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Pac-Man - Atari - Atari 2600    Manual Scan icon HTML Manual   

Pac-Man
PAC-MAN

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Here's Pac-Man
2. Life in Mazeland
3. Using your controllers.
4. Console controls.
5. Game variations.
6. Scoring.
7. Helpful hints for Pac-Man's survival.
8. Game select matrix.

1. HERE'S PAC-MAN

We know that millions of people all over the world just love the
PAC-MAN arcade game.  PAC-MAN has won the hearts of men, women, and
children everywhere.  We also know that PAC-MAN has traditionally
been an arcade game.  Well, we at ATARI know all about arcade games.
After all, we make some of the greatest arcade games in the world, and
we know how to bring the same dynamite game play into your home.

Our PAC-MAN has all of the excitement and challenge of the standard 
arcade game, and you get to play in the comfort and convenience of your
own home.  This is especially advantageous if you still plan to make an
occasional appearance at the arcade to show off your great playing
skills. (Little do they know that you've been practicing at home all
along.)

Just in case you're new to PAC-MAN, don't worry.  It's easy to
learn.  You'll be a pro in no time at all.

So, relax, get comfortable and enjoy it in the privacy of your own home.
We suggest that you read this instruction booklet thoroughly before
beginning game play.  We know that you won't want to miss any important
details about game play.  You might even find it entertaining.

2. LIFE IN MAZELAND

The object of the game is to keep PAC-MAN happy and healthy in his home
of Mazeland.  PAC-MAN starts the game with four lives(turns).  The
longer he survives, the more points you score.  You score a point for
every video wafer that PAC-MAN eats.  You also score points when PAC-MAN
eats power pills, vitamins, and ghosts.  Everytime PAC-MAN eats all of
the video wafers on the maze, he earns an extra life and a new maze
full of video wafers.

The following information lists all of PAC-MAN's nutritional needs,
which also happen to be your point-scoring objects.

Video Wafers: These are the dotted lines on the screen.  You maneuver
PAC-MAN around the playfield over the video wafers.  He automatically
eats the video wafers, and they disappear from the maze.  You score
one point for each video wafer he eats. (To score a point, PAC-MAN
must pass directly over the video wafer.)

Power Pills: Power pills are located in the four corners of the
playfield.  Each power pill is worth five points.  When PAC-MAN eats
a power pill, the ghosts become a transparent blue color.

During this time, PAC-MAN has the super-strength to overcome the 
ghosts.  This is his big chance to chase and gobble down each ghost.
Unfortunately, this great power only lasts a few seconds.  When the
power starts wearing off, the ghosts turn pink and then back to yellow.
(Musical notes stop several seconds before ghosts turn back.)

Vitamins: Vitamins are the two intersecting rectangles in the center of
the playfield.  They only appear for a few moments and then disappear
and reappear.  The vitamins are worth 100 points each time PAC-MAN
eats them.

Ghosts: The ghosts are the quartet of bad guys chasing PAC-MAN around
the maze.  If a ghost eats PAC-MAN, you lose a turn(one life).  On
the other hand, if PAC-MAN eats a ghost, you score points.  PAC-MAN can
only eat ghosts after eating a power pill.  Then he can run around the
maze eating ghosts.  The first ghost is worth 20 points, the second 
ghost is worth 40 points, the third is worth 80 points, and the fourth
is worth 160 points.  If the power pill wears off before PAC-MAN eats
all the ghosts, he must eat another power pill and start chasing the
ghosts again(starting at 20 points again).  After PAC-MAN eats a
ghost, you only see eyes left on the ghost.  But, the ghosts are 
reincarnated by returning to the big, square chamber in the center of
the playfield.

3. USING YOUR CONTROLLERS

Use your Joystick Controllers with this ATARI(R) Game Program(tm)
cartridge.  Be sure the controller cables are firmly plugged into the
CONTROLLER jacks at the back of your Video Computer System(tm) game.
For one-player games, use the Joystick plugged into the LEFT 
CONTROLLER jack.  Hold the controller with the red fire button to
your upper left toward the television screen.  See Section 3 of your
owner's manual for further details.

Use the Joystick Controller to guide PAC-MAN around the maze.  Move
the Joystick in the direction you want PAC-MAN to move.  PAC-MAN
moves around the area of the maze, but he can use the opening at
the top and bottom of the maze as an escape route(See Figure 1 for
escape routes.)  Remember that the ghosts can use the same escape
routes, and that they may be waiting for PAC-MAN when he reenters
the maze.  When PAC-MAN escapes through the bottom opening, he
reenters through the top.  When he escapes through the top, he reenters
at the bottom.

