Kernel Panic
Our take on the 1982 arcade classic Ms. Pac-Man, set in a New Hampshire corn maze. Jack the pumpkin eats every kernel while four crows hunt him, each in its own way. A cider donut spooks them so Jack can catch them, and treats bounce in through the tunnels twice a level.
Controls
| Arrows or W A S D | Steer (press a turn early and Jack takes it at the next gap) |
| Enter | Start |
| P or Esc | Pause |
| M | Sound on or off |
| F | Fill the browser window (Esc to leave) |
Our take on the 1982 arcade classic Ms. Pac-Man, set in a New Hampshire corn maze. Jack the pumpkin eats every kernel while four crows hunt him, each in its own way. A cider donut spooks them so Jack can catch them, and treats bounce in through the tunnels twice a level.
| Arrows or W A S D | Steer (press a turn early and Jack takes it at the next gap) |
| Enter | Start |
| P or Esc | Pause |
| M | Sound on or off |
| F | Fill the browser window (Esc to leave) |
On a phone or tablet, swipe the way you want Jack to go. You can swipe before a turn and he takes it when he gets there. A gamepad works too.
- The maze
- Eat every kernel to clear the level. Kernels are 10 points each. The tunnels at the edges come out on the other side, and crows slow down inside them.
- The crows
- Ruckus comes straight at you. Pip aims a few tiles ahead of you to cut you off. Gale works off where Ruckus is, so the two box you in. Clem chases from far away but loses interest up close. Every so often they all break off and head for their own corners for a few seconds.
- Cider donuts
- Each maze has four. Eat one and the crows turn blue and scatter. Catch them while they're blue for 200, 400, 800 and 1,600 points. They flash white just before they recover. Spooked time gets shorter as the levels go up.
- Treats
- Twice a level a treat comes in through a tunnel and bounces around the maze before it leaves: blueberries, a strawberry, a McIntosh apple, a cider jug, maple candy, pumpkin pie and maple syrup, worth 100 to 5,000 points.
- Four mazes
- Levels 1 and 2 are in Sweet Corn, 3 to 5 in Harvest Gold, 6 to 9 in First Frost and 10 to 13 in Harvest Moon. After that the last two take turns.
- Extra pumpkins
- You start with three and earn one more at 10,000 points.
About Kernel Panic
Is Kernel Panic free?
Yes. Kernel Panic is free to play in your browser, with no account and nothing to download.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. Swipe in the direction you want to go. The buttons on the screen pause the game, turn the sound off and fill the whole window.
Is this Ms. Pac-Man?
No. It's our own game in the same style, with our own mazes, characters and sounds. The crows follow the same kind of rules as the arcade ghosts, so the old strategies mostly still work.
Where is my high score kept?
On your own device, in this browser. Nothing is sent to us.
