I may be an 80s kid, but Pac-Man was not part of my childhood. I heard of it; it was an iconic game firmly in the Lexicon. Nonetheless, I didn’t go to arcades, so I never had the opportunity to eat dots while avoiding ghosts.

Despite my lack of nostalgia for Pac-Man, I still find the Lego treatment of the game intriguing, and they’ve done a remarkable job transforming another piece of pop-culture history into a desirable build. For collectors, this will go nicely with Lego’s Atari 2600 and the NES.

PAC-MAN Arcade #10323, 2651 pieces, $269.99:

I adore Lego builds that require a double-take to realize it is a Lego set, and that’s my immediate impression of this set. It looks exactly like an arcade game.

As it is aimed exclusively at AFOLs, Lego produced a premium product with 2,651 pieces retailing for $269.99 in the United States. The packaging has the typical ICONS 18+ clean appearance, which adds to the product’s prestige. While that price point may give you pause, it does have some incredible play features that make this build stand out.

First, moveable elements allow you to move Pac-Man and ghosts through parts of the maze, making it feel like you are playing the game. Combining that with the 4-way joystick lets you be right in the action. There is a light brick to illuminate the coin slot, and even the scoreboard can be changed. Finally, you can push a button to rotate the Pac-Man, Blinky, and Clyde figures. That’s an incredible piece of design that is revealed by looking inside the arcade cabinet.

As a display piece, it’s a set with height, colors, and a buildable figure stand that can be displayed on top of the machine or to the side like most other Lego sets. It is something different for a Lego shelf and is a piece that will strike a conversation.

The set has an exclusive minifigure – who is hiding inside the machine playing her version of the same PAC-MAN arcade. The minifigure has a sweet torso print of a pink ghost.

Lego appears to have designed a fantastic build filled with play features AFOLs would want to use; they aren’t gimmicky, and all add something to set immersion.

While this isn’t a set I will add to my collection, I am impressed by the engineering, creativity, and execution.

Are you planning on picking up the PAC-MAN arcade? If so, why? Let me know in the comments below!

Buy the set

VIP early access: June 1st. General release: June 4th.

LEGO US – $269.99
LEGO CAD – $349.99
LEGO AUS – $399.99
LEGO UK – £229.99