This article was published on March 31, 2015

You can play Pac-Man inside Google Maps right now, both from desktop and mobile.


You can play Pac-Man inside Google Maps right now, both from desktop and mobile.

It’s already April Fools’ Day in some parts of the world, so Google is having some fun. The company sent this cryptic tweet out earlier:

Google Maps Pac Man
It could only mean one glorious thing: you can now play Pac-Man in Google Maps.

The easiest way it to just visit Maps on the Web, click on the little Pac-Man icon on the bottom-left of the screen and prepare for nostalgia.

Google will analyze your map and use the roads to render a level. If the location isn’t suitable for gameplay, Google will let you select a new area, or you can just click “I’m feeling lucky” to be transported to a preselected area.

GoogleMapsPacMan

The <3 of EU tech

The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!

You can then control your yellow hero/villain with the keyboard and relive your Pac-Man frustration as ghosts chase you around your local streets, or the joyous feeling of reaching a blinking Power Pellet and turning the tables on those dastardly ghosts.

On mobile, things are a bit trickier – you’ll need to solve one of many riddles from a Google support page to find hidden Pac-Man pins at specific locations. Only then will you see a Pac-Man button that will allow you to play by swiping in different directions.

Pretzel

Some of these pre-selected locations look like they wouldn’t be out of place in an actual game; who knew city streets would make such good Pac-Man levels? You can also try looking for them on the desktop; a Pac-Man pin will show up when you find one.

This isn’t the first time Google has added a Pac-Man Easter egg, by the way; the company featured Pac-Man in a Doodle back in 2010. Last year, Google had another video-game nod for April Fools by letting you catch a Pokemon right on your maps.

Have fun not getting any work done.

@googlemaps

Get the TNW newsletter

Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.

Also tagged with