GLOSSARY

A – B

• Arcade maze game — A genre of video game in which the player navigates a fixed maze, collects items, and avoids or defeats enemies. Pac-Man is the defining example of the genre. The maze is the entire play area and its layout does not change during a stage.
• Attract mode — The idle demo that plays on an arcade cabinet when no one is actively playing. In the browser version, the start screen serves a similar function. It demonstrates basic gameplay without requiring a coin insert.
• Blinky — The red ghost. Blinky directly pursues Pac-Man's current tile in chase mode, making him the most straightforward pursuer. On later stages and as dots decrease, Blinky accelerates beyond his standard speed in a behavior sometimes called "elroy." See the Ghost Behavior Guide for the full breakdown.
• Board — One complete maze layout. A board is finished when all dots and power pellets are eaten. Clearing a board advances the game to the next stage, which uses the same maze layout but faster ghost speeds and shorter frightened windows.

C

• Chase mode — The phase in which each ghost actively pursues a target tile based on its individual targeting rule. Chase mode alternates with scatter mode throughout the game. Each ghost uses a different algorithm: Blinky targets Pac-Man directly, Pinky targets ahead of Pac-Man, Inky uses a combined calculation involving both Pac-Man and Blinky, and Clyde alternates between chasing and retreating.
• Clyde — The orange ghost. Clyde switches between chasing Pac-Man directly and retreating to his scatter corner based on proximity. When he is more than roughly eight tiles from Pac-Man, he chases. When he closes that distance, he turns away. This alternating behavior makes him unpredictable to players who assume he has stopped being a threat.
• Cornering — A movement technique that involves entering a turn slightly before reaching the intersection tile, allowing Pac-Man to carry speed through corners. Effective cornering reduces the time spent slowing down or waiting to navigate turns, which matters most when ghosts are in close pursuit.
• Cruise elroy — An informal term for the behavior in which Blinky increases his movement speed as the remaining dot count decreases. This makes the end of each stage more dangerous, particularly when dots are scattered across the board. The threshold and speed increase vary by stage number.

D – E

• Dead end — A corridor that has only one entrance and exit point. Entering a dead end is high-risk because turning back may put you face-to-face with a pursuing ghost. Experienced players clear dead-end dots while ghosts are in scatter mode or while a power pellet is active.
• Dot — The small white collectible that fills most of the maze. Each dot is worth 10 points. There are 240 dots per board, totaling 2,400 points. Clearing all dots completes the stage. The rate at which dots are consumed also controls fruit spawn timing and Blinky's late-stage acceleration. See the Scoring Guide for more on dot strategy.
• Energizer — An alternate name for the power pellet. Some early documentation and guides use "energizer" to describe the four large dots that grant temporary ghost-eating ability. The two terms refer to the same item.
• Eyes mode — The state a ghost enters after being eaten. The ghost becomes a pair of eyes that travels back to the ghost house through walls. It poses no threat during this journey. Once inside the ghost house, it regenerates and re-enters the maze. Eyes mode is the only time ghosts pass through walls.

F – G

• Frightened mode — The state all four ghosts enter after Pac-Man eats a power pellet. Frightened ghosts turn blue, move randomly, and can be eaten for escalating points (200, 400, 800, 1,600). The duration decreases on later stages. Ghosts flash white as a warning before frightened mode ends. See Ghost Behavior Guide.
• Fruit — A bonus collectible that appears in the center of the maze twice per stage. Fruit value increases each stage, from 100 points (cherry, Stage 1) up to 5,000 points (key, Stage 13+). Each fruit is visible for roughly 9–10 seconds. For fruit routing strategy, see the Scoring Guide.
• Ghost — One of the four enemy characters (Blinky, Pinky, Inky, Clyde) that pursue Pac-Man through the maze. Each ghost has a distinct targeting algorithm and color. Ghosts cycle between chase, scatter, frightened, and eyes states during play.
• Ghost chain — Eating multiple frightened ghosts in quick succession during a single power pellet window. The point value doubles with each ghost: 200, 400, 800, 1,600. All four in one window yields 3,000 points total. Ghost chains are the primary scoring engine in high-score play. See the Scoring Guide.
• Ghost house — The rectangular enclosure in the center of the maze where ghosts start and where eaten ghosts return to regenerate. Ghosts exit through the top opening. Pac-Man cannot enter the ghost house.

