🎮 Play Lock N Chase Deco Cassette Us Online (Arcade)

Lock ‘n’ Chase is a maze-chase arcade game developed and released by Data East in 1981 for the Deco Cassette System, arriving in Japanese arcades that April before reaching North America later the same year through Taito. Cast as a thief raiding a maze-like vault, you dash around scooping up coins and treasure while a squad of policemen close in from every direction. Unlike Pac-Man, you have no way to fight back — your only defense is the door-locking mechanic that gives the game its name.

How to Play

Clear each maze by collecting every coin and money bag before the pursuing police catch you. Your one tool is the lock: pressing the action button seals the nearest door, trapping any officer caught on the wrong side of it for a few seconds — long enough to double back or slip past. Only two doors can be locked at once, so plan your route rather than sealing every door you pass; corner a cop between two locked doors and you’ll score a bonus on top of whatever you’ve collected.

Standard arcade controls apply in the browser: arrow keys to move, Z to lock the nearest door, Shift to insert a coin, and Enter to start.

Tips

• Lock doors ahead of you, not behind: sealing a door just in front of a chasing cop buys far more time than locking one you’ve already passed.
• Only two locks at a time: keep track of which doors are already sealed so you don’t waste a press on one that’s already closed.
• Corner cops for bonus points: trapping a policeman between two locked doors scores extra, so it’s worth the detour when the layout allows it.