You Can Play Pac-Man On Google Maps!

Two of the most exciting developments in modern technology have come together to make your Tuesday endlessly better (and way, way less productive). Pac-Man and Google Maps have joined forces for April Fool's Day so that you can play Pac-Man on a Google Maps route, aka reimagining your daily commute as if you're a little yellow blob being chased by colorful ghosts while you try to eat a number of tiny dots. Because what's better than that, right?

It's technically April Fool's Day in some parts of the world, so Google has gifted us with this. Here's how you set it up: Open Google Maps in your Web browser (Safari seems to work better for this than Chrome). You'll see the standard birds-eye view over where you are, and on the bottom left, a little Pac-Man icon, which is your first clue. Hit the Pac-Man icon, and your entire screen will morph into a cacophony of dark roads, shiny ghosts who want to eat you, and little blobs that you really want to eat.

If you really want to get crazy, challenge yourself to get from point A to point B — let's say, your home to your nearest Starbucks — and frenziedly zoom down that familiar route while being chased by aliens. The aliens don't know the best way to get there, but you do. And you thought all those flat white trips were for nothing!

Your first step: Google Maps.

See the bottom left there? Bingo. Hit it.

Whoosh! And yes, I'm ready.

You go, little yellow C-shaped thing!

In truth, I've never been very good at Pac-Man.

Next, me and Pac-Man and the ghosts took a trip to Central Park in Manhattan.

OK, Pac-Man was swiftly eaten by said ghosts, but I'm hopeful. There's a whole world of maps out there to play with for the rest of my Tuesday.

This didn't entirely come out of the blue; hours before the launch, Google Maps' Twitter account hinted that something major would be going down.

I estimate that April Fool's Day has roughly 12 hours and 1,492 games left in it. Born. Ready.

Images: Google Maps