Learn Vim Commands by Playing PacVim – A Fun Docker‑Ready Game

Learning Vim has long been considered a painful challenge, even prompting a highly viewed StackOverflow question titled “How do I exit the Vim editor?”.

To make Vim mastery more enjoyable, developer Jamal Moon created PacVim, a game that teaches Vim commands through classic arcade‑style play.

Vim is a great tool to write and edit code, but many people, including me, struggle with its steep learning curve. I did not find a fun, free way to learn Vim commands in depth, and thus PacVim was born.

In PacVim, you control a blue‑cursored character escaping red “Monster” ghosts, but instead of the usual arrow keys, you use Vim’s native key bindings (h, j, k, l, etc.) to move.

The game’s key layout is illustrated below:

How to Play PacVim?

The easiest way to start is with the Docker image. Run the following command, replacing [LEVEL_NUMBER] (0‑9) and [MODE] (N for normal, H for hard):

docker run -it freedomben/pacvim [LEVEL_NUMBER] [MODE]

Higher level numbers increase difficulty, and the mode flag selects normal or hard difficulty.

If you use macOS, PacVim is also available as a Homebrew package. Install it with: brew install pacvim After installation, start a game with a command such as pacvim 8 n to launch level 8 in normal mode.

Give PacVim a try and improve your Vim proficiency while enjoying a nostalgic gaming experience.