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If you ever lost an afternoon chasing ghosts, the Paley Museum has your next field trip lined up. The midtown mainstay is celebrating one of gaming’s most beloved icons with a new exhibit, “45 Years of PAC-MAN,” opening Friday, January 16 and running through May 31.
The show traces how a simple yellow circle dreamed up in Japan in 1980 by designer Toru Iwatani grew into a global pop-culture heavyweight. From early arcade cabinets to living room consoles and far beyond, PAC-MAN redefined what video games could be, while still welcoming in first-time players.
At the exhibition, visitors can jump straight into the action with classic Pixel Bash arcade cabinets, competitive rounds of PAC-MAN Battle Royale Chompionship and newer titles like PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC. There’s also a chance to tackle what the museum bills as the world’s largest PAC-MAN.
Beyond the gameplay, the exhibit digs into the design moves that made the franchise so influential, like introducing power-ups, giving enemies distinct personalities and using sound and animation to turn pixels into emotion. PAC-MAN helped shape the blueprint for modern gaming culture, from storytelling to merch that’s still flying off shelves four decades later.
The celebration really ramps up on Saturday, January 31, when the museum hosts a PAC-MAN Family Day. Expect meet-and-greets with the yellow legend himself, giveaways, raffles, themed arts and crafts and wall-to-wall arcade action. Entry to the exhibit is folded into regular museum admission and Paley members get in for free. Everyone else can snag tickets on the Paley Museum’s site or join as a member and unlock complimentary access and year-round perks.
Forty-five years later, PAC-MAN is still doing what he does best—pulling people in, one chomp at a time.