H – I

• High score — The best score achieved in the current browser session. High scores are stored in browser local storage, meaning they persist across page reloads but are cleared if you use incognito mode or clear your browser data. There is no server-side account system.
• Inky — The cyan ghost. Inky's target tile is calculated using a vector based on both Pac-Man's position and Blinky's position. This makes Inky's behavior less intuitive to read and can produce surprisingly aggressive flanking if Blinky is close behind you. He is often considered the hardest ghost to predict.
• Input focus — Whether the game window is currently receiving keyboard input. If input focus is lost (for example, by clicking outside the game area), arrow key presses will not register and Pac-Man will stop responding. Clicking on the game area restores focus. This is one of the most common causes of sudden unresponsiveness. See the Troubleshooting page for fixes.
• Intermission — A brief animated cutscene that appears after certain stages. Intermissions provide a short break between boards and have no gameplay function, but they are part of the original arcade experience and serve as stage markers.
• Invincibility (Practice Mode) — A toggle available in Practice Mode that makes Pac-Man immune to ghost contact. Invincibility allows players to explore ghost behavior, test routes, and practice movement without the risk of dying. Press I to toggle it in Practice Mode. See Game Modes.

L – M

• Learn Mode — A game mode designed to make ghost intentions visible, helping players understand why ghosts move as they do. It is useful for studying ghost targeting and phase transitions without having to react in real time. See Game Modes for a full description.
• Level — Used interchangeably with "stage" to describe one complete board. The game increases in difficulty with each level: ghosts move faster, frightened time shortens, and scatter phases become briefer.
• Local storage — A browser feature that allows websites to save data on your device without a server. This game uses local storage to persist high scores. Local storage is cleared when you use incognito or private browsing mode, clear your browser data, or switch to a different browser or device. See FAQ for more on score persistence.
• Maze — The fixed grid of corridors and walls in which gameplay takes place. The maze layout does not change between stages. Learning its structure — which corridors connect, where the tunnels are, and which sections have dead ends — is essential for routing efficiently.

P

• Pac-Man — The player character: a yellow, circular figure who navigates the maze eating dots and avoiding ghosts. When a power pellet is active, Pac-Man can eat the blue (frightened) ghosts. Pac-Man loses a life on contact with a ghost that is not in frightened or eyes mode.
• Pellet — In casual usage, any collectible in the maze. More precisely, "pellet" refers to the small white dots (regular pellets) and is sometimes used as a shorthand for "power pellet." Context usually makes the distinction clear.
• Pinky — The pink ghost. Pinky targets the tile four squares ahead of Pac-Man's current facing direction. This makes Pinky dangerous when Pac-Man is moving toward her, because she will try to cut off the path rather than chase from behind. Predictable routes are especially vulnerable to Pinky.
• Power pellet — One of four large dots placed in the corners of the maze. Eating a power pellet triggers frightened mode in all four ghosts, allowing Pac-Man to eat them for bonus points. Worth 50 points on its own. Also called "energizer." See Scoring Guide for power pellet strategy.
• Practice Mode — A game mode that gives players additional controls for learning and improving: rewind (Shift), slow-down (1 or 2), turbo (O), and invincibility (I). Practice Mode is intended for studying difficult situations rather than competing for scores. See Game Modes.

