A charming new browser-based game called Pac-Man on Map has revived the spirit of Google’s legendary 2015 April Fools’ “Ms. PAC-Maps” prank. The free project turns real-world roads into a playable Pac-Man maze, letting players chomp pellets and dodge ghosts through actual city streets anywhere on Earth.
Created by developer Bear Huang (GitHub: bear0330), the game was built primarily as a gift for his 5-year-old son. After the boy saw old videos of Google’s April Fools’ Pac-Man overlay on Maps and asked to play it, Huang discovered the original feature was long gone. So he made his own version.
How It Works
Players open the site, move the interactive map (powered by MapLibre GL JS and OpenStreetMap tiles) to any location, then click “Generate Road Maze.” The game pulls real road data via the Overpass API and Nominatim, converting streets into a classic Pac-Man-style layout complete with:
- Ghosts
- Pellets and power pellets
- Scoring and lives
- Synthesized arcade-style sound effects generated in the browser
Controls are simple: arrow keys or WASD. The interface supports English and Traditional Chinese, and users can search for places or load optional preset addresses.
A Father’s Fun Side Project
Huang, a senior engineer, describes the project as largely “vibe-coded” with AI assistance. He emphasizes it was never meant as polished production software—just a fun, working tribute that would make his son happy. “It is not perfect… Still, it works, it made him happy, and that was the point,” he wrote on the project’s GitHub page.
The game is a pure static frontend app (built with Vite and TypeScript) that runs entirely in the browser and requires no backend. It is explicitly a fan-made tribute and is not affiliated with Google, Namco, or Bandai Namco.
The game is live and free to try: https://bear0330.github.io/pacman-on-map/
