Beat Pac-Man using 3 simple patterns

[@Charistum]

The easiest way to memorize it is to grab any old controller and pretend that you're controlling the Pac-Man in the video until you're perfectly in sync. Whenever you desync just rewind and try again.

[@dentistrider3874]

This was excellent advice thank you!

[@infamous.penguin]

i did exactly that too and it worked perfectly with any pattern for me

[@tirtheshjadhav1898]

So basically in order to get better at this game is just memorizing patterns and watching out for fright more till level 19, pretty cool!

[@froggyschannel1413]

Basically, yeah, it’s all about the patterns and memorize👍🏼

[@mrmidlife2546]

@jonny_lagunaLooks like I'm in that boat. I've been playing on the Xbox version, and I haven't gotten past stage 3 trying this strat before I get got :(

[@xyzzy64]

which one ​@@mrmidlife2546

[@DERHOF2007]

Do you not realize how many video games are based on that concept? But don't be foolish... simply memorizing patterns without having actual skill and reflexes will only take you so far.

[@SpaceJockeyLV223]

That pattern 2 is is very good! I wouldn't have thought it possible that the same pattern would work on levels 5-20 including the three 'reversal' ones. Genius! Much appreciated. Your '9th Key' pattern is great too. Thank you.

[@PacStrats]

Glad you enjoyed! I was very happy to find a single pattern that worked for levels 5-20. That was the main goal of the endeavor.

[@cristyanzonta5094]

The Namco version present as a bonus in "Pac-Man World Re-Pac" played on PS4 Pro has some differences. Ghosts do not always follow the guidance given in levels 1-4 regardless of execution. From the fifth onwards it often happens that Pinky manages to grab you in the upper part of the maze. Thanks for the help. 😉

[@Silos9195]

I've used your videos before trying to learn the perfect game and made it to level five before eventually losing interest. Just a lot of work trying to remember the patterns as well as the order. Three patterns as a start and slowly build to learning the others seems a lot more do-able. Thanks so much for making this!

[@PacStrats]

Thanks. These patterns are focused on clearing boards safely, rather than getting perfect, which is not an easy task. I understanding people losing interest with trying to achieve a perfect game.

[@klct2006]

I always wonder how. Pacman never had to poop. Like, would there have been another intermission? Call it "potty break", and Pac would enter an outhouse, with a pacman shaped cutout on the door.

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

He poops continuously, but it's jet black so it blends into the background. That's why the ghosts alter their path sometimes: They're avoiding Pac-Man's poop.

[@HelenFire420]

Well, in Namco museum volume 3, there is an Easter egg of him on the can in his house. However it doesn’t seem like he has a butt, so I don’t know how pac deification would work.

[@Ballistic_Missiles]

At 4:44, pinky always runs towards me and and gets me. I’ve tested this several times now on both board 5 and board 6, and I’m confident my pattern is correct. Help!

[@JasonPrahl]

Just curious if you have an image or pdf showing the patterns? Seems like it would be easier to memorize if I had the overall patterns to look at. Thanks!

[@Alessio_IT]

Just draw it

[@AbrasivMusic]

This took me back to when patterns used to be published as books.

[@kilroy987]

Very nice. I'm experimenting cloning Pacman for myself - I'll try these patterns out on it and use this to make my ghost patterns match what's here. Update: This pattern doesn't seem to work on Map 2 of Steam ARCADE GAME SERIES Pac Man. At 1:46, the blue ghost turns up and kills me, rather than turning down. Is there some version of Pac Man this is meant to work for? Does it work on an arcade box? Update2: Nevermind, my turning on the corners was slightly off. Still trying to get these right - At 19:42 you have to hit the up-turn on time or red will take a right instead of going back up, and screw up the pattern. I was able to complete all three patterns successfully - thank you! Notes to self: 15:38 Maze 17 17:31 Maze 19

[@TheOneTrueSpLiT]

Thanks for sharing your patterns, I had the "How To Win At Pac-Man" book as a kid but an abstinence from playing the proper arcade version since the mid '80s and the 5 strokes I've have mean I can't remember a single pattern (I can barely remember what I was watching on TV last night). Now I have MAME + 1000s of arcade ROMS, CoinOPS Arcade Gold+ and an arcade stick + buttons so will give your patterns a go 😉

[@PacStrats]

Good luck! Hope these patterns help you return to the ‘80s for a bit.

