A standard Pac-Man maze contains 244 dots in total, counting the four power pellets. Pac-Man must clear these collectibles to complete a level and advance to the next maze.
The total is made up of 240 ordinary Pac-Dots and four larger flashing power pellets, also called energizers. The power pellets sit near the maze’s corners and temporarily turn the ghosts blue and vulnerable. Eating them lets Pac-Man pursue the ghosts for bonus points, while ordinary dots primarily advance the maze toward completion.
This number is often confused with 256 because Pac-Man’s famous 256th level is associated with a separate technical problem. The 256 refers to the level number, not the number of dots in a maze. The maze layout itself remains fixed in the original game, although later levels become harder because ghost speed and power-pellet timing change. Clearing every dot and pellet is also essential to high-score play, since missing even one collectible prevents the level from being completed normally.