Pac-Man speed chart: how fast Pac-Man and the ghosts move on every level
Speed is the hidden difficulty curve. The game never tells you that Pac-Man gets slower after level 20 while the ghosts do not, so here is the whole table.
Speeds as a percentage of maximum
| Level | Pac-Man | Pac-Man eating dots | Ghosts | Ghosts in tunnel | Frightened ghosts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 80% | 71% | 75% | 40% | 50% |
| 2 to 4 | 90% | 79% | 85% | 45% | 55% |
| 5 to 20 | 100% | 87% | 95% | 50% | 60% |
| 21 and up | 90% | 79% | 95% | 50% | none (never frightened) |
Three things stand out. Pac-Man is always slightly faster than the ghosts in open corridors until level 21, when the relationship flips. Eating dots costs him about one frame in ten, so a ghost gains on you whenever you are munching and loses ground whenever you run through empty corridors. And frightened ghosts are so slow on level 1 that you can run them down easily, which is why chains come naturally early and stop being realistic later; the timers that pair with these speeds are in power pellet rules in pacman.
Cruise Elroy thresholds
Blinky speeds up twice per board when the remaining dots drop below a threshold, first by 5 percentage points and then by 10. The thresholds grow with level:
| Level | First boost (dots left) | Second boost (dots left) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | 10 |
| 2 | 30 | 15 |
| 3 to 5 | 40 | 20 |
| 6 to 8 | 50 | 25 |
| 9 to 11 | 60 | 30 |
| 12 to 14 | 80 | 40 |
| 15 to 18 | 100 | 50 |
| 19 and up | 120 | 60 |
On late boards Blinky is therefore faster than Pac-Man for half the board. The behaviour and its reset after a death are described in how pacman ghosts chase you, and the red ghost's full profile is in red ghost blinky explained.
What this means for play
- Levels 1 to 4: you outrun everything. Spend these boards collecting ghost chains, as the scoring table in how pacman points work rewards.
- Levels 5 to 20: the margin shrinks to 5 points. Cornering (see cutting corners in pacman) becomes the difference between escaping and dying.
- Level 21 onward: ghosts are faster in a straight line. Survival depends on patterns and on the tunnels, where ghosts lose half their speed.
Our own games on the mr pacman retro arcade hub use a simpler curve, rising to level 11 and then holding, so they stay playable without patterns.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Pac-Man faster than the ghosts?
Yes until level 20, by 5 to 10 percentage points, except while eating dots. From level 21 Pac-Man drops to 90% while ghosts stay at 95%.
Why does Pac-Man slow down when eating?
Each dot eaten costs roughly one frame of movement, lowering effective speed by about 10%.
How fast are ghosts in the tunnel?
40% of maximum on level 1, 45% on levels 2 to 4 and 50% afterwards.