Pacman Canvas Game

Pacman Canvas game controls and pause behavior

For desktop movement, the browser demo accepts the arrow keys or W, A, S and D. Click inside the external frame first so it receives the keyboard input. You may choose the next direction while the character is still travelling through a corridor.

While a run is active, Space or a click inside the play area pauses and resumes play. Escape is different in the current source: it returns to the main view. Use Space when you want to stop briefly without leaving the active board.

On smaller screens, the project supports directional swipes and the arrow buttons below the canvas. One touch in the play area pauses or resumes it. If a gesture scrolls the Blockdeck page, refocus the player and begin the swipe inside the embedded canvas.

Pacman Canvas game pills, power pills and scoring

A regular white pill in the maze adds 10 points. Each of the four larger power pills adds 50 points and turns the ghosts blue. Eating one of those blue ghosts adds 100 points; its soul then returns to the ghost house before the restored ghost resumes chasing.

Finishing a level still requires every regular white pill. Eating a power pill or a vulnerable ghost changes the immediate danger and the score, but it does not replace the remaining pill objective. Before entering a long lane, check both its uneaten pills and the nearest exit.

How the four ghosts behave

Four ghosts move through each level, and the project's instructions assign different chase strategies rather than one shared route. They also alternate between scatter and chase moods. Red maze walls identify chase mode, providing a visible warning that their targets have changed.

Because a run uses those changing states, the nearest pill is not always the safest next target. A short branch can become difficult to leave when a ghost is near its entrance. Clearing isolated pills while nearby paths remain open reduces the need to revisit the same tight corner.

After a power pill, the browser version temporarily makes the ghosts blue and edible. Taking that item beside a crowded junction can create time to cross or collect ghost points; taking it with no ghost nearby may waste much of the window. Check the visible positions before committing.

A practical route through the maze

For a first attempt, clear one connected group of white pills instead of switching sides after every turn. Watch the next intersection while moving down a straight lane, then select the next direction before reaching its opening so the turn is already queued. As you approach a junction, compare the two safest exits.

When you approach a power pill during a run, compare using it now with saving it for the return route. The better choice depends on the current ghost positions.

A worked pill and escape example

Suppose a side lane contains three regular pills and a power pill. The regular pills add 30 points; the larger item adds 50. Reaching one blue ghost before the effect ends adds 100, producing 180 for the sequence. That total does not complete the level because every regular pill elsewhere still matters. Score and board-clearing progress answer different questions in this Pacman Canvas game.

Treat the junction before the lane as the decision point. If an active ghost closes the return path, take the open route instead of forcing the extra ghost points. If it is already blue and the way back remains clear, the 100-point choice may fit the same route. The power state is limited, so this is a planning example, not a promise that it lasts for an entire lap.

Lives, levels and sound

A full run begins with three lives. Contact with a ghost that is neither blue nor returning home costs a life, then the board resets for another attempt. The session ends after all three lives have been lost.

Across ten levels, the project changes which ghosts leave the house and later increases their speed. The source labels level two as the start of the chase, introduces Inky from level three and Clyde from level four, then raises the normal ghost speed after level four.

To change sound during a run, press M. This control is separate from Space for pause and Escape for returning to the main view, so muting does not need to interrupt movement or leave the board.

Two start screens and the published version

This page has two start steps. Blockdeck's green Play button connects to the external host. The loaded Pacman Canvas demo then shows its own Click to Play prompt. If the green panel remains, start the connection; if the project title appears, activate that second prompt; if the maze appears but keys do nothing, click inside the canvas.

Reload makes a fresh request to the hosted game. It may restart a stalled session, but it cannot repair an unavailable server; the repository link below provides a separate loading check.

The demo's information panel identifies the legacy HTML5 game as version 1.0.6 dated August 14, 2022. Its README links to a separate TypeScript and React rewrite marked as work in progress and says the original probably will not receive further updates. The controls, scores and levels here describe the embedded game, not every fork or later rewrite.