-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Atari 2600 Pac-Man FAQ
Written By: Casey R. Coenen
Version: 1.0
Date Written: April 26, 2003
Last Updated: May 2, 2003
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A. Version History
B. Game Introduction and Objectives
C. Controls, Game Items, and Scoring
D. Strategies and "The CC Pattern"
E. Miscellaneous Notes and Oddities
F. Final Words
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A. Version History
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
Version 1.00 --- April 26, 2003
-------------
- Original version created on April 26, 2003
-------------
Version 1.01 --- May 2, 2003
-------------
- Corrected the accidental omission of move #49 on the "CC pattern."
- Extremely minor proofreading corrections.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Game Introduction and Objectives
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This Atari 2600 game was an adaptation of Namco's 1980 arcade smash "Pac-Man".
The game stars a yellow disc type creature named Pac-Man and 4 ghosts as
enemies. The objective is the same as the large majority of all other Atari
2600 games - which is to say score as many points as possible before running
out of lives. Points are scored and levels are cleared by simply eating all of
the pellets that are strewn about the maze that is the main game screen. If
Pac-Man comes in contact with any ghost while clearing these pellets, it
results in an instant and gruesome death that looks as if Pac-Man is melting
into nothingness. The only weapon at Pac-Man's disposal is 4 conveniently
placed "power pellets" in each corner of the game screen. These magical
pellets embolden Pac-Man with unheard of powers that allow him to eat any
ghosts that come in contact with him during a given period of time. You will
continue to score points and progress through levels until you either run out
of lives or simply quit playing from sheer exhaustion.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. Controls, Game Items, and Scoring
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i). Controls
Left - Move Pac-Man left!
Right - Move Pac-Man right!
Up - Move Pac-Man up towards top of screen.
Down - Move Pac-Man down towards bottom of screen.
ii). Game Items
Regular Pellet -- These are strewn throughout the main screen and look like
this:
-
Power Pellet -- These are the 4 big blinking pellets in each corner of the
screen. A power pellet is Pac-Man's only weapon in the entire game -- eat
one and music will begin to play indicating you can now eat the ghosts. Note
that you can eat the ghosts up to 2 seconds after the music stops. A power
pellet looks approximately like this:
---
| |
---
Vitamin -- These BIG, multi-colored squares show up periodically just under the
ghosts' "house." The first one will appear 45 seconds into a game, and
subsequent ones will appear at approximately 85-second intervals. Each vitamin
will disappear 13 seconds after it first appears, so try to grab it quickly. A
vitamin looks approximately like this (a yellow square inside an orange/brown
rectangle):
--------
| |--| |
| |--| |
--------
Ghosts -- These are the 4 blue creatures that continuously try to chase you
down. If you eat one it will turn into a pair of eyes and return to its house,
where it will be reincarnated.
iii). Scoring
Pellet -- worth 1 point
Power Pellet -- worth 5 points
Vitamin -- worth 100 points
Ghosts -- 1st ghost = 20 points, 2nd ghost = 40 points, 3rd ghost = 80 points,
4th ghost = 160 points.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D. Strategies and "The CC Pattern"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i). Strategies
General strategies that work for all 8 difficulty settings in this game are
pretty hard to come by. More often than not your general goal should be to
simply clear the screen as fast as possible since you get an extra life with
each screen that you clear. The only risk worth taking is to grab the
occasional vitamin and that is only true if you're on the earlier levels.
Long, sweeping moves that take you from 1 side of the screen to the other are
often the most effective way of avoiding the ghosts.
ii). "The CC Pattern"
Having said all of that, there is a pattern that you can follow that will allow
you to avoid the ghosts 99% of the time and therefore play as long as you wish
without running out of lives. However, this pattern only works on the levels
where Pac-Man is moving at a speed similar to the ghosts - which means that the
pattern outlined below will NOT work on levels 1, 7, and 8 because Pac-Man
simply moves too slow in comparison to the ghosts. That leaves levels 2, 3, 4,
5, and 6 where the pattern DOES work.