R – S

• Route planning — The practice of deciding in advance which sections of the board to clear and in which order. Good route planning reduces dead-end backtracking, ensures power pellets are available when needed, and avoids leaving scattered dots for a dangerous late-board cleanup.
• Scatter mode — The phase in which ghosts stop chasing and move toward their designated home corners of the maze. Scatter mode creates predictable, lower-pressure windows for clearing dots in dangerous sections. It alternates with chase mode throughout the game and becomes shorter and less frequent on higher stages.
• Score multiplier — The doubling mechanism that applies to consecutive ghost kills within a single frightened window. The first ghost is worth 200, the second 400, the third 800, and the fourth 1,600. The multiplier resets with each new power pellet. There is no persistent score multiplier across stages.
• Sprite — A 2D image used to represent a character or object in the game. Pac-Man and each ghost are rendered as animated sprites. The browser version uses sprite-based rendering similar to the original arcade, which is why the characters have a pixel-art appearance even on modern displays.
• Stage — One complete board run. Stage 1 begins with all dots placed and ghosts at normal speed. Each successive stage increases ghost speed, reduces frightened mode duration, and shortens scatter phases. The maze layout is the same on every stage.

T – W

• Tunnel — The openings on the left and right edges of the maze that connect to each other. Entering one tunnel opening immediately exits from the other side of the maze. Ghosts slow down significantly when passing through tunnels, making tunnels a useful escape route when ghosts are in chase mode. See How to Play for tunnel strategy.
• Turbo Mode — A Practice Mode toggle (key O) that increases movement speed beyond the normal pace. Turbo Mode is intended for players who want to practice at a higher tempo or test reaction limits. It is not suited for beginners. See Game Modes.
• Turn buffering — A control feature that accepts a directional input slightly before the character reaches an intersection. Pac-Man will execute the turn at the correct tile boundary rather than missing it and continuing straight. This allows players to press the key a bit early without losing the turn. It reduces the precision required at higher speeds.
• Wall — The solid boundaries that define the corridors of the maze. Pac-Man cannot pass through walls. Ghosts also cannot pass through walls, with the single exception of eyes mode, during which an eaten ghost returns to the ghost house through walls.
• Warp tunnel — Another name for the tunnel openings on the left and right edges of the maze. "Warp" emphasizes that movement through one side instantly places the character on the opposite side. Ghosts slow in the tunnel, which is why tunnels are a reliable escape tool when pursued.

How to Use This Glossary

If you encounter an unfamiliar term while reading a guide or FAQ, look it up here to understand the concept before continuing. Most terms are interconnected: understanding scatter mode helps explain why power pellets are most valuable during chase mode; understanding turn buffering explains why early input works rather than feeling like a bug.

For gameplay context, the How to Play guide applies many of these concepts directly to beginner strategy and common mistakes. The Ghost Behavior Guide covers chase, scatter, frightened, and eyes modes in detail. The Scoring Guide explains how ghost chains, power pellets, and fruit fit into a high-score strategy. If you are having technical trouble with the game itself, the Troubleshooting page covers loading, sound, control, and performance issues. Common questions about the site and game are answered in the FAQ.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a dot and a pellet?

In casual use, the two words often mean the same thing. Technically, "dot" refers to the small white collectibles that fill the maze (240 per board, worth 10 points each), while "pellet" is used loosely for any collectible. "Power pellet" or "energizer" specifically refers to the four large dots that trigger frightened mode.

What does scatter mode mean?

Scatter mode is a recurring phase in which all four ghosts stop chasing and move toward fixed corner positions. It creates predictable, lower-pressure windows. Scatter alternates with chase mode and becomes shorter and less frequent on later stages.

What is turn buffering?

Turn buffering lets you press a directional key slightly before reaching an intersection, and the game will execute the turn at the correct tile edge rather than ignoring the early input. In practice it means you do not have to time turns frame-perfectly, which makes high-speed movement much more manageable.

What is the ghost house?

The ghost house is the central enclosure in the maze where ghosts begin each stage and where eaten ghosts return to regenerate. Ghosts exit through the top opening. Pac-Man cannot enter. It is the only area of the maze that acts as a respawn point rather than a corridor.