Cman

A retro-style Pac-Man clone built with Python. Navigate mazes, collect pellets, avoid ghosts, and chase high scores — all from your terminal or browser.

Features:

• 🎮 Classic arcade gameplay
• 🖥️ Terminal-based (Python/curses) and web versions
• 🗺️ Custom level support with simple text-based maps
• 👻 Ghost AI with vulnerable states via power pellets
• 🏆 High score tracking

Creating Levels

Create .txt files in the levels/ directory. Level files must be rectangular (all rows same width).

Characters

• C - Cman spawn point (required, only one)
• M - Ghost spawn points (optional, multiple allowed)
• . - Pellets (dots to collect)
• o - Power pellets (makes ghosts vulnerable)
• ─│┌┐└┘├┤┬┴┼ - Walls (Unicode box drawing)
• - Empty space (walkable)

Design Notes

• Ghost spawn areas should have openings for ghosts to exit

Warping

• Horizontal warping supported - gaps in left/right walls allow wrapping
• Vertical warping not supported

Example

┌───────────┐
│. . . . . o│
│.┌───┐.┌─┐.│
│.└───┘.└─┘.│
│. . . . . .│
└─┐.┌─ ─┐.┌─┘
  │.│M M│.│  
┌─┘.└───┘.└─┐
│. . .C. . .│
│.┌───┐.┌─┐.│
│.└───┘.└─┘.│
│o . . . . .│
└───────────┘

Controls

• Arrow keys or WASD - Move
• P - Pause
• Q - Quit

Running

Docker

docker run --rm -it rjchicago/cman

Local

• python3 cman.py - Interactive level selection
• LEVEL=003 python3 cman.py - Load specific level

Docker Compose

• docker compose build - Build with Docker
• docker compose run --rm --it cman - Run interactively
• docker compose run --rm --it -e LEVEL=003 cman - Load specific level

Alias

Create a shell alias for easier usage:

cman () {
	docker run --rm -it -e LEVEL="$LEVEL" rjchicago/cman "$@"
}

# Usage
cman

# Load a specific level
LEVEL=003 cman