Pac-Man Ghost Names, Colors and AI Behaviors

Four ghosts patrol the Pac-Man maze, and they are not interchangeable. Each one has a name, a colour and a different way of deciding where to go next — which is why they often end up surrounding you rather than following each other in a line.

The original Pac-Man ghosts don't use machine learning. Their famous “AI” comes from target-tile rules, timed Chase and Scatter states, and pseudo-random direction choices during Frightened mode. That is also why expert players can learn repeatable patterns: the behaviour is deterministic enough to memorise.

What Are the Four Pac-Man Ghost Names?

The four ghosts are Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. Although they may appear to simply chase Pac-Man around the maze, each follows a different targeting strategy.

Blinky — Red (Shadow)
Pinky — Pink (Speedy)
Inky — Cyan (Bashful)
Clyde — Orange (Pokey)

Pac-Man ghost names, colors, nicknames and targeting behaviour in the original arcade game
Ghost	Color	English nickname	General strategy	Chase targeting	Scatter corner
Blinky	Red	Shadow	Direct pursuit	Pac-Man's current tile	Top-right corner*
Pinky	Pink	Speedy	Ambush	4 tiles ahead of Pac-Man*	Top-left corner
Inky	Cyan	Bashful	Flanking	Double the vector from Blinky to the point 2 tiles ahead of Pac-Man*	Bottom-right corner
Clyde	Orange	Pokey	Chase / corner switch	Pac-Man when 8+ tiles away; his scatter corner when closer	Bottom-left corner

* Blinky: during Cruise Elroy, Blinky can continue targeting Pac-Man during Scatter instead of targeting his corner.
* Pinky: when Pac-Man faces up, an original arcade overflow bug makes Pinky's target four tiles up and four tiles left.
* Inky: the upward-facing calculation inherits the same left-offset bug, because it is built from the tile two squares ahead of Pac-Man.

Blinky — The Red Ghost

Blinky (nickname Shadow) is the pursuer. In Chase mode his target tile is simply the tile Pac-Man currently occupies, so he sits directly on your tail for most of a level.

During Scatter he normally heads for the top-right corner. He also has a speed mechanic: after a certain number of dots have been eaten he enters the state players call Cruise Elroy, moving faster than before. Once that happens his Scatter targeting is modified too — he keeps targeting Pac-Man during Scatter periods, although the reversal that happens on a mode change still occurs.

Blinky targets Pac-Man's current tile: a straight arrow runs from the red ghost to Pac-Man.

Pinky — The Pink Ghost

Pinky (nickname Speedy) is the ambusher. Instead of aiming at Pac-Man she aims four tiles ahead of him, in whichever direction he is facing. Follow a corridor for too long and she will be waiting at the far end.

There is one famous exception. When Pac-Man faces up, an overflow bug in the original arcade code shifts her target four tiles up and four tiles to the left. Turning to face a ghost that is approaching from above can therefore make Pinky veer away.

Pinky targets the tile four squares ahead of Pac-Man in the direction he is facing, marked with an X.

Inky — The Cyan Ghost

Inky (nickname Bashful) has the most unusual rule, because his target depends on Blinky. Take the tile two squares ahead of Pac-Man, draw a vector from Blinky's position to that tile, then double its length. The far end of that doubled vector is Inky's target.

The practical effect is a flanking move: when Blinky is right behind you, Inky swings around to cut off the escape route. When Blinky is far away, Inky drifts and looks almost harmless. The two-tiles-ahead step inherits the same upward-facing left-offset bug as Pinky's target.

Inky's target is found by drawing a vector from Blinky to the tile two squares ahead of Pac-Man and doubling it.

Clyde — The Orange Ghost

Clyde (nickname Pokey) switches between two targets based on distance. When he is eight or more tiles away from Pac-Man he targets Pac-Man's tile just like Blinky. When he gets closer than eight tiles, his target becomes his scatter corner in the bottom-left of the maze.

He is not calculating an escape — he simply changes what he is aiming at, and the corner happens to be behind him. That is why Clyde appears to lose his nerve at the last moment.

