Google gives everyone one of the greatest games of all time to play for free – and it's Halloween themed too

There was a time when Google Doodles were one of the biggest things on the 'net. But few of us search using Google's traditional webpage these days – we either do it in the URL bar on Chrome or another browser, or we get our results through other methods, like AI assistants or online discovery tools.

That's not to say we shouldn't occasionally just head to Google.com once in a while, if only to check out the latest fun feature that can be found at the top of the page. Take today's Doodle for example – it just so happens to be a fully playable version of one of the greatest games of all time.

Created as something of a two-for-one deal, the new Google Doodle celebrates both Halloween (it is 31 October, after all) and the 45th anniversary of the launch of Pac-Man in the US.

And so you get eight exclusive, Halloween-themed levels of the retro classic to play through any browser for free.

It works on both PC or Mac through any browser (as mentioned) – you just use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move Pac-Man through the custom mazes. And you can also play on mobile or tablet, using swipes on the screen, or by pressing your finger down and moving left, right, up and down.

The gameplay is identical to old school Pac-Man. You have to gobble up all the dots on the screen while Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde – the infamous ghosts chase you through the maze. Snack on a "power pellet" and the roles are reversed for a brief period.

The idea is to clear each maze, getting the highest score along the way.

It's not the first time Google has featured a Pac-Man Doodle. It turned its own logo into a maze back in May 2010 for the game's 30th anniversary (of its original launch in Japan). You can still play that, and many of the other games Google has created over the years in its Doodle library.