Pac-Man (パックマンゲーム Pakkuman Geimu) is a board game by Tomy released in 1976, predating the video game. Up to four players use multicolored "hands" to fling chips into Pac-Man's mouth, who rotates while opening and closing his mouth. It was later released in the US as Mr. Mouth.
Variants[]
- Pac-Man / Mr. Mouth - The original 1976 version.
- The Original Pac-Man Game (元祖パックマンゲーム Ganso Pakkuman Geimu) - Reissued version released as a tie-in with the video game. The chips are replaced with Ghost Monster game pieces, and Pac-Man's face was changed.
- Kirby Board Game - Released in 1993, seemingly after the Famicom release of Kirby's Adventure. The center Pac-Man is now Kirby, and the chips are egg-shaped.
- TomyMate Pac-Man Jr. (トミーメイト パックマンJr. Tomīmeito Pakkuman Jr.) - Released at an unknown date. Miniature version of the original 1976 model; it is less than half the size of the standard model. Only supports three players rather than four.
- Mr. Mouth (frog) - Released at an unknown date (likely mid-90s). Replaces Pac-Man with a googly-eyed frog. This model is still sold to this day.
Trivia[]
- While this is technically the first Pac-Man game ever released, the first appearance of the character was the Pac-Man Bank from two years prior, also made by Tomy.
- During the Midway Manufacturing v. Bandai-America case (surrounding the bootleg Packri Monster handheld game), the defense (Bandai) used the existence of this game in an unsuccessful attempt to show that Midway/Namco did not come up with the original idea for Pac-Man.[1]
Gallery[]
Original 1976 model, pre-video game.
Later 1980s model, post-video game.
TomyMate Pac-Man Jr.
Kirby board game (1993).