The aim of the game is to control the game's protagonist Pac-Man to eat all the beans hidden in the maze and not to be caught by the ghosts.

The four corners of the maze have large blinking dots called Power Pills, which provide Pac-Man with a small period of time to eat the power of the ghosts in turn. The ghosts will turn dark blue during this time, will flee in the opposite direction, and will move slower than usual. Interestingly, when the ghost is eaten, its eyes are still there and will fly back to the haunted house and regenerate while regaining its normal color. When the dark blue ghost flashes back to white, it indicates that the effectiveness of the Power Pill is about to wear off, and as the game progresses, the effective time of the Power Pill will become shorter and shorter. In the latter part of the game, when the Power Pills are eaten, the ghosts will not change color, but will still flee in the opposite direction.

The player controls Pac-Man, who must eat all the points in the closed maze while avoiding the four colored ghosts. By eating the large flashing dots called "energy pellets", the ghosts will turn blue, allowing Pac-Man to eat them for extra points.

Players control the eponymous character through a closed maze. The object of the game is to eat all the dots placed in the maze while avoiding the four colored ghosts that chase him - Blinky (red), Pinky (pink), Inky (cyan) and Clyde (orange). When all points are eaten, the player advances to the next level. If Pac-Man comes into contact with a ghost, he will lose his life; the game ends when all lives are lost. Each of the four ghosts has its own unique, distinct artificial intelligence (AI) or "personality"; Blinky chases Pac-Man directly, Pinky and Inky try to position themselves in front of Pac-Man by bending over, and Clyde will switch between chasing Pac-Man and running away from him.