Snake Game
Steer the snake, eat the apples and grow as long as you can without biting your own tail. Play with the arrow keys or WASD on a computer, or swipe and use the d-pad on your phone.
High scores
| Walls | Slow | Normal | Fast | Insane |
|---|
How to use the Snake Game
- Pick a speed and choose whether the walls wrap around or are solid.
- Press Start game, Space, or any arrow key to begin.
- Steer the snake with the arrow keys or W A S D. On a phone, swipe on the board or use the d-pad.
- Eat the red apples to score a point and grow one segment longer.
- Avoid your own tail (and the walls in solid mode). Press P or Space to pause, and try to beat your high score.
Speeds and wall modes
The snake moves one square per tick. Faster speeds give you less time to react, so a score on Insane is worth far more than the same score on Slow. Each combination of speed and walls keeps its own high score.
| Speed | Time per move | Squares per second | Crossing the 20-square board |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slow | 150 ms | 6.7 | 3.0 s |
| Normal | 100 ms | 10 | 2.0 s |
| Fast | 70 ms | 14.3 | 1.4 s |
| Insane | 45 ms | 22.2 | 0.9 s |
Wrap around lets the snake pass through an edge and reappear on the opposite side, which is friendlier for beginners. Solid walls end the game on contact, like the original arcade and phone versions.
Tips for a higher score
- Hug the edges early on. Running laps around the outside keeps the middle free for manoeuvring.
- Move in a zig-zag once the snake is long: sweep the board row by row so your body forms neat lines instead of knots.
- Don't chase every apple directly. Take the safe route, even if it is a few squares longer.
- Leave yourself an exit. Never enter a pocket that is narrower than your snake is long.
- Use the buffer. You can press two turns in quick succession, such as up then left, to make a tight U-turn.
- Pause when you need to: press P or Space, or simply switch tabs and the game pauses itself.
A short history of Snake
The idea goes back to the 1976 arcade game Blockade, where two players steered growing lines and tried to make the other crash. Home computer versions followed in the 1980s, and in 1997 Nokia preinstalled Snake on its mobile phones, which made it one of the most played video games in the world. The simple rules — eat, grow, don't bite yourself — still make it a perfect quick game today.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Snake?
You control a snake that moves continuously across a grid. Change its direction to eat apples; each apple adds a point and makes the snake one segment longer. The game ends when the snake runs into itself, or into a wall when solid walls are on.
What are the controls?
Use the arrow keys or W, A, S and D to turn. Press P or Space to pause and resume, and Space or Enter to start a new game. On touch screens, swipe in the direction you want to go or tap the d-pad buttons under the board.
What is the difference between wrap and solid walls?
With wrap-around walls the snake leaves one edge and comes back on the opposite side, so only your own tail can end the game. With solid walls, touching the edge of the board ends the game, which is the harder, classic arcade rule.
What is the highest possible score?
The board has 20 × 20 = 400 squares and the snake starts 3 long, so a perfect game fills every square with a score of 397. Very few players get anywhere close; a score above 50 on normal speed is already good.
Why didn't my quick turn register?
The game remembers up to three direction changes and applies one per move, so fast double turns like up-then-left work as intended. A turn straight back into the snake's own body (for example left while moving right) is ignored on purpose.
Are my high scores saved?
Yes. The best score for each speed and wall setting is stored in your browser's local storage on this device. Clearing your browser data, or using a private window, resets them.