Google is no stranger to April Fool’s wind-ups, but its latest comedy ploy comes one day early, and it’s actually pretty cool.
The search engine giant has added a new feature to Google Maps that lets you play Pac-Man directly in your browser.
Moreover, you actually play the game on an arcade-ified version of whatever mapped area you’ve selected.
This means you can get your Pac on around the streets surrounding your home or work, or even somewhere more exotic like the streets of New York City.
Google pulled a similar Maps-related stunt last April 1, where users could play a game to collect virtual Pokémon at various locations across the globe.
The company isn’t usually one for pulling a single stunt however, so we’re expecting plenty more jovial antics from the firm over the next 24 hours.
Related: Best April Fool’s Day 2014 Jokes in Tech
This isn’t the first time Google’s dabbled in the realms of Pac-Man; the company replaced its search engine logo with a browser-based version of the game back in 2010.
This reportedly cost the economy around $120,000,000 thanks to all the employee time nabbed by the addictive arcade title.
It’s worth noting that the Maps version of Pac-Man can be a bit tough on British roads, due to the fact that our nation’s streets tend to jut off at odd angles.
If you want to smash any high-scores, you’re better off settling for a US city with a nice grid-system road layout…
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