[@craftymulligar]

The pac man i first played was on the mini arcade unit back on the early 80s. It had i believed at least another version of the game. Fun at the time but cant see too much injoyment now days. But nice you came up with a pattern to win.

[@sofianzinho]

Thank you so much for these wonderful patterns and explanations that made me (re-)discover Pac-Man ! Learning these patterns allowed me to successfully complete the perfect Cherry pattern.

[@gamerala7347]

Very good patterns to use, because you don't need to improvise at all !👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@corellioncrusaderproductio4679]

The first pattern works on the second apple as well, and you get the passthrough bug too.

[@jpwjr1199]

I know I'm late with this, but there is one problem. These patterns, while generally useful, are not perfect. If followed as shown here, they don't always work.

[@TruBugz]

Sometimes it happens to me that when I'm making pattern one, Inky crosses my path. For example at 3:53 only that, instead of going down, he goes up. Does anyone know how to fix it, or maybe I'm doing something wrong?

[@nonetheless0]

Yeah same

[@markthompson2874]

Second pattern seems to have more risk than the patterns I used as a kid and didn't seem to go after any of the ghosts. 3rd pattern had more risk than mine, but can't say if it was faster or not.

[@InsaneInDaBrain_]

anyone else hear "Waka Wow Brotha" whenever Pac-Man turns off of a string of pellets?

[@eleanisechevarria4611]

Can you do on for ms. Pac-Man? I've seen a ton of patterns online for packman but for ms. Pac-Man there's not much videos like this with simple patterns. I would greatly appreciate a video like that as i want to get good at ms. Pac-man too!

[@HeitorMD]

the ghost ai in ms pac-man is random

[@fourstrings9023]

The first pattern is faulty, I keep getting intercepted by the blue guy at 0:45 Sometimes he comes up from the bottom and gets me on the right side of the ghost cage

[@ReadyPlayerGinger]

Does this work on arcade one up?

[@BrandonRodriguez-ih5xc]

I tried on nintendo switch and it is really random

[@Charistum]

You have to make sure to get the frame skip on every turn. It took me several hours of practicing the first pattern before I could execute it tight enough to reach the 5th level. Brutal stuff.

[@pvzmariosonica8fan]

6:27 Look at the ghost house. That's why my favorite emoji is 👀

[@harrisonjames3418]

Ive tried these on my 1up arcade partycade and I get rogue ghosts who ruin the pattern is this an emulsion issue or a timing issue on my part by premoving turns or not premoving or something?

[@matthewkoveleski9131]

19:11 pattern 3 start

[@draczcoffin]

2:42 timestamp to practice 😅

[@teddythodo3302]

I followed pattern one for board one and when I got to board two, the pattern didn’t work I ran into the blue ghost right near the pen after taking the tunnel and down through the pen

[@teddythodo3302]

I’m also playing on a arcade one up

[@teddythodo3302]

Never mind. I didn’t buffer one of the turns early enough and I’ll be damned it actually matters.

[@atrain818]

​@@teddythodo3302does the arcade 1up have the split screen on level 256?

[@teddythodo3302]

@@atrain818 lol I can’t get passed the 4th board. I wouldn’t know

[@atrain818]

@@teddythodo3302 lol. I was just curious what kinda hardware they use. I was thinking of picking one up if I found one cheap. I have a mame cabinet that I play on in my basement .

[@YOROSHIKU4649]

im using android fbneo emulator non mame, this not working pls help mostly bc inky behavior is not the same, he caught me right in the corner first cherry and sometimes before left turn before the first energizer (bottom right one, just left to bottom left energizer)

[@mr._DJ]

Sometimes on Level 1-4 Inky (Blue) attacks in the house, so I have to avoid him - It's possible to rescue our plan, but I have to Avoid Inky again in the low middle right corner. On level 5 Blinky (Red) doesn't move back in start right top corner - he attacks so I have to avoid him - From that point on I can't follow the plan for level 5-20.

[@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785]

I am pretty sure I have some old vinyl record from some rock band during the Pac-Man era that has these same strategic patterns on the album cover or insets...but I could be wrong?

[@dentistrider3874]

I tried this on a Pac-Man 1980 ROM on web browser and the pattern doesn't work consistently, even before eating the pellets. Should I use Mame? What do you use in the video?

[@PacStrats]

@@dentistrider3874 MAME is used in making these videos. I own an original Pac-Man chipboard and cocktail cabinet and can say with very high level of certainty that MAME plays exactly like the original arcade game.

