Lego is heading back to the ’80s with a 2,651-piece model ‘Pac-Man’ arcade cabinet

Jack Guy, CNN

(CNN) — Eighties kids, rejoice! Toy company Lego is about to release a 2,561-piece set celebrating “Pac-Man.”

The set is based on a real 1980s arcade game cabinet and comes complete with a light brick to illuminate the coin slot, Lego said on its website.

“Pac-Man” was launched in Tokyo in 1980 and went on to become the most successful arcade game of all time. Players control Pac-Man, a yellow, cheese-shaped character who is tasked with eating every small dot inside a maze while at the same time avoiding four ghosts.

While the Lego set does not actually function as a gaming system, it is “loaded with retro game details you’ll want to devour,” the company says.

It features what Lego calls a “mechanical maze,” which is operated by turning a crank on the side of the set.

“When turned, the characters move around the maze in a realistic way, thanks to triumphant engineering efforts,” it says.

Measuring 13 inches high, 10 inches wide and seven deep, the arcade cabinet has a removable back panel that reveals the inner workings of the machine.

The creation of 25-year-old game designer Toru Iwatani, “Pac-Man” pioneered a number of innovations in gameplay and game design. It featured the first “power-up”—the big pill that made ghosts vulnerable—and the first cut scenes, the small animated sequences between one level and the next. It was also one of the very first games in the “maze” genre.

To honor its role as a pillar in the history of video games, “Pac-Man” was among the titles added to the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York in 2012.

The Pac-Man Arcade set goes on sale for $270 on June 4, as part of Lego’s Icons collection, which is “designed for a challenging yet rewarding building experience,” the company says.

Other sets in the collection include a Land Rover Classic Defender 90, the Titanic and the Eiffel Tower.

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