So, without further ado, following the below pattern of movements will allow
you to play FOREVER on levels 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. All you need to do is follow
the 64 specified moves in order starting at move #1. NOTE THAT I HAVE ALSO
CREATED A PICTURE OF THIS PATTERN -- CHECK THE "IN-DEPTH FAQS" SECTION FOR A
PICTURE OF THIS. THE PICTURE IS ADMITTEDLY EASIER TO READ THAN THE TEXT-BASED
MAP BELOW.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
X X X X
X 10 8 9 X 63 64 X 59 58 X
X XXXXXXXXX X XXXX X XXXXXX X XXXX X XXXXXXXXX X
X X X X
X 11 12 X 7 60 6 X 56 57 X
XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX
X 13 16 17 X X X
X X 62 61 X 51 52 55 X
X XXXXXXXXX X XXXX X XXXXXX X XXXX X XXXXXXXXX X
X X X X X X
X 14 15 X 19 18 X X 50 49 X 53 54 X
XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX
X 24 20 21 X X X
X X 34 35 X 47 48 46 X
X XXXXXXXXX X XXXX X XXXXXX X XXXX X XXXXXXXXX X
X X X X
X 25 26 X 23 22 37 36 38 X 44 45 X
XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX
X 27 30 31 X X X
X X 2 1 X 39 40 43 X
X XXXXXXXXX X XXXX X XXXXXX X XXXX X XXXXXXXXX X
X X 33 X X
X 28 29 X 4 32 3 5 X 41 42 X
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Upon learning and following this pattern, you'll notice the following things:
1. The pattern typically does NOT work until the ghosts start moving at the
same approximate speed as Pac-Man. This means that depending on the level you
choose to play on, you cannot start using the pattern until you first clear 4
or 5 screens on your own to get the ghosts moving a little faster. I usually
play on level 3, but if you choose level 6 you'll see that you can start using
the pattern almost immediately because the ghosts and Pac-Man move at almost
the same speed right when the game starts.
2. The pattern is very flexible and does NOT need to be followed exactly.
3. After the first 6 or 7 screens you'll find that you will frequently end up
eating all 4 ghosts without even trying because they move so fast that they're
often right on top of one another!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E. Miscellaneous Notes and Oddities
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. On occasion all 4 ghosts will enter the escape tunnel at the same time.
When this happens it will be impossible for them to get out of the tunnel!
Instead, they will continuously move up and down the tunnel without ever fully
exiting it. This means you can clear the entire screen at your leisure.
2. I've never done this myself, but various people and websites claim that if
you take Pac-Man and stay inside the escape tunnel for about 5 seconds (approx
5 up-and-down movements) and then exit out of the top of the tunnel, Pac-Man
will be able to go right through walls. He can still be killed by a ghost when
this happens so it's really just an interesting oddity.
3. Pac-Man will only eat ghosts when facing right. If he comes into contact
with a ghost when facing left, he will turn and face right until the ghost is
fully eaten. Weird!
4. When following the CC pattern and going for a high score, it is generally
better to concentrate on simply clearing the screen instead of eating ghosts.
The eating of ghosts should just be considered a "bonus" when you have extra
time (such as on moves 57-64). It IS wise however to go out of your way to
grab the occasional vitamin when it appears. That's an easy 100 points and the
pattern is flexible enough to give you enough time to grab it when it appears.
5. Don't get frustrated if you lose a life or 2 while following the CC
pattern. Remember that you get 1 extra life for every screen you clear (max of
9 lives), so you can afford to lose 1 life per screen and STILL play FOREVER!
6. If you lose a life while following the pattern, it is usually best to just
follow the pattern from the beginning again even if it means eating no pellets.
However, if you lose a life AFTER you have eaten the first 2 power pellets on
the left side of the screen, you should start off by going along the left side
of the ghosts' house and make your way to the power pellet in the upper
right hand corner of the screen.
7. If you're ever in a pinch and don't think you can get to a power pellet in
time, try going up to the small horizontal area near the top escape tunnel.
This area DOES NOT guarantee your safety, but for whatever reason it WILL often
buy you a little bit of time because the ghosts seem to have a strange aversion
to going up there. Again, it is NOT a guaranteed safe spot but it still CAN be
considered the safest area of the board for a short rest.
8. If you score more than 99,999 points, the score rolls over to 0. Every
copy of the Atari 2600 Pac-Man that I've tried recently does this, but I seem
to remember scoring 363,000 points many many years ago without it rolling over.
I wonder if there are multiple versions of this game or something. Anyway, if
anyone ever scores over 99,999 points without it rolling over, please contact
me!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
F. Final Words
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This FAQ/Guide is dedicated in memory of Jamee O'Shasky and Joe Hassley. The
human contact will always be missed but the memories will forever be burned
into my mind. Also, a special thanks to Brian Sulpher (BSulpher) for general
guidance on FAQ writing (he's written more FAQs than anyone I know and I used
his FAQs as a guide for creating this one), AboveAverage (Eric), Scum, and
Pastaman44 for talking me into writing this FAQ and offering their help, and
all of the users on the Pac-Man board (Pastaman44, Tempoblade, Titan Gamer,
Scum, etc).
This FAQ/Guide is the original work and sole property of Casey Coenen (girth)
and the GameFAQs website. You are free to reproduce pieces of this FAQ only
after contacting me and obtaining my permission.
Any feedback on this FAQ is greatly appreciated. Please feel free to contact
me at
[email protected] with comments, suggestions, or as yet undocumented
strategies.
