Arcade Zen (1983): Jr. Pac-Man, Super Pac-Man, and Kangaroo

Arcade 1983

Jr. Pac-Man came out in 1983. It was the 8th of 10 sequels. The maze was longer in Jr., and the screen scrolled to the left and right as you moved across it. That’s the edge of Super Pac-Man (1982, 3rd sequel) on the left.

The original Pac-Man (1980) revolutionized the industry because it was designed to appeal to all ages and sexes. Donkey Kong (1981) completed the democratization process, at least in terms of game play—the “story” was pure male fantasy, then and now the modus operandi of the gaming industry. Kangaroo (1982) is one of the many descendants of Donkey Kong.

The young lady here appears to be afflicted with that arcade-specific malady known as being out of quarters. I’d guess that only about 50% of my time in arcades was spent playing.

(Photo via eBay)

1 Response to “Arcade Zen (1983): <em>Jr. Pac-Man</em>, <em>Super Pac-Man</em>, and <em>Kangaroo</em>”


  1. arugulaz's avatar 1 arugulaz February 16, 2023 at 5:12 pm

    Looks like V.I.C.I. from Small Wonder. Hopefully just an unfortunate coincidence.


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