Arcade
Play Dot Chase online
A maze full of dots, four ghosts with their own personalities and four power pills in the corners. Eat one and the tables turn for a few seconds. Each cleared maze runs faster than the last.
Play Dot Chase nowFree · no download · no sign-up
At a glance
- Category
- Arcade
- Controls
- arrow keys
- Price
- free
- Sign-up
- not required
Dot Chase is you against yourself and the clock – there is no opponent at the table, only your own record. Scores and achievements still count.
Where Dot Chase comes from
The maze-chase genre began in 1980 with Namco's arcade game by Toru Iwatani, who is said to have taken a pizza with a slice missing as his model. What was new was that the pursuers had different personalities – one chases directly, one cuts you off. The power pill, which reverses the balance of power for a few seconds, is regarded as one of the best game ideas of the arcade era.
How it works
Goal
Eat every dot in the maze. Clear the stage and the next one starts – the ghosts get faster.
Controls
Arrow keys or W A S D. You can pre-enter a direction; the hunter turns as soon as the way is free.
Power pills
The four big dots in the corners turn the tables: the ghosts panic and flee. Eat them during that window and each one pays double – 200, 400, 800, 1600.
The four ghosts
Blinky chases you head-on. Pinky aims four tiles ahead of you – cut him off. Inky uses Blinky as a lever and often comes from the other side. Clyde backs off once he gets close.
Tunnel
In the middle a tunnel leads off both sides of the map. Ghosts dawdle in there – a good escape route.
Lives
You have three lives. A ghost's touch costs you one.
Three tips for better results
- 1Clear the corners while the ghosts are still far away – there will be no room there at the end.
- 2Save one power pill for the moment you get cornered.
- 3Ghosts cannot turn around in a dead end: use the long corridors to shake them off.
Frequently asked questions
Is Dot Chase free to play?
Yes. Dot Chase runs straight in your browser, costs nothing and needs no installation. There is no paywall – the chips in the game are play money and cannot be bought. The site is funded by advertising, which appears only if you agree to it.
Do I need an account to play Dot Chase?
No. The home page offers “play now without an account” – that starts you straight away and your progress stays in this browser. An account is only worth it if you want the same progress on several devices; name and PIN are enough, and we never ask for an email address. A guest profile can be turned into an account at any time without losing anything.
How do you play Dot Chase?
Goal Eat every dot in the maze. Clear the stage and the next one starts – the ghosts get faster.
Where does Dot Chase come from?
The maze-chase genre began in 1980 with Namco's arcade game by Toru Iwatani, who is said to have taken a pizza with a slice missing as his model. What was new was that the pursuers had different personalities – one chases directly, one cuts you off. The power pill, which reverses the balance of power for a few seconds, is regarded as one of the best game ideas of the arcade era.
Does Dot Chase work on a phone?
The site adapts to the screen size, and anything you can click can also be tapped. Games controlled with arrow keys do need a keyboard, though.
Do I have to download anything to play Dot Chase?
No. Dot Chase runs in the browser – on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iPhone alike. There is no app, no plugin and nothing to install.
Can I play Dot Chase against the computer?
Dot Chase is you against yourself and the clock – there is no opponent at the table, only your own record. Scores and achievements still count.
Does Dot Chase work without an internet connection?
The page has to load once; after that the game itself runs entirely in your browser and needs no connection. If you use an account, your progress syncs again as soon as you are back online.
Also known as
These are the terms people use to look for Dot Chase.
- maze chase online
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