Ms. Pac-Man is arguably the most successful arcade video game ever created. It was released in 1981 as a sequel to the original smash hit Pac-Man. 115,000 Ms. Pac-Man arcade cabinets were made, and due to its enduring popularity, the game has been re-released several times in arcade format over the years. It’s still possible to find Ms. Pac-Man machines in commercial establishments today, although most of these are the re-released versions. Games from the original production run in 1981, like the one in front of you, are rarely seen in public operation now after decades of use have taken their toll on the hardware and electronics. The object of Ms. Pac-Man is very similar to Pac-Man, but a number of subtle differences and improvements made Ms. the more popular of the two games. Ms. Pac-Man is wearing lipstick and she has a bow in her hair. Four different mazes are featured in her game, and they are more colorful than the solid blue walls of the single maze featured in Pac-Man. The ghosts move more randomly in Ms. Pac, making it harder for players to master the game by moving their character in repetitive patterns. Unlike the static bonus fruits which appear below the ghosts’ pen in Pac-Man, these goodies enter the maze from the side tunnels and bounce around the board in Ms. Pac. This machine has a speed-up chip installed, which increases the speed of the player’s character to roughly twice as fast as the original game program. Most players today prefer the sped-up version over the somewhat sluggish original. Either way, Ms. Pac-Man is an easy game to play, but difficult to master.
