The LEGO Pac-Man Arcade is a mechanical marvel, and each step of construction will remind you of that fact. You can tell that it took a lot of trial and error to make something this seamless, but when it was completed, I was surprised to find that it ran as smoothly and stably as ever. My 8 year old couldn’t stop turning the crank.
Some of the LEGO designers’ best and most compelling creations are video game sets aimed at adults who grew up in the golden age of arcades and the dawn of the console age. In 2020 Lego released a scale replica of his Nintendo Entertainment System complete with his 80’s style TV. A small Mario sprite plays when the crank is turned sideways. Super mario bros– inspired TV “screen” level. Designers achieved this effect by laying down hundreds of smooth tiles to create a shape of sorts. 8 bit tapestryWrap it around a spindle that rotates with a crank.
This was great engineering, but unfortunately the TV completely wrapped up the mechanical elements and all you could see was the cumulative final effect. The Lego He Pac-Man designer didn’t make the same mistake. Arcade cabinets open to the back via latches and catches so curious onlookers can see how everything works.
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The LEGO Pac-Man Arcade is a scaled-down recreation of the original arcade cabinet and game, with a single joystick on the dashboard, a coin insertion slot in the bottom right (which emits the familiar red light when the button is pressed), and There are multiple decals on the sides and front panel. There is a score display on the upper left of the machine, and you can display 4 levels of high scores with the dial. A bar at the bottom shows the number of lives and a cherry icon to mark the first level.
The “screen” in the arcade cabinet recreates the first level of Pac-Man. There is also a bonus cherry at the bottom of the maze. When you turn the crank, three of his printed tiles move along his meandering conveyor chain, creating the illusion that Blinky and Pinky are chasing Pac-Man. Inky runs over another chained track in the lower right corner of the screen.
And Clyde is in the holding pen in the middle of the maze. Much like the Ghost in the game, he moves back and forth thanks to a lever element that moves left and right attached to a gear system. All moving elements work from the same crank.
In the instructions, the designers talked about the difficulty of getting LEGO Pac-Man and Ghost to turn corners. By lining the maze tracks with smooth tiles, we created a slip-and-slide effect that reduces friction from turn to turn. Blocking elements were also used to tighten the chain against the gears to ensure that it runs on a strictly defined route and does not snag on edges or corners by accidental chance.
But before we start the arcade cabinet, we’ll create a small display of Blinky and Clyde chasing Pac-Man. Scale-wise, it’s about the size of three Funko Pop figures lined up. The ghost’s colors are red and orange, while the other side is both blue. Pressing the button on the back flips the figure 180 degrees on him, causing Pac-Man to chase a blue ghost. The finished display can be displayed individually or used as a topper for a finished arcade cabinet.
Then build an arcade. First build the base of the cabinet and its sides, then build the game board that attaches to the inside with snap-in clips. This is the most redundant part of the build, but Pac-Man’s pellets are small white sticks plugged into black pins, and there are 64 of them. You end up building something recognizable, albeit tedious. If there is a willingness to see the finished product, the work will go faster.
The final part of the build after the arcade construction is complete is a miniature, minifigure size depiction of the rec room complete with Pac-Man arcade and gumball machine. You get 1 minifigure to set the scene. A girl in an 80’s style Pac-Man jacket and pinky t-shirt. Opening the back panel of the arcade reveals a place to store your minifigure builds, which is very handy. So many Lego her sets include multiple accessories and free-standing elements that can easily get lost because there is no place to place or store them.
The end result looks solid, as if it had real weight and substance. And when you pick it up, Lego sets are notoriously expensive, but this set looks and feels commensurate with its price, and the core mechanics work really well. You can see that there are I can only imagine the difficulty of designing something out of bendable plastic that not only bends, but is strong enough to last for weeks, months, or even years. But the best sets manage it. My LEGO Roller Coaster chain lift is still working as well as it did the day I built it five years ago, but it’s no coincidence that the quality of the set made me feel a responsibility to maintain it.
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Likewise, the LEGO Pac-Man Arcade is built to last. This is not the kind of set that six months from now will end up in a giant LEGO sandbox with other broken builds. This is something you’ll want to show off, decorate, and keep for years to come.
of lego pacman arcade, set #10323, retails at US$269.99 and consists of 2651 pieces.that is Available now At the US online LEGO store.
