Technologies

Halloween Pac-Man Google Doodle Dares You to Go for the Ghosts

Jump online and guide Pac-Man, dressed in a variety of Halloween costumes, through eight levels of a haunted house.

My fellow 1980s children, our old pal Pac-Man is back. And how in the world is he 45 years old already? The new Halloween Google Doodle is here to challenge us with a spooky version of the classic arcade game on our computers and other devices, with some fun twists.

Pac-Man himself shows up dressed in various Halloween costumes, and the power pellets he chows down are bloodshot eyeballs. The reanimated version of the game celebrates Pac-Man’s 45th anniversary, which cannot be true, because that would mean I am no longer 12 years old, but… uh, forget I said anything.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

When I first played Google’s Halloween 2025 doodle game, Pac-Man was dressed as a mummy, but when I played again later, he was in a frog costume and later still showed up wearing a strawberry hat. Keep refreshing — you might see additional Halloween costumes. He’s probably getting them all at Spirit Halloween.

Read more: Best Games of 2025 So Far

Back in the day, I plunked plenty of quarters into the arcade at Minnesota’s Maplewood Mall, but I never excelled at Pac-Man, much as I loved it. I’m not much better at the Google Doodle version. It is a real challenge on desktop, where you have to use the arrow keys to keep Pac-Man on the move.

My CNET colleague Jon Skillings was relieved to find an easier way to play.

«On a phone or iPad, the Pac-Man doodle just needs you to move your finger on the touchscreen,» he said. «Much better!»

Eight levels? I didn’t even finish one!

The Pac-Man Google Doodle features eight levels, four of which are unique haunted-house mazes. I didn’t even get through one, but your mileage may vary.

«Pay close attention inside each house, as its design directly reflects the personality of the iconic ghost haunting it,» Google says on its Doodle page.

Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin started the Google Doodle trend in 1998 when they went to Burning Man. They redesigned the Google search engine logo with a simple stick-figure drawing behind the second «o» in the word Google, meaning it as an out-of-office message.

Since then, Google Doodles have become more elaborate, honoring everything from space missions to the invention of the bar code, and often including games and interactive elements. Pac-Man has wokka-wokkaed his way into the Google Doodle before, beginning in 2010 for the game’s 30th anniversary.

Arcade machines may come and go, but the ghosts of games past live on forever.

Google Doodles Through the Years: See 53 of Our Favorites

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Technologies

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 1, #874

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 1, #874.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

I admit, I thought there might be a Pac-Man ghosts category in today’s NYT Connections puzzle. (When I saw the words Inky, Pinky, Clyde and Sue, I had to assume they’d end up together.)

If you need help with today’s Connections, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the toughest (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Judge Judy.

Green group hint: Not white or gray.

Blue group hint: Paired up.

Purple group hint: Animated animals.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Take to court.

Green group: Black.

Blue group: Second in a famous real-life duo.

Purple group: Rodents who are first in a cartoon duo.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is take to court. The four answers are charge, file, indict and sue.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is black. The four answers are inky, jet, pitch and raven.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is second in a famous real-life duo. The four answers are Cher, Clyde, Hardy and Teller. (From Sonny and Cher, Bonnie and Clyde, Laurel and Hardy, Penn and Teller.)

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is rodents who are first in a cartoon duo. The four answers are Chip, Itchy, Pinky and Rocky. (From Chip and Dale, Itchy and Scratchy, Pinky and the Brain, Rocky and Bulwinkle.)

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Nov. 1, #1596

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Nov. 1, No. 1,596.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle wasn’t too tough, but. we’ve got the answer right here. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.