Arcade

Snake

Grow the snake and avoid walls

Score

0

Level

1

Length

1

Best

0

🐍
Snake Game
Ready to play?
Desktop: Use arrow keys or WASD • Mobile: Swipe or tap controls

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About Snake

Snake is one of the oldest arcade formats there is. You steer a line that grows every time it eats, and the game ends the moment you hit a wall or run into your own body.

The tension is built into the design: the better you do, the longer your snake becomes, and the longer it becomes the less room you have to manoeuvre. Success creates the obstacle.

How to play

  1. 1Steer with the arrow keys, or swipe on a touchscreen. The snake moves continuously and cannot stop.
  2. 2Guide the head onto the food to eat it. Each piece makes the snake one segment longer and adds to your score.
  3. 3Avoid the walls and avoid crossing your own body, either of which ends the run.
  4. 4Keep going as long as you can. There is no finish line, only your previous best.

How to survive longer

  • Work the edges early. Travelling around the perimeter keeps the centre of the board clear for later, when you need open space most.
  • Never chase food into a pocket you cannot exit. Before committing, check that there is a route out on the far side.
  • Fold your body in tight parallel lines rather than looping randomly. Neat coils leave usable corridors; messy ones create dead ends.
  • Slow down mentally as the snake grows. Most deaths late in a run come from a reflex turn taken without checking what is behind you.
  • When the snake is very long, follow your own tail. The tail moves away as you advance, so trailing it is one of the safest patterns available.

Frequently asked questions

How do you control the snake?

Use the arrow keys on a keyboard or swipe in the direction you want to travel on a touchscreen. The snake moves continuously, so you are steering rather than starting and stopping.

What ends the game in Snake?

Hitting a wall or running into any part of your own body. As the snake lengthens, your own tail becomes the more common cause of the two.

Is there a way to win Snake?

There is no final level. The game is a score chase, and the theoretical maximum is filling the entire board with your body, which almost nobody reaches.

Why does the game get harder as I score?

Because eating makes the snake longer. Every point you gain reduces the free space you have to move through, so the difficulty scales directly with your success.