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Best Arcade games of 1982

The 11 best Arcade games released in 1982, ranked from 591 critic and player ratings.

The best Arcade game of 1982 is Ms. Pac-Man, with a critic score of 84/100 — updated October 2026.

How this ranking is built
  • Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
  • A game only enters the ranking with at least 30 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
  • Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
  • Release window covered: 1982.
  • 11 games are listed on this page, carrying 591 ratings between them.
  • Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 11 October 2026.

Top 11

01 Ms. Pac-Man Ms. Pac-Man 1982 · 93 ratings In 1982, a sequel to the incredibly popular Pac-Man was introduced in the form of his girlfriend, Ms. Pac-Man. This sequel continued on the "eat the dots/avoid the ghosts" gameplay of the original game, but added new features to keep the title fresh. Like her boyfriend, Ms. Pac-Man attempts to clear four various and challenging mazes filled with dots and ever-moving bouncing fruit while avoiding Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Sue, each with their own personalities and tactics. One touch from any of these ghosts means a loss of life for Ms. Pac-Man. Ms. Pac-Man can turn the tables on her pursuers by eating one of the four Energizers located within the maze. During this time, the ghosts turn blue, and Ms. Pac-Man can eat them for bonus points. The Energizer power only lasts for a limited amount of time, as the ghost's eyes float back to their center box, and regenerate to chase after Ms. Pac-Man again. Survive a few rounds of gameplay, and the player will be treated to humorous intermissions showing the growing romantic relationship between Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man, leading all the way up to the arrival of "Junior". 84 /100
02 River Raid River Raid 1982 · 43 ratings Mission: Code Name River Raid. Jet down the river. Break the enemy blockade and blast the bridges to halt enemy troop advances. Terrain: Code Name River of No Return. An ever-changing, ever-challenging waterway. Expect huge islands, narrow channels and treacherous bays crawling with enemy choppers, tankers and jets. Weaponry: Code Name StratoStrafer. Your B1 StratoWing Assault Jet has been retrofitted with sophisticated, rapid-fire guided missiles. Your craft is super-sensitive to the stick. Accelerate, slow or bank radically with only a touch. Tactics: Jet low to the river to avoid radar. Stop periodically at depots to refuel. A warning claxxon will alert you. Top speed! Best of luck! 82 /100
03 Pac-Man Pac-Man 1982 · 34 ratings Atari 2600 Port of Pac-Man The player controls Pac-Man through a maze, eating pac-dots (also called pellets). When all pac-dots are eaten, Pac-Man is taken to the next stage. Between some stages one of three intermission animations plays. Four enemies (Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde) roam the maze, trying to catch Pac-Man. If an enemy touches Pac-Man, a life is lost and the Pac-Man itself withers and dies. When all lives have been lost, the game ends. Pac-Man is awarded a single bonus life at 10,000 points by default. Near the corners of the maze are four larger, flashing dots known as power pellets that provide Pac-Man with the temporary ability to eat the enemies. The enemies turn deep blue, reverse direction and usually move more slowly. When an enemy is eaten, its eyes remain and return to the center box where it is regenerated in its normal color. Blue enemies flash white to signal that they are about to become dangerous again and the length of time for which the enemies remain vulnerable varies from one stage to the next, generally becoming shorter as the game progresses. In later stages, the enemies go straight to flashing, bypassing blue, which means that they can only be eaten for a short amount of time, although they still reverse direction when a power pellet is eaten; in even later stages, the ghosts do not become edible (i.e., they do not change color and still make Pacman lose a life on contact), but they still reverse direction. 80 /100
04 Joust Joust 1982 · 34 ratings Joust is an arcade game developed by Williams Electronics and released in 1982. It is a platform game that features two-dimensional (2D) graphics. The player uses a button and joystick to control a knight riding a flying ostrich. The object is to progress through levels by defeating groups of enemy knights riding buzzards. 80 /100
05 BurgerTime (1982) BurgerTime (1982) 1982 · 44 ratings BurgerTime is a 1982 arcade game created by Data East for its DECO Cassette System. The game's original title, Hamburger, was changed to BurgerTime before its introduction to the US. The player is chef Peter Pepper, who must walk over hamburger ingredients located across a maze of platforms while avoiding pursuing characters. The game was popular in arcades. In the US, Data East USA licensed BurgerTime for distribution by Bally Midway. The Data East and Midway versions are distinguished by the manufacturer's name on the title screen and by the marquee and cabinet artworks. 76 /100
06 Donkey Kong Jr. Donkey Kong Jr. 1982 · 80 ratings Donkey Kong Junior is the direct sequel to Donkey Kong. In this game, Mario plays the antagonist, finally having captured Donkey Kong, and has put the ape in a locked cage. As Donkey Kong Jr., players will have to make their way through four different levels (Vines, Springboard, Chains and Mario's Hideout) in an attempt to find keys to free the little monkey's father. 72 /100
07 Dig Dug (1982) Dig Dug (1982) 1982 · 90 ratings Dig Dug is a 1-2 player arcade game in which you have to use your shovel to dig your way through the earth. Stopping you from doing this are two monsters, called Pooka and Fygar, who will continually chase you around. The only weapon that you carry is an air pump, which you can use to inflate the monsters to the point where they explode. (if you start to inflate them but stop doing so, the monsters will get turned back to their normal selves). Furthermore, rocks are scattered throughout the earth, and you can use these rocks to squash them. If the monsters do not find you for several seconds, they will eventually get turned into ghosts, which are able to walk through the earth. They are invincible and cannot be killed. From time to time, vegetables will appear in the center, and you can get these for points. 70 /100
08 Q*bert Q*bert 1982 · 47 ratings Q*bert was a popular arcade game that was released on a large number of consoles in the early 1980s. It was developed and published by Gottlieb, and became their most successful game. The concept serves as a precursor to the isometric platformer genre, where the title character must work to turn all cubes to a certain colour in a psuedo-3D world, made 3D through isometric graphics in the same way that the Penrose Stairs was made. The game was widely successful and has become a highly recognizable brand of the 1980s gaming era. 64 /100
09 Popeye Popeye 1982 · 47 ratings Popeye is a 1982 arcade game developed and released by Nintendo based on the Popeye cartoon characters licensed from King Features Syndicate. In Popeye, two players can alternate playing or one player can play alone. The top five highest scores are kept along with the player's three initials. Popeye was available in standard and cocktail configurations. 62 /100
10 Pole Position (1982) Pole Position (1982) 1982 · 47 ratings The very first racing game with the rear perspective camera and track based on real life. 60 /100
11 Xevious (1983) Xevious (1983) 1982 · 32 ratings 53 /100
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Same year, other platforms

Best Arcade games of 1982Best PC games of 1982

Nearby rankings

Best Arcade games of 1983

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Frequently asked questions

What is the best Arcade game of 1982?

Ms. Pac-Man currently tops the ranking with a score of 84/100 across 93 ratings. Ranking updated October 2026.

How is this ranking built?

Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.