Google is getting into the April Fool’s Day spirit a little early by offering users the chance to play Ms. Pac-Man on Google Maps. To get yourself started, simply pull out your phone or go to maps.google.com.
On your phone, you’ll see the Ms. Pac-Man icon on the lower right hand side of the screen. If you are using a desktop, the button will be next to the Google Earth mode button on the lower left side. Clicking the button will take you to a random city map, and your game will begin. To play, use the directional keys on a keyboard or swipe in the direction you want to go in on your phone.
Ms. Pac Man has been confirmed to work across a number of Android devices and iOS. If the buttons don’t seem to be appearing for you, wait a little while and check back. It took around an hour or two for my phone to include the game after I first learned about it. The game will likely be live until tomorrow night.
This isn’t the first time the internet giant had fun with its maps. In 2014, the company added a Pokémon challenge to the maps. In 2012, Google made it look like Google Maps was done in an 8-bit style. In fact, the company even did another Pac-Man related prank back in 2015.
It’s also smart to use this as a reminder that tomorrow is April 1, so don’t believe everything you read online from now until Sunday. If a story seems incredibly fake or hard to believe, it probably is. That said, this Ms. Pac-Man mini-game is the real deal.
So what do you think? Are you going to play some Ms. Pac-Man today through the streets of New York City? What has been your favorite Google April Fool’s Day prank yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
