You can play 'Ms. Pac-Man' on Google Maps because of April Fools' Day

April Fools’ Day is a bit shit, I think. It’s annoying and intense, and a great excuse for wacky bastards to truly come into their own, which is a thing that should never be allowed. At least the equally unbearable Red Nose Day makes millions of quid for charity.

But don’t let this make you think that I’m against pranks, oh no, far from it. If you want to pull a prank, just do it, you don’t have to wait for a particular day, especially not one when everyone is pulling pranks. Your hilarious joke is going to be overshadowed, or even prematurely rumbled by your overcautious friends and family – do it on Pancake Day or something, nobody will be expecting that.

The other annoying thing, perhaps the most annoying thing about April Fools’ Day is that it encourages *sigh* “brand engagement”. Whether you’re a huge, soulless corporation or a tiny independent trader, Lord knows you’re gonna put your bonkers hat on and do a big old funny. The sheer deluge of uninspired, deeply unfunny slop that pummels the general public every year desperately needs to be stemmed, stat.

Still, regardless of how much I dislike all this nonsense; sometimes, sometimes, a company will come up with something that’s actually funny. Whether it’s a story that genuinely fools people, or just a stupid joke, now and again there will be a success (usually one a year). Google is one such company who is quite good at striking the right balance, and it seems it’s done it again this year.

Of course, this is not in any way a prank or a trick (which sort of makes it redundant), but it is quite amusing, or at least a bit fun, I guess.

From today (which is a whole fucking day before April Fools’ Day), you’ll be able to play a fun little game of Ms. Pac-Man on Google Maps. 

On your cellular telepohones, simply open up the app, tap the pink Ms. Pac-Man logo and you’ll be able to chase a load of ghosts around the streets before mercilessly killing them. Same goes with the desktop version – press on “INSERT COIN” in the bottom right corner, and you can carry out a similar brand of ghostbusting, just bigger. What a fun thing. What a really fun thing.

Of course, it’s clear that even Google is tiring of the April Fools’ Day shitshow, as they’ve actually done this before. They did the exact same thing in 2015, but back then it was just the standard Pac-Man. Change the sex = NEW IDEA.

Next year, you’ll probably be able to play Baby Pac-Man in Google Maps, which is a really fun and definitelzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.