Pinky: the pink ghost who aims where you are going
Pinky is not fast, whatever the attract screen says. She is clever: she targets a point ahead of you, which makes her the ghost most likely to meet you face to face.
Names
Pinky in both English and Japanese, nicknamed Speedy by Midway and Machibuse, the ambusher, by Namco. Her speed is identical to the other ghosts', so the Western nickname is misleading; see pacman ghost names.
How she moves
In chase mode her target is the tile four spaces ahead of Pac-Man in the direction he faces. If you walk toward her, she turns to meet you; if you turn away, her target moves with you and she follows a different route than Blinky, which is how the two form pincers. Her scatter corner is the top left. She is the first ghost to leave the house, immediately after a board starts, as the rules in ghost house dot counters describe.
The bug
When Pac-Man faces up, an arithmetic error in the original code sets her target four tiles up and four tiles to the left. The reason, a 16-bit overflow in the direction table, is explained in pacman ghost behavior patterns. The practical effect is that Pinky drifts left when you climb, and some patterns rely on it.
Handling her
- Face her and she comes at you; a quick reversal at a junction leaves her targeting empty space behind you.
- Because her target is ahead of you, she tends to arrive at junctions before you do. Approach junctions with a planned escape.
- Pinky and Blinky together are the classic pincer: one behind, one ahead. Break it with a tunnel or a no-up corridor.
- She groups easily with Blinky for pellet chains, as described in pacman tips for higher scores.
Elsewhere in the series
Pinky keeps her name in every sequel and is often written as the ghost with a crush on Pac-Man in cartoons. In the games on the mr pacman arcade hub, the orange hexagon drone plays her role, aiming four tiles ahead of Munch.
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Frequently asked questions
What does Pinky do in Pac-Man?
She targets a tile four spaces ahead of Pac-Man, so she tends to cut you off at junctions.
Is Pinky faster than the other ghosts?
No. All four ghosts move at the same base speed; her nickname Speedy refers to her ambushing.
What is the Pinky bug?
When Pac-Man faces up, her target shifts four tiles left as well as up because of an overflow in the original code.