[@dentistrider3874]

@@PacStrats Thank you! Got it working on Mame and the first pattern works pretty well. I'm assuming that you're supposed get every turn early and not snag it late. Also, after eating the first power pellet, it shouldn't always work the same way since the ghosts move randomly during eating mode, right?

[@PacStrats]

@@dentistrider3874 The ghosts do not move randomly when they are blue (eating mode). If they scatted in an unexpected way it’s because you make an incorrect turn somewhere in the pattern, likely didn’t make a turn smoothly somewhere along the way. Yes, you have to be pushing the next direction slightly before you reach any turn in any Pac-Man pattern. You don’t need frame perfect timing or anything, just be pushing the next direction before you reach the intersection. Good luck.

[@DrakeS279]

I did exactly the pattern 3 in the 255th stage (pac man 256 hack), and Blinky did the unpredictable.

[@pedropedrocki6317]

I had a book back in the 80's that had the patterns for Pac Man and Donkey Kong.

[@Ray.Norrish]

Same here. Bit more of a challenge implementing it when you had to pay each go :)

[@DipherOneCICrew]

I cant avoid pinky in pattern 2 lvl 5 when i get to the top right corner after avoiding Blinky Pinky doesnt turn back to the left but comes right at me instead, im using the xbox 360 version on xbox 1

[@ItsOver9000Productions]

Thanks! Gonna use this in the next few days to get the final trophy in PacMan World remaster

[@jendak2653]

This only works in original pac man from 80s

[@ItsOver9000Productions]

@@jendak2653 it worked for me

[@Guillhrme]

Did you get the achievement?

[@guilest4user]

Good vid. This doesn't work for me though. Pinky "speedy" runs straight towards me near the beginning instead of running away from me. Ty

[@jackwilson10]

Same thing for me

[@E4_E5_KE2]

what version of pac man is this? and what console? someone plss answer i need help

[@toadsonytwo]

It depends on which version. The nes version is different than the arcade, because this method definately doesnt work on nes.

[@Subzeranea]

The nes port Is not arcade perfecr

[@SleepyDancer]

What version of pac man starts off with that many lives?

[@toadsonytwo]

the arcade version

[@ebenpacheco6902]

It's a dipswitch setting

[@marchelomarchol5367]

do somebody know a channel that teach to beat MS pac-man?

[@Seventizz]

I had pattern one memorized as a kid. There was actually a book that told you how to do it but eventually all the kids learned it and just copied each other.

[@DavidRosengarden]

This doesn’t seem to be working. I’m on MAME 0.26 and the attract mode shows blue ghost killing pac-man just above where the bottom left energizer was, suggesting it’s the original 1989 ROM. What version is used in this video?

[@tripplehops]

what about super pac man? and is the 5 lives a DIP switch setting?

[@rahaancrao2492]

First of all, thank you very much for your sharing, finally a solution to the game :). Unfortunately for me it's hellish, I tried in Pandora box or even in mame on a powerful PC, with arcade terminal controller or joystick or xbox controller or mechanical keyboard, the pattern works very well on the first level but from the second or third, I always find myself against inky. I have pattern1 in front of me, I made a drawing, I know it by heart but unfortunately I must be too slow when I turn.

[@user-ly1ko6be9t]

I've never realized Pac-man is just the exact same maze with increasing speeds.

[@charlessunkyst]

they made more than one game. Most Pacman games have multiple mazes, some like the championship edition have mazes that shift around as you play

[@KBoden1973]

1:54 Because Inky Is His Nickname.

[@boomerpc]

I have the Doc and Pies arcade and it works sometimes

[@TunebaGamer]

In lv2 80% of time blue ghost catch me 😢 when going down in right side of cube..😢😢

[@fluktion]

At 02:55 Inky goes up instead of down when I am playing this level :(

[@rgardjr]

Same. First pattern works for first two screens, but not peaches for me.

[@fluktion]

@@rgardjrUpon further playing this is surely a timing issue. At this point, when pacman is moving right on top of the cage, make sure to turn joystick downwards even before the turn. This to make sure that pacman goes down as soon as possible when the turn is reached. For me, this works 100% every time now :)

[@Ilnur-v6z]

Where can I get the original pacman? Is there an emulator for the sort of thing or something?

[@roberjohns1000]

Do these patterns work with only certain versions of the game? I worry that the machine I use might not run the same patterns. Also, how does one check the version in the first place?

