Clyde: the orange ghost who pretends not to care
Clyde chases you like Blinky until he gets close, then loses interest and heads for his corner. The result is a ghost who haunts the bottom-left of the maze and is never where you expect.
Names
Clyde in English, nicknamed Pokey; Guzuta ("slowpoke") in Japan, nicknamed Otoboke, one who feigns ignorance. In Ms. Pac-Man he is replaced by Sue, and in Jr. Pac-Man by Tim. All variants are listed in blinky pinky inky and clyde. Despite both nicknames he moves at the same speed as every other ghost.
How he moves
When Clyde is more than eight tiles from Pac-Man his target is Pac-Man's tile, exactly like Blinky. When he is within eight tiles his target switches to his scatter corner at the bottom left. The switch happens at every junction decision, so he oscillates: approach, retreat, approach. His full decision rule is in pacman ghost ai explained. He is the last to leave the house, after 60 dots on level 1, per pacman ghost house rules.
Why the bottom-left matters
Because his retreat target is the bottom-left corner, Clyde spends more time there than anywhere else, and dots left in that region late in a board force you into his loop. Nearly every pattern and the beginner plan in first 50000 points in pacman clear the bottom-left early for this reason.
Handling him
- At distance, treat him as a second Blinky.
- Up close, he will usually turn away; use that to pass him at a junction rather than retreating.
- He is the hardest ghost to group for a pellet because he flees when you approach. Grouping him requires bringing the pack to his corner.
- In scatter mode he behaves like the others and goes to the bottom left, where he already was; his movement barely changes.
Elsewhere in the series
Clyde's personality made him the natural choice to chair the villains' support group in Wreck-It Ralph (see pacman in movies and tv). In the games on the mr pacman browser maze games, the violet square drone plays his role, wandering until Munch comes within seven tiles.
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Frequently asked questions
What does Clyde do in Pac-Man?
He chases Pac-Man when more than eight tiles away and retreats to the bottom-left corner when closer.
Is Clyde the slowest ghost?
No. His nickname Pokey is misleading; all ghosts share the same speed.
What is Clyde called in Ms. Pac-Man?
Sue.