Pac-Man has been one of my favorite video games ever since I was a little kid. For those who have somehow never played it (holy shit you need to do it NOW), Pac-Man is a classic arcade game, invented by Toru Iwatani in the year 1980, starring a yellow sphere named Pac-Man. Pac-Man lives in a maze full of dots. By using the joystick, you have to guide Pac-Man through the maze and eat the dots. Four ghosts, named Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde, pursue him, and if they ever touch Pac-Man, you lose a life. In the corners of each maze, there are four large, flashing power pellets which, when eaten, turn the ghosts blue. When they're blue, Pac-Man can eat the ghosts, earning bonus points and sending their eyes back to a cage in the center of the maze to regenerate. Twice per level, a fruit will appear just underneath the ghosts' cage, and Pac-Man can eat that fruit for extra points.
When I was in preschool, my teacher actually once had to tell me to stop making Pac-Man out of clay every single day because it was getting repetitive. My favorite candy back then was Dots gumdrops because the name made me think of Pac-Man because he ate dots too. CiCi's Pizza was my favorite restaurant SOLELY because they had a Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga machine there. I used to come home from school every day, grab some scissors and construction paper, and make little cutouts of Pac-Man and the ghosts, but then I decided four ghosts wasn't enough so I made two more of my own: Winky the white ghost and Stinky the rainbow ghost (you can really tell where my 5-year-old mind ran out of words that rhymed with "Inky" here.)
Over the years, I've collected quite the impressive list of Pac-Man items, running the gamut from Plug & Play ports of Pac-Man, to mugs, to furniture items like throw blankets and pillows! Please, check out my collection below!
This is a set of Pac-Man minifigures I got as a Christmas present when I was 6. They're easily one of my most prized possessions, and I carry them with me wherever I go.
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures K'nex figures. I once made a short stop-motion video using these. There were others, including the other four main ghosts, some generic ghosts and other Pac-Worlders, but these are the only ones I have.
These aren't official merchandise, but I sculpted the arcade-art version of Pac-Man, as well as the Hanna-Barbera versions of the ghosts. In addition to the four main ghosts, the cast of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon also included a fifth ghost, Sue, who was purple and also the only girl of the team. Pac-Mania would later introduce two more ghosts: Funky the green ghost and Spunky the gray ghost. Pac-Man Arrangement would introduce one more. He's yellow just like Pac-Man, but his name was, I shit you not, "Kinky."
These figures are some of the most recent Pac-Man merch I've acquired. They're authentic gashapon figures, imported from Japan. In this picture they are watching over my arcade machine and guarding it from harm :)
Pac-Man windup toy! There's a tab inside his mouth that makes it flap open and closed as he walks, and Clyde is inside his mouth!
A Pac-Man patterned water bottle. It's double-walled, so cold water in it will stay cold for a long time!
A Pac-Man glass! This one's good for cold drinks, unlike the mugs later on in this section.
The first of two heat-changing mugs in my collection. When you pour a hot drink in it, it changes to reveal Pac-Man and the ghosts in the maze.
Here's the other one! This one changes to reveal a giant Pac-Man on the side.
The third and final Pac-Mug in my collection. This one doesn't change with hot drinks, but it does resemble Pac-Man. I've always wondered what it would be like to drink out of the hollowed skull of your greatest idol. I guess I know now.
And for when you need to put these down, Pac-Man and the ghosts are here to protect your table from getting wet! (Oddly, Pinky wasn't in this set for some reason.)
These aren't official (if there are any official ones, please let me know and I will GLADLY buy them), but I wear them proudly nonetheless.
This quickly became my signature lanyard after I got it as a Christmas present. (Before that one, it was three lanyards that were each a Pokemon Go team.)
Little did I know my mom had also gotten me a lanyard as well!
One of the crown jewels of my wardrobe, this Pac-Man T-shirt proudly proclaims to the world my love for Pac-Man.
Pac-Man Heelys. This is easily the most "me" pair of shoes I've ever seen. I really should practice with using them as skates. It's a lot harder than everyone else makes it look.
Did you know there's actually a Pac-Man board game? In this game, up to five players each take a turn as Pac-Man, while the other four play as the ghosts and try to catch him. Whoever gets the most points once every player has had a turn wins!
Each of the suits in this deck is represented by a different ghost: hearts for Blinky, diamonds for Pinky, spades for Inky and clubs for Clyde.
I've never actually opened this one, but from what I've read of the rules it plays something like Blackjack.
This handheld game by Tomy plays more like Plinko than Pac-Man, but it's still a neat little trinket.
Ms. Pac-Man 5-in-1. The hours I used to put into this thing... I used to borrow it from friends so much that my mom just bought me one of my own. I played that one so much that over time the cables got worn out. The one in this picture is a replacement.
Pac-Man 12-in-1. This one features a special mode on Pac-Man where you can start at level 255, just one level before the infamous Kill Screen. Also, the A/V cables can be stored inside the console to display it as a neat little piece of decoration.
The crown jewel of my Pac-Man collection: my very own Pac-Man Arcade1Up!
An old vinyl record with Pac-Man songs. I think people have digitized this, so you can listen to their upload.
Back in the day, Pac-Man had a cartoon made by Hanna-Barbera. It was notable for being THE first video game adapted into a TV show. The show followed the adventures of Pac-Man, his wife Pepper, and Pac-Baby, as they lived out their daily lives, but also battled against Mezmaron and the Ghost Monsters, who were working to try to steal the Power Forest!
Pac-Man puzzle book. This one has a big selection of puzzles, ranging from getting to the goal of a maze while scoring as few points as possible, eating all the fruit while avoiding ghosts, and more!
Pac-Man and ghost lamps! The Pac-Man one stays yellow, but you can lightly bump it against the table it's on to make a sound, while the ghost one changes colors; you can have it cycle through all its colors in a predefined loop or have it flash wildly to the beat of whatever music you're playing. (I've never actually gotten it to do this successfully, it's either not sensitive enough to pick up any music at all, or TOO sensitive and it just flashes at every single sound.)
Neon lights I got for my birthday when I was really young. Sadly, they have burned out over time, which is why I got the other lights to replace them.
A Pac-Man throw blanket! (Also, a cameo from my dog!) It's soft and comfortable, but it's a little small.
And a pillow to go with it! If I ever need to sleep on a couch, I'm gonna do it in style.
My collection is ever-growing, so this page will likely be updated very frequently as I acquire more, and get pictures of more merch I already own!
This post was finished on March 25, 2023 at 5:20 PM.
🎵 Pac-Man World - Buccaneer Beach