Pacman designer Toru Iwatani said that Pacman would be a really boring game if it’s all about collecting pellets. To make the game interesting, he added ghosts which added a layer of challenge to the players. Also, he programmed all four ghosts with their own set of movements. To master the game, understanding these quirks and movements is the key. Here is a brief explanation that might help. 

Chase, Scatter and Frightened mode 

There are three modes, different ghosts have their unique behavior in these three modes.  Chase mode is when ghosts try to find and capture the Pac- Man. Well in scatter mode, the ghosts turn to their respective areas instead of chasing the Pac- man. The third, In frightened mode, is a part when Pacman turns powerful and ghosts turn blue. In this mode, the ghost is vulnerable and could be eaten by ghosts. However this mode is for a few seconds and after its end, the ghost turns into scattering or chase mode.

Blinky – Red color ghost 

Blinky targets Pac Man, and this one hunts constantly until the pattern switches to Scatter mode. In this mode, the ghost turned to its place. Also when only 20 dots are left in a maze, the speed of blinky turns a bit faster and a bit more when 10 dots are left. In this case, if the switch to scatter mode the behavior of blinky changes too. Instead of going back, blinky chases the Pac-man. 

Pinky –  Pink color ghost 

Pinky ghost is a strategic one.  This one takes the route where Pacman is headed in order to trap him. In order to do so, the ghost takes the four spaces headed where Pacman is moving. However, here is a twist that mostly favors the players. If you move the Pacman to the four square left, you can confuse the ghost by changing your route suddenly. The pink ghost takes a bit of time to follow which can save Pacman lives and from getting trapped. 

Inky –  Blue color ghost 

Among all ghosts, Inky is the hardest ghost to understand the pattern. Well, Inky’s movement is based on Pacman but also on blinky as well. This means when its chase mode inky follows the space of  Pacman but it turns to twice the distance from the current position of blinky. It gives the random movement which is a bit hard to predict. But same as Pinky, the player can give false impressions and change the direction at the last moment. 

Clyde –  Orange color ghost 

At first glance, Clyde seems unpredictable but the orange ghost has its own rules. When the game switches to change mode, Clyde ‘s moment is based on its closeness to Pacman. In the case of eight squares away in distance, Clyde behaves blinky and targets the Pacman. But if the distance is within eight squares, the ghost turns to its zone. Clyde looks like a threat sometimes but in another second can behave cowardly and go back to its place. Understanding the pattern of orange ghosts can be helpful to avoid Clyde.