''Munchman'' is a tabletop

electronic game An electronic game is a game that uses electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. Video games are the most common form today, and for this reason the two terms are often used interchangeably. There are other common ...

that was released under licence in 1981 in the UK by

Grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap a ...

. It is a rebadged version of the Tomy game known as ''Pac Man'' in the United States and ''Puck Man'' in Japan. The games are all based on

Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...

's ''

Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...

'' arcade game and use a

VFD VFD may refer to: * Factory Workers' Union of Germany, (german: Verband der Fabrikarbeiter Deutschlands, link=no), a former trade union in Germany * Vacuum fluorescent display, a display device on consumer electronics equipment * Variable-freque ...

screen.

Hardware

The ''Munchman'' game runs on six volts DC and can be powered by four 'C' type batteries or alternatively via a low voltage mains adaptor. As the display is based on

technology, it allows bright, multicoloured in-game elements to be rendered but at the cost of a relatively small screen size. The VFD display is manufactured with the pre-formed, immutable in-game objects effectively fixed in place onto a dark background. Each element can be individually lit or unlit during play, giving the illusion of animation and movement. In-game objects cannot touch or superimpose one another, which is not ideal for a Pac-Man clone, as in the arcade version, the Pac-Man and ghosts do collide.

Gameplay

As with most ''Pac-Man'' derived games, the player must guide the ''Pac-Man'' character around a maze, eating all of the dots whilst avoiding the ghosts. Notable features of this version are that the maze is small, containing only eighteen dots plus two power pills. Also, dots are only eaten if the player happens to move over them from right to left. There is a bonus cherry item sometimes available near the centre of the maze and horizontal warp tunnels can also be used by the player. The score is kept at the top of the display area, above the maze. There are two difficulty levels, "ama" and "pro", physically selectable by a switch.

Reception

In the 21st century, the game has been described as "a weak version" of the ''Pac-Man'' arcade game. The elementary sound has been described as "shrill" and "beepy" and the sound during an active powerpill as "an irritating clicking noise". The graphics have also been criticised as the collisions are unrealistic because the ghosts and munchman can never occupy the same space. However, the product design has also been described as "gorgeous" and has been generally praised.

References

{{reflist 1981 video games 1980s toys Pac-Man clones Handheld electronic games Video games about food and drink Video games developed in the United Kingdom