, but a remake does not always copy the arcade timings to the frame. [Ms. Pac-Man](https://yesthisgame.com/ms-pac-man/) is the original 1982 arcade sequel: its ghosts move partly at random, which is why the patterns that work in Pac-Man fail there. The differences are in [Ms. Pac-Man vs Pac-Man](https://yesthisgame.com/blog/ms-pac-man-vs-pac-man/).

## Frequently asked questions

### What are the names of the Pac-Man ghosts?

Blinky (red), Pinky (pink), Inky (cyan) and Clyde (orange). In Japan their characters are Oikake (chaser), Machibuse (ambusher), Kimagure (fickle) and Otoboke (feigning ignorance).

### Which Pac-Man ghost is the most aggressive?

Blinky, the red ghost. He always targets the tile Pac-Man is on, and when few dots are left he speeds up and keeps chasing even during scatter mode.

### Are the Pac-Man ghosts random?

No, not in the 1980 arcade game. Each ghost follows a fixed rule toward a target tile, except while it is blue, when it wanders. Ms. Pac-Man added randomness.

### Why does Clyde run away?

Clyde chases Pac-Man only while he is eight tiles or more away. Closer than that, he switches his target to his corner at the bottom left of the maze.

### How long do the ghosts stay blue?

Six seconds on level 1, then shorter on later levels. On level 17 and from level 19 on they do not turn blue at all.

### What is scatter mode in Pac-Man?

A short break in which each ghost stops chasing and heads for its own corner. On level 1 there are four scatters, of 7, 7, 5 and 5 seconds.

## Games in this guide

- [Retro Games Pacman](https://yesthisgame.com/retro-games-pacman.md): Eat every dot, dodge the ghosts and pick from seven colour themes. Play with the arrow keys, WASD or the on-screen pad. Free retro maze game in your browser.
- [Ms. Pac-Man](https://yesthisgame.com/ms-pac-man.md): Play Ms. Pac-Man online free: eat the dots, dodge Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Sue, and chase the bouncing fruit in the 1982 arcade game. Cheats included.
- [Galaga](https://yesthisgame.com/galaga.md): Play Galaga online free: shoot the alien swarm, rescue your captured fighter for double fire and ace the challenging stages. Cheats for lives.
- [Bomberman](https://yesthisgame.com/bomberman.md): Play Bomberman online free: blast through brick mazes, trap the enemies and find the exit door in 50 NES stages. Cheats for super bombs. No download.