How to play Pac-Attack on Mac

PlatformsPortable console, Computer

Game summary

Based on Namco's Japanese-only arcade puzzler Cosmo Gang the Puzzle, Pac-Attack is similar to many block-dropping puzzle games from the time, such as Puyo Puyo. The objective of the game is to place ghosts and blocks that are arranged in a three part L-shaped piece, so that Pac-Man, after three or more pieces (who replaces one of the parts), can eat as many ghosts as possible to try and clear up the game area. Pac-Man's directions are chosen at random between left or right, but as he goes moving on in the game area (after you place him, of course), if he bumps against a block or the "walls" of the game area, he will change his direction. As Pac-Man eats ghosts and clear rows of blocks, the level increases, which affects the speed and gravity of the pieces one places, as well as the amount of pieces placed before Pac-Man will appear. If one is unable to fit the bottom two parts of a piece into a legal zone of the playing area, the game ends. However, by filling up a meter on the left of the screen via eating ghosts, a fairy will be summoned in place of Pac-Man. She can fit into any empty space, and can clear up to 7 rows of ghosts; all blocks that were on top of cleared ghosts will drop down accordingly. The game also includes a Puzzle mode. It features 100 levels, in which you have to eat all ghosts with no more than 4 Pac-Men at least (the number reduces in certain levels), and, unlike the other modes, you can change Pac-Man's direction with the press of a button.
First released: Dec 1993

Play Pac-Attack on Mac with Parallels (virtualized)

The easiest way to play Pac-Attack on a Mac is through Parallels, which allows you to virtualize a Windows machine on Macs. The setup is very easy and it works for Apple Silicon Macs as well as for older Intel-based Macs.

Parallels supports the latest version of DirectX and OpenGL, allowing you to play the latest PC games on any Mac. The latest version of DirectX is up to 20% faster.

Our favorite feature of Parallels Desktop is that when you turn off your virtual machine, all the unused disk space gets returned to your main OS, thus minimizing resource waste (which used to be a problem with virtualization).

Pac-Attack installation steps for Mac

Step 1
Go to Parallels.com and download the latest version of the software.
Step 2
Follow the installation process and make sure you allow Parallels in your Mac’s security preferences (it will prompt you to do so).
Step 3
When prompted, download and install Windows 10. The download is around 5.7GB. Make sure you give it all the permissions that it asks for.
Step 4
Once Windows is done installing, you are ready to go. All that’s left to do is install Pac-Attack like you would on any PC.
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