In the original 1980 Pac-Man arcade game, the scoring mechanics are as follows: 1. **Pellets**: Each of the small dots, or pellets, that Pac-Man eats is worth 10 points. 2. **Power Pellets**: The larger dots that make the ghosts vulnerable to Pac-Man are worth 50 points each. 3. **Ghosts**: Eating ghosts when they are vulnerable (after eating a power pellet) grants a progressive score for each ghost consumed without a break. The points for each ghost, if eaten in succession, are: - 1st ghost: 200 points - 2nd ghost: 400 points - 3rd ghost: 800 points - 4th ghost: 1,600 points Once Pac-Man loses a life or a new screen starts, the ghost-eating score resets. 4. **Fruits**: Fruits appear near the center of the maze twice per level and offer a bonus score when eaten. The value increases with each level: - Cherry: 100 points - Strawberry: 300 points - Orange: 500 points - Apple: 700 points - Melon: 1000 points - Galaxian Boss: 2000 points - Bell: 3000 points - Key: 5000 points Each fruit appears only once per level, and beginning from level 13, the key is the only bonus symbol and remains the bonus for the rest of the game. 5. **Extra Life**: At 10,000 points, players typically earn an extra life (although this can sometimes be set to a higher score or turned off entirely in the arcade machine settings). 6. **Eating a Blue Ghost Combo**: When invulnerable, if Pac-Man eats more than one ghost in succession, the score for each ghost doubles from the base of 200 points, potentially scoring up to 1,600 points per ghost if all four are eaten in quick succession. 7. **Clearing a Maze**: While there is no direct point bonus for clearing a maze, by eating all the pellets and power pellets, the player advances to the next maze with a fresh set of pellets, fruits, and ghosts. The strategy to maximize scores in Pac-Man often involves saving power pellets until they can be used to eat multiple ghosts in a row and timing fruit collection when they are worth more points. High-level play commonly includes patterns or "routes" that guide Pac-Man around the maze in a manner that allows for the efficient clearing of pellets while also avoiding ghosts. These scoring mechanics underpin the enjoyable yet challenging nature of Pac-Man, offering players the satisfaction of not just clearing levels but also racking up high scores. Even today, Pac-Man's scoring system provides a compelling reason for players to refine their strategies and keep coming back to this classic game.