The red fire button is not used during game play, although it may be
used to start a game.

4. CONSOLE CONTROLS

Game Select Switch: To select the PAC-MAN game variation you would like
to play, press down the GAME SELECT swtich. (See GAME VARIATIONS,
Section 5 for further information about game variations.)  The game
number appears at the bottom of the screen.  One number appears for
one-player games and two numbers appear for two-player games(See Figure
2 and 3 for game numbers.)

Game Reset Switch: Once you have selected the game number you wish to
play, press down the GAME RESET switch to start the game. (You can also
press the red controller button to start game play.)  After GAME RESET
is pressed, the score appears where the game number was, and the lives
remaining appears at the bottom of the screen as shown in Figure 4 for
one player and Figure 5 for two players.  The player using the Joystick
plugged into the LEFT CONTROLLER jack is the player to start the game in
the two-player game variations.

Difficulty Switches: PAC-MAN has two difficulty levels.  When the
DIFFICULTY switch is in the B position, the power pills last longer and
the vitamins stay on the screen longer.  The A position is for the
advanced PAC-MAN player.  The player using the Joystick plugged into
the LEFT CONTROLLER jack uses the LEFT DIFFICULTY switch, the player 
using the Joystick plugged into the RIGHT CONTROLLER jack uses the
RIGHT DIFFICULTY switch.  In a one-player game, use the LEFT DIFFICULTY
switch.

TV Type Switch: Set this switch to COLOR if your television is color.
Set it to B/W to play the game in black and white.

5. GAME VARIATIONS

PAC-MAN includes 8 game variations.  Each variation has a one-player
game and a two-player game.  In the two-player games, the left
player starts the game.  Each player takes a turn until PAC-MAN gets
eaten by a ghost.

Games 1, 2, 7, and 8 feature a slow moving PAC-MAN.  The ghosts in
each of these games move at different speeds as follows:

GAME 1 Ghosts move at jogging speed.

GAME 2 Ghosts move at running speed.

GAME 7 Ghosts crawl especially slow for young children.

GAME 8 Ghosts move at walking speed.

Games 3, 4, 5, and 6 feature a fast PAC-MAN with the ghosts moving at
varying speeds as follows:

GAME 3 Ghosts crawl around the maze.

GAME 4 Ghosts move at walking speed.

GAME 5 Ghosts move at jogging speed.

GAME 6 Ghosts move at running speed.

Games 3 and 7 are recommended for young children.  Game 6 is the most
difficult game variation.  For a real challenge try Game 6 with
difficulty level A.

NOTE: Sometimes the ghosts try to hide behind each other, so they 
appear to be one single ghost chasing PAC-MAN.

6. SCORING

VIDEO WAFER                  =     1 POINT
POWER PILL                   =     5 POINTS
VITAMINS                     =   100 POINTS
FIRST GHOST                  =    20 POINTS
SECOND GHOST                 =    40 POINTS
THIRD GHOST                  =    80 POINTS
FOURTH GHOST                 =   160 POINTS

7. HELPFUL HINTS FOR PAC-MAN'S SURVIVAL

1. When all of the ghosts are hiding on top of each other, eat a
   Power Pill and then you can gobble all four ghosts in one big bite
   and score 300 points.

2. Try to eat as many Video Wafers as possible before eating a Power
   Pill.  This will save the Power Pill until you really need it.

3. Before you eat a Power Pill, stay in the corner close to it so you
   can tease the ghosts into moving closer to you, thus allowing you
   to eat more ghosts with one Power Pill.

4. Use the top and bottom openings in the maze like a tunnel to
   outsmart the ghosts.  Slip in or out of the openings to escape hungry
   ghosts.

8. GAME SELECT MATRIX

Game Number           1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8
---------------------------------------------------
Slow moving PAC-MAN   X   X                   X   X
Fast moving PAC-MAN           X   X   X   X
Ghosts Jogging Speed  X               X
Ghosts Running Speed      X               X
Ghosts Crawl Speed            X               X
Ghosts Walking Speed              X               X
Children's Versions           X               X
Challenge (level A)                       X
---------------------------------------------------

Atari, Inc. Consumer Division
PO Box 427
Sunnyvale, CA 94086


-------------------Atari 2600 Instructions Archive-------------------

This document obtained from the History of Home Video Games Homepage, �1997-1998 by Greg Chance