Namco developed and released PacMan in the 80’s and the game quickly became popular with the youth of America. As tends to be the case with all things popular, there were many spin-offs of the original throughout the 80’s, such as Ms. PacMan. Throughout the decades since its release PacMan has adapted with the times to fit all the various technological advances. There are versions of the game for nearly every gaming system, from the portable to the Xbox.
While there are other games that run on the same premise as PacMan, most don’t offer that authentic feel that true PacMan devotees appreciate. PacMan is a classic, and many fans have been playing the game since their early years. There are some websites where you can play PacMan online, the true authentic, original PacMan. We stumbled upon PacManVille and realized thatthese websites are probably the closest you’ll get to the real deal, unless you find an arcade that still has the game. The majoity of these websites require that you download and install a simple plug-in, but for true PacMan fans that’s an imposition they consider worth it.
If you are interested in exploring other PacMan interpretations you can find websites offering a great variety of themed PacMan games. For example, there’s George W. Bush PacMan. In this rendition of the game the head of President Bush stands in for PacMan. The President navigates through the maze avoiding ghosts of former presidents, no less. Instead of fruit and candy game boosters, there are “health packages.” The game still has the dots to defeat the ghosts. It’s certainly not iconic like PacMan, but makes for great fun occasionally.
There are numerous other knock offs on the game. Some were created to address copyright issues, and some were just PacMan interpretations for the fun of it. Some are rather humorous, like baby PacMan If you want to play PacMan online you need only do a simple websearch to find dozens of websites that offer PacMan games. Nearly every website is free, requiring you only to register to play. Some don’t even ask that.
If you are a true PacMan enthusiast you can also find other PacMan fun online, like downloadable screensavers, posters, pictures, and even some fan forums. You can also find plenty of PacMan merchandise available for purchase, everything from a lunch box to a hoodie can come PacMan themed.