Pac-Man 99 has just launched on Nintendo Switch as a free game for all existing Nintendo Switch Online subscription members, joining Tetris 99 as Nintendo’s retro battle-royale titles for subscription members.

Pac-Man 99 takes many cues from Tetris 99, including how the games should ramp up and play out, but it still has plenty of unique mechanics that make it a distinct game.

Related: Pac-Man 99 Is The Next Switch Online Battle Royale

In this guide we’re going to break down six essential tips that will help you play Pac-Man 99 and hopefully come out on top as the Pac-One. That’s this game’s version of a Victory Royale, or a chicken dinner. Yeah I’m not sure about it either. Anyway, read on below for what you need to know.

Use Your Power Ups

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The power ups on the right side of your screen, selected with the four face buttons, are easy to ignore, but you should definitely be paying attention. If you use the Power mode, then Pac-Man can actually tank a hit from a ghost, while the Speed mode will allow Pac-Man to move much faster than usual. Regularly swap between these to get out of tough situations where ghosts would otherwise corner you. High-level Pac-Man 99 play will revolve around skilfully juggling these modes.

Eating Up The Ghost Train

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On the left and right sides of the stage there are lines of Sleeping Ghosts, and these ghosts can be eaten up without a Power Pellet, and they will then join onto one of the other four ghosts, becoming a fearsome Ghost Train that will hunt you down. They also become delicious. You should grab a Power Pellet when all of the Sleeping Ghosts are in a train, and then chomp them all down to send them to an enemy’s stage.

Pick Your Target

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When sending those Ghost Trains over to enemy stages you should pick your target wisely. While it should be tempting to send problems to those targeting you with Counter option, the Knockout option will be safer in the early game, allowing you to overwhelm players quickly and rack up knockouts.

Power Pellet Preservation

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It’d tempting to just grab the Power Pellet whenever they’re available and go all-in, just grabbing a pellet every time the last is about to run low, chomping down ghosts endlessly, but it rarely works out like that. More than anything, you’re just likely to end up running out of Power Pellet when you need them most. Eat them wisely.

Jammer Watch

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The Jammer Pac-Man are the hollow Pac-Man icons that will be plaguing your board. These are the Ghost Train remnants being sent from other players. You can just chomp through the white jammers - they won’t hurt you, but they will slow you for the main ghosts - but the red jammers are just as effective as the four ghosts, and will kill you in the late stages of the game.

Fruity And Refreshing

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Finally, the fruit at the centre of the stage isn’t just there for points. This fruit icon will also restore all of the pellets, Power Pellets, and Sleeping Ghosts around the stage, allowing you to continue the core gameplay loop and send loads of Ghost Trains over to enemy players in the hopes of wiping them out. If the fruit has not yet spawned for you, focus on clearing the smaller pellets out, and the fruit will soon be back.

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