[yodelshady]

I believe that tactic is called "kiting" and used by speedrunners?

[joe_the_user]

Yeah, waiting for the ghosts to get close was a standard strategy I used back when I played lots of Pacman.

Having all the ghosts behind you gives you more control since they'll follow you in a line.

That the ghosts follow the player is what makes the game winnable. If they formed a grid and gradually closed-in, it would be impossible to escape.

Edit: What was unexpected in this case was that the system found a strategy the programmer didn't think of.

[NaturalPhallacy]

Yup! It's also used in other games a lot.

For example in EVE Online with a 1v1 fight two basic tactics are either Kite or Brawl. A kiter that can maintain range will beat a brawler. But a brawler that 'catches' a kiter will generally win.

[TomAnthony]

Yes! Exactly - kiting. I didn't know the term but when I explained the behaviour I was seeing to a colleague they told me about this.