[@f3rns]

I can finally beat pacman. Thank you

[@SlimboneLSWC]

Thanks a bunch for sharing this!

[@Leonardo_The_Vinci]

Very nice

[@GuerrillaChe]

Interesting video, you either modified Goodrich and Butcher Cherrys pattern, or reinvented it (assuming you dont know them). Good stuff either way but I think the original are fairly unbeatable.

[@DORUKATALAY-xh5fq]

Where did you play this pac man beacuse I want to play 5 lives pac man do not work pac man museum+

[@MystiqEevee]

personally i find stevepiers patterns to be easier to learn and i have the majority memorized the only one i cant seem to grasp is the 9th key which is just ridiculous in its own as the energizers stop working

[@PacStrats]

He does do a good job of explaining his videos.

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

Good info! One suggestion: You could have had the pattern drawn on the screen as Pac-Man moves through the mazes. The video would have taken longer to make, sure, but the actual pattern would be a lot easier to see, learn and remember.

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

@jonny_lagunaProbably, but it's not my video. ;)

[@jenniferwehrle8738]

What are you playing on?

[@PacStrats]

@@jenniferwehrle8738 PC with keyboard. Using the MAME arcade emulator.

[@MichaelBoyd-k4p]

yo, thats pretty dope. How do you go about making these patterns? would love to learn to get good enough to come up with own fun unique patterns. so far your other videos have been super useful though

[@alexlazarevich8591]

I'm playing MAME Pukman on a PC, using a keyboard direction keys to move pacman in the maze. My goal is to get 1 mil points. I'm finding it very hard to get used to the keyboard, I'm making stupid mistakes, turns taken too early, turns not taken soon enough, etc. I can't even get to 100K. Ugh. Is it just more practice, or is using a keyboard just a bad bad way to play.

[@atrain818]

Buy a joystick with a USB plug. Keyboard is nearly impossible. I couldn't pass the 1st board using a keyboard

[@Jeffrey_A_Woods]

0:27

[@robertcarannante2251]

Sooo Coolllll!!!!!!

[@ADucksOpinion]

patterns dont matter when they blue tho

[@corellioncrusaderproductio4679]

It actually does, the blue ghosts are not random, it uses something called pseudo-RNG. If you take the same path with frame perfect turns the make the same "random" turns every time. Ms Pac-Man does use actual RNG for scatter though, but Pac-Man is deterministic.

[@terralriver]

These patterns do not work! I've tried all 3 several times.

[@PacStrats]

There are only two possibilities. 1) You are playing a version of Pac-Man not equivalent to the original 1980 arcade game, or 2) You are not running the patterns correctly. If you link me with a video of what’s happening when you run the patterns, I can let you know what’s going on.

[@terralriver]

@@PacStrats It's the PS4 version equivalent to the arcade version. The ghosts are performing a different pattern than in your video.

[@corellioncrusaderproductio4679]

@@terralriver Make sure you are doing frame-perfect turns, you need to hold the direction several frames before Pac-Man reaches the turn. If you miss it by a frame or two, the pattern will not work.

[@Guillhrme]

I'm playing on Ps5 and I need to reach round 9, can you help me on SharePlay? 😭🙏

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

I wonder if any unknown players over the years have developed a pattern that works on all boards. I'll bet some nerd could use AI to figure one out. Then you only have to memorize one pattern!

[@PacStrats]

@@JustWasted3HoursHere Now that you mention it, I’m sure it’s just a matter of time. If it were a matter of national security it would probably be solved by the end of today 😀

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

@@PacStrats My gut tells me it is definitely possible, but I imagine the pattern itself would very complicated to learn as it would have dozens of turns to remember. There are several AI machine learning channels here on KZbin. I should mention that as a possible experiment for them to try.

[@frostyglenn8964]

Do ms.pacman bro JR.PACMAN

[@PacStrats]

There are no patterns in those games. It's all about grouping in those games. Which is a tough concept to convey.

[@Ottergaming26]

541st like!👍

[@thundercracker900]

You only need 2 patterns not 3. From Apple till 9th key then from 9th key till end of game different pattern. From stage one too 4 u can can just eat dots don't need pattern. Only 2 patterns my boy not fn 3 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@PacStrats]

Yes, you can scramble and clear the lower boards if you wish. For the sake of completeness and presentation, I decided to clear boards 1-4 with a pattern too.