Keep an eye on all your opponents; there are only four ghosts in the game. Keep your closest watch on the nearest ones. Also keep an eye on Blinky (Red) and Pinky (Pink) as they are the fastest and the most skilled. In most Pac-Man versions, you will move faster than the ghosts, which means the only way they can catch you is for you to make a wrong turn, or for them to corner you.
Realize that you're probably smarter than the game. The artificial intelligence in Pac-Man is very crude. Ghosts may appear to chase you, but many times they will turn off onto different paths when they're right behind you. If it looks like you're going to be cornered, move in the direction of the ghost that has to make a "choice" of whether to pursue you or take a different route. Many times you will get lucky. Try also to stay in areas with multiple turn offs and routes; it's much easier for you to lose your pursuers here.
Once you have the basics down, concentrate on amassing as many points as possible. Clearing the map is a start, but also try to collect the fruit that will occasionally appear, as well as stalking ghosts when "powered up". It's generally a good idea to clear the map in quarters, using the "power-up" dots when 2 or more ghosts begin to congregate in your area. Ideally, you should wait until there are at least 3 ghosts in your area to use a "power-up", since you collect an increasing amount points for every ghost you devour. If you can nab all 4 ghosts on one power-up, you'll earn 200, 400, 800, and 1600 or 3,000 points (in most versions). Don't waste your time chasing ghosts, but remember that every ghost you devour has to travel back to the map's center and then back to your area again to be a threat. Therefore, you should make a decent effort to eliminate the threats in your area when powered-up. Don't just try to send them in the opposite direction.
When you eat a ghost on a power-up, it becomes a pair of eyes, which gradually work their way to the center of the maze (the jail area) to regenerate. If you are clearing an area near the center of the map, watch these eyes! Don't get caught at the "jail's entrance" when a ghost regenerates!
Learn how the ghosts think. There movements aren't actually random; instead, there's a pattern to how they move around the map. They start off each level aiming for their respective "home corners": Blinky (red) heads to the top-right, Pinky (pink) to the top-left, Inky (blue) to the bottom-right, and Clyde (orange) to the bottom-left. After a few seconds, they start chasing you-- you'll know they've changed tactics when they make a 180 degree turn. Blinky heads straight for your position, Pinky heads for a spot just in front of you (unless you're facing up, due to a glitch), Inky heads for one end of a line that has a spot just in front of you as its center and Blinky as its other end, and Clyde chases you if he's far away but heads back to his home corner when you're nearby. They'll alternate between these two strategies throughout the level, but eventually settle on chasing you.
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