Ms. Pac-Man (Atari 2600) online game | AtariOnline.org (2024)

Ms. Pac-Man is a 1982 maze arcade video game developed by General Computer Corporation and published by Midway. It is a sequel to the original Pac-Man game and features similar gameplay. The player controls Ms. Pac-Man, a yellow, circular character, as she navigates through a maze eating dots while avoiding ghosts. The goal is to clear the maze of all the dots while avoiding the ghosts.

The Atari 2600 version of Ms. Pac-Man was released in 1983 and was generally well-received. It improved upon the earlier Atari 2600 port of Pac-Man, which was criticized for its flickering ghosts, among other issues. In the 2600 port of Ms. Pac-Man, the flicker was significantly reduced, providing a smoother gaming experience. The graphics and gameplay were also improved, making it a more faithful adaptation of the arcade game and more enjoyable for players.

Ms. Pac-Man original Atari 2600 manual

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF VIDEO GAMES
2. GAME PLAY
3. USING THE CONTROLLER
4. CONSOLE CONTROLS
5. GAME VARIATIONS
6. SCORING
7. HINTS FOR SURVIVAL
8. YOUR BEST GAME SCORES

1. MS. PAC-MAN: THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF VIDEO GAMES

By now you’ve probably spent some time playing the master of mazes — PAC-MAN *. Well, lookout PAC-MAN lovers, ATARI is proud to bring you the “femme fatale” of computer video game world — MS. PAC-MAN!

That’s right, she’s here in all her shining glory. MS. PAC-MAN is sure to steal your heart with her grace and charm.

And she’s all dolled up with a ribbon in her hair. Just like the arcade MS. PAC-MAN, this ATARI home version has multiple mazes, floating fruit, pretzels, an end-of-game cartoon, and four fearless ghosts — Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Sue.

Get ready to feast your eyes on the original video beauty queen. She’s ready to bring you many delightful hours of fun and excitement. So, sit back, relax and have a good time playing MS. PAC-MAN.

2. MS. PAC-MAN GAME PLAY

The object of the game is to score as many points as you can while MS. PAC-MAN eats dots, fruit, pretzels, energy pills, and ghosts. Score 10,000 points and earn a bonus MS. PAC-MAN life.
The game starts with three MS. PAC-MAN lives, which are indicated by three MS. PAC-MAN symbols at the lower left corner of the screen. When game play begins, MS. PAC-MAN is located close to the center of the screen, just below the ghosts’ reincarnation chamber in the center of the maze.

Use your Joystick controller to guide MS. PAC-MAN around the maze. When she passes over dots, she gobbles them up, and you score points. If she eats all the dots on the screen, the maze flashes momentarily, and you start playing on a new maze.

MS. PAC-MAN encounters floating fruit and pretzels while traveling around the maze. Gobble up these munchies, and you score bonus points. But watch out! Fearful ghosts scurry about trying to gobble up MS. PAC-MAN. Her only recourse is to eat an energy pill and then go after the ghosts.

As soon as she gulps down the energy pill, the ghosts turn blue with fright. You earn 200 points for the first ghost, 400 points for the second ghost, 800 for the third ghost, and a whopping 1600 points for the fourth ghost, all on the same energy pill. (See Section 6, SCORING, for details about
point values.)

Unfortunately, the effects of the energy pills are short-lived, so you’ll have to move fast. After the ghosts are gobbled up, their eyes head back to the chamber in the center of the screen for reincarnation. If you don’t gobble up the ghosts, they start to blink just before they turn back to
their original colors.

3. MS. PAC-MAN: USING THE CONTROLLER

Use one Joystick Controller with the ATARI Game Program cartridge. Be sure to plug the controller cable firmly into the LEFT CONTROLLER jack at the back of your ATARI 2600 Video Computer System console. Hold the controller with the red button to your upper left, toward the television screen. (See your Owner’s Manual for further details.)

Use the Joystick to maneuver MS. PAC-MAN up, down, right and left around the maze. Use it also to slide MS. PAC-MAN in and out of tunnels on both sides of the maze.

If MS. PAC-MAN exits on the right, she re-enters on the left; if she exits on the left, she re-enters on the right.

4. MS. PAC-MAN: CONSOLE CONTROLS

GAME SELECT SWITCH: Use the GAME SELECT switch to choose the game variation you want to play. Press this switch and the game variation changes as indicated by the number in the lower right corner of the screen. Read Section 5, GAME VARIATIONS, for more information about different game variations.

GAME RESET SWITCH: Once you have selected the game variation you want to play, press the GAME RESET switch to start the game. Pressing the red controller button also starts the game.

DIFFICULTY SWITCHES:RIGHT and LEFT DIFFICULTY switches are not used in this game.

TV TYPE SWITCH:Set this switch to COLOR if you’re playing on a color television set. Set it to B-W to play the game on a black and white television.

5. MS. PAC-MAN: GAME VARIATIONS

The ATARI MS. PAC-MAN includes the following four game variations:

CHERRIES:
An arcade version MS. PAC-MAN. Just like the original game, MS. PAC-MAN is pursued by four ghosts.

ONE BEAR:
A good choice for beginners. MS. PAC-MAN is pursued by only one ghost.

TWO BEARS:
A novice player’s choice. MS. PAC-MAN is pursued by only two ghosts.

THREE BEARS:
An intermediate player’s choice. MS. PAC-MAN is pursued by only three ghosts.

All four game variations start at the easiest level, cherries. Games then progress to the highest level, banana. If you survive the banana level, the mazes alternate between maze three and maze four. Every two times the maze is cleared of dots, the fruits are randomly selected, and the time the ghosts stay blue decreases.

6. MS. PAC-MAN: SCORING

You begin the game with three MS. PAC-MAN lives which are indicated at the lower left side of the screen. Your score is displayed at the bottom center of the screen.

You earn a bonus MS. PAC-MAN life after the first 10,000 points you score.

Here’s how points are scored:

DOT 10 POINTS
ENERGY PILL 50 POINTS

CHERRY 100 POINTS
STRAWBERRY 200 POINTS
ORANGE 500 POINTS
PRETZEL 700 POINTS
APPLE 1000 POINTS
PEAR 2000 POINTS
BANANA 5000 POINTS

FIRST GHOST 200 POINTS
SECOND GHOST 400 POINTS
THIRD GHOST 800 POINTS
FOURTH GHOST 1600 POINTS

7. MS. PAC-MAN: HINTS FOR SURVIVAL

Practice clearing the maze of dots before trying to gobble up the ghosts.

Stay close to an energy pill before eating it, and tease the ghosts into moving toward you. When the ghosts get close, eat the energy pill and gobble up as many ghosts as you can.

Use the openings in the maze as escape tunnels. Move to either side to quickly evade the ghosts. Don’t forget, different mazes have different tunnels.