Pac Man lives!

But be careful. The web is full of “old games” sites offering downloads, and some are dodgy malware traps. The DOS Games Archivespromises clean shareware, freeware and public-domain software. And tech-savvy Raspberry Pi owners can turn that $35 computer into a retro game console, limiting the reach of any PC malware. (The Wirecutter, a New York Times company that reviews and recommends products, has a detailed guide on turning the Pi into a game console.)

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Pac-Man, first released into video arcades in 1980, is still one of the most recognized games around, even in the smartphone era.CreditThe New York Times

Play Pac-Man Forever

Fortnite and Minecraft may dominate the game world today, but for sheer persistence and a huge dose of 1980s nostalgia, you can still find the iconic arcade wonder Pac-Man on just about every hardware platform around.

The munching yellow head with the distinctive waka-waka-waka sound even got a fully playable Google Doodle in 2010 on its 30th anniversary. Amazon’s Alexa speaker now has a “choose your own adventure” audio version called Pac-Man Stories — proving, perhaps, that the classics find a new audience in every generation.

J.D. Biersdorfer has been answering technology questions — in print, on the web, in audio and in video — since 1998. She also writes the Sunday Book Review’s “Applied Reading” column on ebooks and literary apps, among other things. @jdbiersdorfer