Clyde uses an eight-tile radius around Pac-Man: inside the radius he targets his bottom-left scatter corner, outside it he chases Pac-Man directly.

How Pac-Man Ghost AI Works

Every ghost runs the same state machine. What differs is the target tile each one picks while in Chase mode.

Chase Mode

Each ghost computes its own target tile and, at every intersection, compares the candidate next tiles against that target, taking the one that reduces the straight-line distance most. Ties are broken by a fixed direction priority. Ghosts normally cannot voluntarily reverse direction.

Scatter Mode

On a timed schedule the ghosts stop hunting and each heads for a fixed corner of the maze, looping around it until Chase resumes. These breathing spaces are what make the game survivable — and a mode change forces every ghost to reverse.

Frightened Mode

A power pellet turns the ghosts blue, slows them down and replaces targeting with pseudo-random turn selection. Because the original game's random number generator is seeded predictably, even this “random” behaviour can be reproduced by players following a memorised pattern. Eaten ghosts become a pair of eyes that return to the ghost house.

Why the Four Ghosts Behave Differently

Four identical pursuers would produce a boring game: they would clump into a single queue behind Pac-Man and the maze would become a simple race. Giving each ghost a different target formula spreads them across the maze automatically, with no group coordination code at all.

The result reads as personality. One ghost feels relentless, one feels sneaky, one feels unpredictable and one feels timid — yet all four are running a handful of arithmetic operations per intersection. The alternation between Chase and Scatter adds rhythm, so pressure builds and releases instead of staying flat.

Original Arcade vs pacman.love

The game on this site runs an open-source HTML5 engine, not the 1980 arcade ROM. We read its ghost code so this comparison reflects what actually happens when you play here.

Original 1980 Pac-Man

A different target formula for every ghost
Target-tile system rather than route planning
Local decisions taken at each intersection
No full shortest-path search
Chase, Scatter and Frightened modes on a timer
Ghosts normally cannot voluntarily reverse

pacman.love (this site)

The same chase model for all four ghosts
Pac-Man's current tile is always the goal
Breadth-first shortest-path search through the maze
Other active ghosts are treated as obstacles
No Scatter mode
Randomised escape behaviour when frightened
Eaten ghosts path back to the ghost house

Practically: the ghosts here are more consistently direct than the arcade originals and never take a scheduled break, but because they avoid each other while pathfinding they still spread out and pincer you. Learning arcade patterns will not transfer — reading the maze will.

See the ghosts in action

Frequently Asked Questions About Pac-Man Ghosts

What are the four Pac-Man ghost names?: The four ghosts are Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. Although they all appear to chase Pac-Man around the maze, each one follows a different targeting rule.
Which Pac-Man ghost is red?: Blinky is the red ghost. He is the most direct of the four: in Chase mode his target is simply the tile Pac-Man is standing on.
Why does Blinky get faster?: In the original arcade game, once enough dots have been eaten in a level Blinky enters a faster state nicknamed Cruise Elroy. While in that state he also keeps targeting Pac-Man during Scatter periods instead of heading for his corner.
How does Pinky predict Pac-Man's movement?: Pinky does not predict anything. She targets the tile four squares ahead of Pac-Man's current facing direction, which produces an ambush effect. When Pac-Man faces up, an overflow bug in the original code shifts that target four tiles up and four tiles left.
Why does Clyde stop chasing Pac-Man when he gets close?: Clyde is not fleeing. When he is eight or more tiles from Pac-Man his target is Pac-Man's tile, but as soon as the distance drops below eight tiles his target switches to his scatter corner in the bottom-left. Heading for that corner looks like running away.
What happens to the ghosts after Pac-Man eats a power pellet?: They turn blue and enter Frightened mode: they slow down, reverse direction and pick turns semi-randomly instead of using their targeting rules. Eating one sends its eyes back to the ghost house, where it is restored.
Do all Pac-Man ghosts behave differently?: In the original 1980 arcade game, yes — each ghost uses its own target formula. In this site's open-source engine all four share one pursuit model, which is explained in the comparison section above.

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