'I am a small yellow chomping machine' Manchester's giant Pac-Man joins boom in live experiences

Manchester's giant Pac-Man joins boom in live experiences

- Robyn Vinter

Here's no need to look so nervous," says a beaming man in a radiant yellow suit, inside what is essentially a darkened warehouse.

Perhaps my game face is betraying my bewilderment. I'm only loosely familiar with Pac-Man, having played it a handful of times.

There is something about being relentlessly pursued around an inescapable maze that I've always found quite stressful and I am fearing that the real-life experience will be that but on steroids.

Manchester's Pac-Man Live, which opened yesterday, is the latest in what is becoming a rapidly blossoming market for live experiences, after the success of immersive nostalgic exploits such as the Crystal Maze and life-size Monopoly. In the 45 years since Pac-Man's launch, the game has chomped its way into the cultural hall of fame and there is no doubt the live version will be incredibly popular.

The game can accommodate up to eight players at a time - there are seven of us from the Guardian's Manchester office - and we're pitted against each other in a hyper-competitive high-energy arena with giddy lights and a barrage of sounds.