Funko’s Retro Video Games Mystery Minis turn a blind box into a miniature piece of arcade scenery. This version wears the blue Ms. Pac-Man cabinet design, complete with joystick-and-button graphics, a sloped cabinet profile, and character art around the sides. The clever catch is important: the cabinet printed outside does not identify the vinyl figure hidden inside.
A March 2017 arcade crossover
Funko announced the set during London Toy Fair on January 22, 2017 and said it was coming in March. Contemporary retailer records likewise date the release to March 2017. Although the theme is usually summarized as 1980s arcade nostalgia, it crosses several separate game licenses rather than building around one franchise: Bandai Namco’s Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Dig Dug characters sit beside Q*bert, Centipede, Frogger and Capcom’s Mega Man.
The format is a blind-boxed vinyl figure approximately 2.5 inches tall. The assortment was sold in 12-box cases, while each individual cabinet-style carton concealed one random character. That makes the package art an appealing display detail in its own right—but buying the Ms. Pac-Man carton never guaranteed Ms. Pac-Man.
The 12 figures in the set
The back-panel checklist and contemporary set guide identify 12 designs:
- Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man
- Blinky (also known by the original character name Shadow) and Pinky (Speedy)
- Q*bert and Coily
- Dig Dug/Taizo, Pookah and Fygar
- Centipede
- Frogger
- Mega Man
It is a thoughtfully uneven roster. Pac-Man’s maze contributes four recognizable faces, Dig Dug contributes its hero and two enemies, and Q*bert gets its title character plus Coily. Frogger, Centipede and Mega Man each receive a single slot. For a collector arranging the figures by game rather than checklist order, those natural clusters make a more interesting shelf than 12 unrelated mascots.
Seven cabinet designs, one shared mystery
The outer cartons were styled after seven games or cabinet identities: Centipede, Dig Dug, Frogger, Mega Man, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Q*bert. The Ms. Pac-Man edition shown here uses bright blue panels, the familiar logo, maze characters, and faux arcade controls. This packaging variation is separate from the hidden-figure checklist. A collector pursuing every carton design is therefore following a seven-box packaging subset alongside the 12-figure vinyl set.
Condition deserves extra attention because the unusual cabinet silhouette has more edges and folds than a plain cube. In the product photographs, the box remains intact and appears wrapped, but it also shows visible corner whitening, surface scuffs, creasing around the sloped top, and some bowing. Anyone collecting sealed examples for the package—not merely opening for the figure—should compare the top flap, slanted shoulder, vertical edges and shrink-wrap seams closely.
What is known about rarity?
No pull ratios are printed on the photographed Ms. Pac-Man box, and the contemporary checklist source specifically reported that odds were unavailable. It also noted that no retailer exclusives had been confirmed at that time. A 12-box case and a 12-character checklist do not prove one of each figure per case; duplicates can still occur unless a documented case assortment says otherwise.
For that reason, this set should not be described as having a verified chaser, and no individual character should be assigned rare odds without stronger package or assortment evidence. Market scarcity years later can reflect demand, opened-case attrition or limited availability, but it is not the same thing as a documented short-packed pull—and it is not an official Funko Chase designation.